Mooney goes down fighting in Staysure Tour card bid
Staysure Tour Q-School graduates (L to R) Euan McIntosh, Andrew Raitt, Michael Long, David Morland IV and Carl Suneson. Picture: Getty Images
Damian Mooney gave his all but came up two shots shy in his bid for one of five cards at the Staysure Tour Qualifying School in Portugal.
He carded a three-under 68 to finish tied ninth on six-under-par — his bid for a card halted by a momentum-killing bogey at the 17th when he was just one shot outside the top-five.
It was an excellent performance from the Belfastman (51), who will take little consolation from carding descending scores over the four days at Pestana Golf Resort's Pinta Course)—71, 70, 69, 68—as New Zealand's Michael Long topped the qualifiers on 14-under-par.
Tied for 12th, three strokes outside the top five starting the day, Mooney made six birdies and two bogeys in his first 16 holes to get within a shot of the top-five before that bogey-par finish.
Kilkenny Golf Club's Jimmy Bolger (52) can also hold his head up high after following an opening 78 with rounds of 69, 67 and 69 to finish the tournament in the red, tied for 22nd on one-under.
Long was the only player to card four consecutive sub-70 rounds as he won by two shots from Scottish amateur Euan McIntosh and Canadian David Morland IV.
The Kiwi was rock solid from the outset and saved his best for last, signing for rounds of 67-68-69-66 to finish on 14-under-par in a pressure-packed week where five players earned Staysure Tour cards for the 2020 season.
The 51-year old, who has competed in 99 European Tour events in his career, has eight professional victories to his name.
His most recent came in 2018 on the PGA Tour of Australasia, and he will now look to continue his winning ways in his rookie season against the best senior golfers in Europe.
McIntosh and Morland spent the majority of Final Stage inside the all-important top five and like Long, will now compete in their rookie seasons on the Staysure Tour.
McIntosh will now turn professional, while Morland IV will bring the professional experience he has gained from the PGA Tour as the two players further strengthen the quality of golf in Europe's senior ranks.
Andrew Raitt, who competed in 132 European Tour events between 1999 and 2010, finished alone in fourth place on ten under par, sealing his own rookie Staysure Tour season thanks to a final round of four under par 67, which kept him inside the qualification number.
The battle for the fifth and final card required extra holes as Spaniards Carl Suneson, Victor Casado and Englishman Gary Marks were deadlocked on eight under par after 72 holes.
Suneson birdied the first playoff hole, the par-four 17th, to seal a return to the Staysure Tour for a third season and is the only Qualifying School graduate who will not be a rookie in 2020.
Michael Long
"I've been lucky. I've been pretty much exempt on most tours that I've played on. I think the last time I had a successful Tour school was in 1992 or 1991, and that was down in Australia. I've failed a couple of times in Final Stage on the US tour. I can't believe it really. This is completely out of the blue. It's a lot of really good players out here, and if you can't smile now, when can you? It's just nice to come out on top of a top-quality field.”
David Morland IV
"I've played all over the world from Asia, South America, Canada, mostly in the US, but I haven't played that much in Europe, so I'm looking forward to it this year. You're going to have all the top European players that played at the same time frame that I did. The quality of golf is there, so I'm just looking forward to playing all over Europe.
Euan McIntosh
"I play a lot of high-end amateur events with guys that are going to be winning European Tour events, and I've been doing that for the last three years. It's been a really good grounding, these young guys have been amazing. They've pushed me on to get my golf to the level it's at now. Without their help, and their competitiveness, I wouldn't be here right now. The strange thing is, I'm sad in a way to be leaving the amateur ranks. I've got a lot of friends because I play for Scotland, and now I'm not going to be doing that ever again. It's great, but there's a bit of sadness there."
Andrew Raitt
"I played the European Tour for seven or eight years but struggled a lot with injuries and stuff like that. This is a new lease of life. I've been looking forward to it and trying to work towards this. I've had a lot of help from people at home, the golf club has been brilliant so all the members from St. George's Hill, thank you very much. It feels good to pay them back and give them something to root for this year."
Carl Suneson
"To get the fifth card is fantastic. There was pressure, but I did it, and I'm happy. I wanted to get the playoff finished quickly, and I was able to hit three great shots. I've had shoulder problems for the last two and a half years, but I've been doing physio and slowly getting things tuned in."
Staysure Tour Qualifying School Final Stage
Pestana Golf Resort (Pinta Course), Lagoa, Portugal (Par 71)
Qualifiers
270 M Long (Nzl) 67 68 69 66,
272 D Morland IV (Can) 66 70 67 69, E Mcintosh (Am) (Sco) 68 66 71 67,
274 A Raitt (Eng) 69 73 65 67,
276 C Suneson (Esp) 65 70 73 68 (after playoff)
Non qualifiers
276 G Marks (Eng) 69 70 68 69, V Casado (Esp) 71 67 70 68,
277 S Henderson (Sco) 72 69 68 68,
278 Damian Mooney (Irl) 71 70 69 68, A Bossert (Sui) 70 67 72 69,
279 P Wilson (Eng) 70 69 71 69, M Young (Am) (Eng) 71 70 66 72,
280 C Monasterio (Arg) 69 69 73 69, S Little (Eng) 69 72 71 68, S Bebb (Wal) 72 70 70 68, B Smith (Eng) 73 70 70 67, G Wolstenholme (Eng) 73 68 69 70,
281 C Hunsucker (Usa) 73 69 69 70, S Brown (Eng) 69 68 73 71,
282 M Bianco (Ita) 72 72 69 69, M Wharton (Eng) 72 72 63 75,
283 G Joyner (Aus) 73 69 71 70, R Coceres (Arg) 70 69 75 69, Jimmy Bolger (Irl) 78 69 67 69,
284 S McGreal (Eng) 71 68 72 73, G Manson (Aut) 73 68 72 71, F Lamare (Fra) 72 72 71 69, P Blaikie (Sco) 71 70 74 69,
285 M Watson (Eng) 75 71 69 70,
286 G Ghei (Ind) 75 72 68 71,
287 J Inman (Usa) 72 71 70 74, S Bennett (Eng) 76 71 68 72,
288 M Belsham (Eng) 74 68 72 74, R Benitez (Esp) 73 69 72 74, C Gomez (Esp) 73 71 71 73, J Bevan (Eng) 72 70 73 73, N Mitchell (Eng) 75 71 69 73,
290 G Pietrobono (Ita) 74 70 71 75,
292 M Reynard (Eng) 75 72 68 77
