Eight Irish players looking to make their mark in Spain

Eight Irish hopefuls will be looking to make their mark as the European Tour qualifying school second stage gets underway across four venues in Spain today.

There will be a four-strong contingent at Lumine with Waterville pair David Higgins and Mark Murphy, Royal Dublin’s Niall Kearney and Brendan McCarroll (Team Ireland) all looking to qualify for the final stage later this month.

Meanwhile, Niall Turner (Muskerry) is in action at Las Colinos, Northwest’s Michael McGeady is at El Saler while Ruaidhri McGee of Rosapenna and Gareth Shaw of Lurgan are among the field at Panoramica. Turner and McGeady both secured their spots in the second stage after coming through their first round test at Hardelot in France at the end of September, while Murphy qualified at the Roxburghe in Scotland earlier that month.

The trio were among 191 players who progressed, while Higgins, Kearney, McCarroll, McGee and Shaw were among 102 other players exempt from the first stage.

All eight will be looking to make it through to the final stage – a gruelling six-rounder – and a chance to earn their Tour card at the PGA Catalunya Resort starting a week tomorrow.