PGA Tour of Australasia The PGA Qualifying School is conducted in two stages. The First stage is held mid-November and the final stage mid-December. The First Stage is a 54-hole event and has been held for a number of years at Amstel GC on the Ranfurlie Course. The Final Stage is over 72 holes and is usually held at the Peninsula GC on the North Course. The top 35 qualifiers in the Final stage are eligible to become full members of the Australasian PGA Tour for the following year. Related links: www.pgatour.com.au www.pga.org.au Asian Tour At the Asian Qualifying School there are two stages. The First Stage is conducted over 72 holes. After 36 holes, the field is cut to the top 80 players plus ties. The number proceeding to the Final Stage is announced during the week of the First Stage. The Final Stage is played around mid-December and is a four-round competition with a maximum field of 240 players. After 36 holes in the Final Stage, the field is cut to the top 100 plus ties. After 72 holes, the top 40 players plus ties receive exempt status on the Asian Tour for the following year. Related links: www.asiantour.com European Tour The Qualifying School for the European Tour is conducted over three stages. The First stage is a 72-hole event conducted in mid-September. There are approximately 130 players who compete at one of two venues. After 54 holes, only those players within 7 shots final qualifying score will play the final round, i.e. if there are 20 players who will advance to the Second Stage and the 20th placed person is on even par, then all players on +7 or better will play the final round. There will be at least 20 players at each of the First Stage venues who will advance to the Second Stage. The Second stage is held early November at four different venues. The Second Stage is over 72 holes with no cut. The number of players advancing to the Final Stage will be advised during the Second Stage. The Final stage is held mid November, following the completion of the Second stage. It is contested over 108 holes (6 rounds). The starting field of 156 players will be cut to the top 70 plus ties after 72 holes. The top 30 players plus ties after 108 holes will be offered exempt status on the European Tour for the following season. Those making the cut but outside the top 30 will be offered exempt status on the Challenge Tour for the following season. Those not making the cut but contesting the final stage will be offered some status on the Challenge Tour for the following season. Related links: www.europeantour.com US PGA Tour Players wanting to qualify to play the US PGA Tour for 2008 had to compete in three qualifying stages. First stage This is a four-round event contested at 12 different sites. There were approximately 80 players at each site with the top 24 (approx) advancing to the second stage. The Second stage is contested over four rounds at four sites. There are usually around 110-120 players at each course. The number qualifying to compete in the final stage is announced during the playing of the Second Stage. The Final stage is a six-round (108-hole) event. The starting field will be around 156 players. At the end of the six rounds, the top 25 players (plus ties) will receive exempt status on the 2008 PGA Tour. The next 50 players will receive exempt status on the Nationwide Tour for 2008. The remainder of the Final Stage field will receive non-exempt status on the Nationwide Tour for 2008. Related links: www.pgatour.com Nationwide Tour There are two options for playing on the Nationwide Tour each year: 1. The first option is that each player who finishes in the top 80 of the final stage of the PGA Tour qualifying is exempt to play the Nationwide Tour the following year. The top 30 will have PGA Tour cards and the next 50 will be exempt on Nationwide. 2. The second is to finish 26-60 on the Nationwide Tour the previous year. The top 25 are awarded cards to the PGA Tour. The first is a dedicated event in which a number of &aposcards&apos are won. It is also possible to compete in a Nationwide Tour event via Monday pre-qualifying. Each week on the Monday prior to the event, there are a minimum of 14 spots available in the event. Any professional can enter the pre-qualifying, as can amateurs with a handicap of 2 or less. Related links: www.pgatour.com Japanese PGA Tour Qualifying for the Japanese Tour involves competing in four stages of qualifying. The First Stage is a 54-hole event contested over five courses with approximately 100 players at each venue. The leading players will advance to the Second Stage. The number to advance will be advised during the week of the First Stage. First Stage is held late July to early August. The Second Stage is a 72-hole event which is played over 12 courses with approximately 100 players at each course. This stage is conducted during the first half of September and the first half of October. The Third stage is conducted at six different courses with approximately 100 players at each course. As with all previous stages, every player completes all of the rounds; Third Stage being 72 holes. Third Stage is played late October and early November. The Final Stage is over 108 holes (six rounds). Approximately 200 players will contest Final Stage with a cut being made after 72 holes to the top 90 players plus ties. Related links: http://www.jgto.org/jgto/WG01000000Init.do ALPG Tour The Australian Ladies Professional Golfers is the body responsible for women&aposs professional tournaments in Australia. The main events conducted by the ALPGTour include a series of pro-ams which are held in November and December each year, mainly around the Far South Coast of NSW. Other professional women&aposs events held each year include the LG Bing Lee Women&aposs NSW Open, MFS Women&aposs Australian Open and ANZ Ladies Masters. Related links: www.alpgtour.com www.golfaustralia.org.au Ladies European Tour The First Stage is played over three rounds (54 Holes) with the top players advancing to the Final Stage. Approximately 100 players contest the first stage with around 25 advancing to the final stage. The Final Stage has a field of approximately 100 players who compete over four rounds (72 holes). After 54 holes there is a cut to the top 50 plus ties. After 72 holes the top 30 players plus ties are awarded exempt status on the Ladies European Tour for the following season. The remainder of the players who made the cut are offered conditional status for the following year, meaning they may get some starts in tournaments, but this depends on places available in the field. Related links: www.ladieseuropeantour.com LPGA Tour There are two stages to the LPGA Tour. Uniquely each player has two chances of advancing from the First Stage to the Final (second) Stage. The First Stage is a four-round (72-hole) event with a starting field of around 150 players. After 36 holes there is a cut to the top 70. The top 30 players plus ties following the final round advance to the Final Stage. The First Stages are conducted late October and early November. The Final Stage is a five-round (108-hole) event conducted late November each year. There is a cut to the top 70 players plus ties after 72 holes. After the final round the top 15 will receive exempt status and the next 35 will receive non-exempt status for the following year. Related links: www.lpga.com Futures Tour The Futures Tour is the secondary Tour in the US, behind the LPGA Tour. It has provided a launching pad for quite a lot of Australian girls. The Futures Tour has numerous events throughout the year and at the end of the season the Top 5 players on the Futures Order of Merit receive their &aposcard&apos for the LPGA Tour for the following season. To qualify for the Futures Tour, players either compete in the Futures Qualifying School which is played early November. There is usually a starting field of around 300 players who are cut to the top 90 plus ties after 54 holes. Related links: www.duramedfuturestour.com www.lpga.com Japanese Ladies Tour Unfortunately the Japanese Ladies Tour website is in Japanese and is not available in English. Loss of Amateur Status if attending Qualifying School Amateur golfers may enter and play any in any stage of a PGA Tour Qualifying School tournament without forfeiture of amateur status, provided in advance and in writing they waive the right to any prize money on offer. This is done by signing the waiver condition on the Qualifying School entry form. Amateur golfers who fail to do so are in breach of the rules of Amateur Status. Otherwise, the breach occurs when having qualified, they accept an offer of, or apply for, PGA membership. Reinstatement to Amateur Status can be applied for via the State Golf Association. A period awaiting reinstatement of between 3 and 24 months can apply, depending on the circumstances. Related Links : www.golfaustralia.org.au www.randa.org.au