McKinney heads 19 Aussies at European Q-School

Reigning Australian amateur champion Connor McKinney tops a strong contingent of 19 Aussies heading into tomorrow’s second stage of the DP World Tour’s Q-School in Spain.

The 20-year-old Joondalup golfer brilliantly qualified for stage two by storming his way to a five-shot victory after posting a sizzling opening round score of 63 in the first stage of qualifying in September.

McKinney won the St. Andrews Links in June (Credit: Scottish Golf)

McKinney topped 130 players at the Montado Hotel and Golf Resort course at Palmela located to the south-east of Lisbon in Portugal, and one of nine qualifying venues in eight different countries hosting the first stage.

The DP World Tour Q-School is back on the calendar for a first time since 2019, and after the global COVID pandemic saw its cancellation in 2020 and 2021.

In July, the Scottish-born Aussie also captured the prestigious St. Andrews Links Trophy at the Home of Golf in St. Andrews.

The final stage of 2022 DP World Tour qualifying will be a torture test over six rounds, taking place a week later (November 11-16) over the Infinitum course at Tarragona located on the Mediterranean to the south of Barcelona where the leading qualifiers will earn full 2023 DP World Tour status.

Those Aussies competing over the four Spanish host venues this week include Emporda GC: Jarrod Felton, Maverick Arncliff, Daniel Gale, Blake Collyer, John Lyras, James Marchesani, Tom Power Horan – St. Michaels; Isla Canela GC: Nathan Barbieri, Linus Yip, Elvis Smylie; Las Colinas GC: Jordan Zunic, Austin Bautista, Kyle Michel, Jay MacKenzie, Connor McKinney; Desert Springs GC: Lachlan Barker, Deyen Lawson, Braden Becker, Jack Thompson and Hayden Hopewell.