McGee and Phelan into final qualifier

Ruaidhrí McGee and Kevin Phelan are one step away from securing a European Tour card after both qualified from second stage events in Spain.

Donegal’s McGee finished in 7th place at the Las Colinas Club in Alicante after a steady round of 71 ensured he finished on nine under par and an aggregate score of 275.

He finished six shots off the winner, England’s James Heath, who had held a share of the lead since the opening day.

Niall Kearney shot a disastrous 76 in his final round to finish 286 and a share of 36th position to extinguish any hopes of claiming one of the 17 available spots for the final qualifying event at the PGA Catalunya Resort from November 10-15.

Damien Mooney (289), Stephen Grant (289) and Brendan McCarroll (306) all missed out, while David Rawluk retired during the third round.

Waterford’s Phelan claimed one of the 17 available places on offer at the El Saler course in Valencia by finishing in a tie for 13th place.

He fired a final round of 73 to finish two over par for the tournament after previous rounds of 71, 72 and 74 to give him an aggregate of 290.

Carlos Del Moral of Spain won the event finishing on eight under par after scores of 70, 67, 71 and 71, leaving him on 281.

High winds affected play at the Lumine Club in Tarragona and Valle Romano in Malaga causing the final rounds of both tournaments to be concluded today.

Dermot McElroy is in with a chance of qualifying if he can produce a low-scoring round but Gareth Shaw looks unlikely to make it through the final event starting on Sunday.