The McGinley FoundationBrian KeoghOctober 13, 2025Carton House, O'Meara CourseAnna Foster, David Carey, Sara Byrne, DP World Tour Qualifying School, LPGA Qualifying Tournament, Lauren WalshComment

Foster shines; Crunch time for Nolan and Kennedy; Alps finale for Irish trio; Walsh at LPGA Q-School

The McGinley FoundationBrian KeoghOctober 13, 2025Carton House, O'Meara CourseAnna Foster, David Carey, Sara Byrne, DP World Tour Qualifying School, LPGA Qualifying Tournament, Lauren WalshComment

DP World Tour

Tom McKibbin finished fourth behind Marco Penge in the Open de España and looks now to have secured his third successive appearance at the season-ending DP World Tour Championship.

The Holywood star (22) produced a brilliant putting performance at the Club de Campo — third in strokes gained putting — and is now 38th in the Race to Dubai after just 11 starts this season.

The top 70 available players will contest the first Playoff event, Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship next month, before the top 50 contest the DP World Tour Championship.

Shane Lowry missed the cut by a shot in Madrid and likely needs a top-two finish in the DP World India Championship to move up from 155th in the Race to Dubai and make the top 70 who qualify for Abu Dhabi.

Conor Purcell withdrew after an opening 81 in Madrid, citing injury, but also earns a spot in India this week alongside Lowry and Rory McIlroy, who leads the Race to Dubai from Penge.

Purcell is 148th in the Race to Dubai and needs a top-five finish to break into the top 115 who will retain full playing rights in 2026, as he is not in the field for the final counting regular event, the Genesis Championship in Korea.

HotelPlanner Tour

This week’s Hangzhou Open in China is the final regular season event before the. Rolex Grand Final and it’s a key event for Liam Nolan and Max Kennedy as they bid for promotion to the DP World Tour.

The top 20 in the Road to Mallorca standings after the Grand Final will be awarded DP World Tour cards.

Italy’s Renato Paratore won his third event of the season at the Hainan Open on Sunday to claim automatic promotion back to the main tour.

Only the top 45 in the rankings qualify for the Grand Final, and 37th-ranked Nolan, who finished T43 in the Hainan Open, and 45th-ranked Max Kennedy (MC in the Hainan Open) are under pressure to perform this week.

Alps Tour

The season concludes this week with the Regione Lazio Alps Tour Grand Final at Golf Nazionale in Rome.

The 50-man field was decided after last week’s Parma Alps Open where Ronan Mullarney was T15 and Hugh Foley T46 as Robert Moran missed the cut.

The top five in the rankings will receive cards for the HotelPlanner Tour in 2026.

Mullarney lies fourth in the standings with Foley 16th and Moran 24th.

Ladies European Tour

Rookie Anna Foster claimed her second top ten of the season when she tied for seventh behind Shannon Tan in the Hero Women's Indian Open.

The Elm Park golfer has secured her card by moving to 40th in the Order of Merit with the top 70 retaining full playing rights for 2026.

The next two events have limited fields and Foster’s top 10 looks likely to have secured her place alongside 11th-ranked Lauren Walsh in the Wistron Ladies Open in Chinese Taipei from 23-26 October.

Foster and Walsh will be joined by 62nd-ranked Sara Byrne and 79th-ranked Annabel Wilson in the season-ending Andalucia Costa Del Sol Open de España from 27-30 November.

Byrne looks likely to remain in the top 70, but with the top 80 getting as many as 20 starts next year, she looks good for the LET in 2026.

The Douglas golfer has withdrawn from this week’s LPGA Tour Qualifying Tournament, having tried unsuccessfully to combine the LET with the second-tier Epson Tour this year.

Her focus for 2026 will be solely on the LET.

Canice Screene, who is 140th in the Order of Merit, having won a conditional card at last year’s LET Q-School, will return to the Q-School this year seeking full status alongside the likes of 181st-ranked Olivia Mehaffey.

Pre-qualifiers for the LET Q-School take place from 10-12 December in Morocco, with Final Qualifying scheduled for December 16-20 at Royal Golf Marrakech and Al Maaden Golf Marrakech.

Irish players already entered for LET pre-qualifying include Mehaffey, Aine Donegan and Olivia Hunt.

Walsh will bid to make it to Final Qualifying for the LPGA Tour at the 72-hole (no cut) Qualifying Tournament over the Bobcat and Panther Courses at Plantation Golf and Country Club in Venice, Florida, this week.

Players who complete 72 holes and do not advance to LPGA Final Qualifying will earn 2026 Epson Tour status according to finish position.

The final number advancing to Final Qualifying will be communicated prior to the start of the Qualifying Tournament, which begins this Wednesday.

LPGA

Leona Maguire finished T54 on three-under (72 72 69 72) in the Buick LPGA Shanghai on Sunday, where world No. 1 Jeeno Thitikul beat Japan’s Minami Katsu with an eagle three on the fifth tie hole of a sudden-death playoff, having closed with a 63 to catch the overnight leader.

Maguire is in Korea this week for the BMW Ladies Championship at Pine Beach Golf Links.

She’s 53rd in the Race to CME Globe standings with the top 60 qualifying for the season-ending CME Group Tour Championship from November 20 - 23.

Korn Ferry Tour and DP World Tour Q-School

David Carey successfully made it through the First Stage of the Korn Ferry Tour Qualifying School in California last week.

The Dubliner tied for 10th at nine under at Bear Creek in Murrieta, as 19 players advanced.

At the last of 10 First Stage events at the DP World Tour Qualifying School, Tim Rice missed out by five shots.

The Limerick golfer (47) closed with a one-under 71 at Golf PGA France du Vaudreuil to finish tied 32nd on two under.

How the Irish fared at the First Stage of DP World Tour Q-School

A total of 21 Irish players entered the First Stage, with eight (8) making it through — or 38% — to one of four Second Stage qualifiers from October 30 to November 2, where they will be joined by exempt players from the HotelPlanner Tour.

First Stage - The Players Club

Qualifiers 1

Hugh Foley

First Stage - Huddersfield Golf Club

Qualifiers 0

Non-qualifiers 2

Paul Conroy

Simon Bryan

First Stage - The Northumberland Golf Club

Qualifiers 1

John-Ross Galbraith

Non-qualifiers 4