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Record entries for 2006 Asian Q-school

The Asian Tour broke new ground when a record 600 entries were confirmed for the 2006 Qualifying School.

It was the first time ever that the Asian Tour Qualifying School reached the 600 mark.

The 2006 Asian Tour Qualifying School will be played over two stages in Malaysia next January, with minimum of 40 Tour cards available.

The Stage One of the Qualifying School will be held over two venues from January 4-7, 2006. The selected locations are the Palm Resort Golf and Country Club in Senai, Johor and Tanjong Puteri Golf and Country Club in Pasir Gudang, Johor.

Stage One qualifiers will advance to the all-important Final Stage which will be held at Palm Resort from January 11-14 where only the top-40 finishers and ties will gain their Asian Tour membership for the 2006 season.

Among the outstanding graduates from the 2005 Qualifying School were Andrew Buckle of Australia and India’s Shiv Kapur. The duo stamped their mark on the Asian Tour with a string of impressive achievements.

Kapur enjoyed a tremendous season in 2005. The 23-year-old came close to his first Asian Tour win when he narrowly lost out in the playoff of the Double A International Open in Thailand.

Success seemed inevitable for the youngster who went on to lift the prestigious season-ender Volvo Masters of Masters title in Thailand. Kapur was ranked fourth in the 2005 Order of Merit with total earnings of US$242,101 at the end of his maiden season.

Similarly for Buckle who flourished in his rookie outing as he accumulated US$222,163 and was placed sixth in the Order of Merit. He finished second best in the SK Telecom Open in Korea and was sixth in the Philippine Open.

The other notable achievements by the Australian was a ninth place finish in the Volkswagen Masters in China, third position in the Singapore Open and seventh in the Bangkok Airways Open.

The 2006 Qualifying School is a platform for the hopefuls to reach greater heights in the race for supremacy. Like Kapur and Buckle, new aspiring talent will be aiming to have their careers carved out for a successful 2006 season.

December 21, 2005