Q School Season

Yes, its that time of the year again when all those who haven’t quite secured their playing rights for next season of want to improve their playing category have to sign up to Q (qualifying) School on their respective tours, or on a tour they’re aspiring to play. They then have to hope they have the best few weeks of their playing lives.

Each tour has a different format, but they are all cutthroat and brutal. And even if a player achieves some sort of status on a Tour, that does not always guarantee starts in tournaments. Most Q School qualifiers find themselves in quite a low category, often with limited starts.

Most Q Schools have at least two stages and there are different entry levels into the various Q School stages depending on how a player finished the current season in their respective Order of Merit, their OWGR (men), Rolex ranking (women) or amateur ranking. Some players have to start at the very beginning, usually a pre-qualifying stage while some are exempt into the final qualifying tournament.

The LPGA Q-Series

There are three stages of qualifying.

Pre-Qualifying 23-25 September 2026

Played over 54 holes at three sites – California, Texas, and Florida.

The field size is 120 players at each venue. At each venue play is over 54 holes with a cut after two rounds to top 65 and ties. The number of players advancing to Qualifying Stage is announced once plays starts. Usually about thirty and ties from each venue advance to Qualifying Stage. If you do not advance you have no status anywhere. Cost - USD $3,000.

Ozzies Trying Out This Year:

Ella Scaysbrook Q

Taylah Ellems (a) DNQ

Amelia Mehmet-Grohn DNQ

Also playing at the California venue is Bobby Stricker, the daughter of Steve Stricker. She did not qualify.

Qualifying Stage 3 – 6 November 2026 (Originally scheduled for 13-16 October but rescheduled due to bad weather and bad planning)

Plantation Golf and Country Club in Florida. Cost – USD $4,500

This year there are 201 players entered.

Qualifying Stage is played over 72 holes and there is no cut. Usually top 40 finishers and ties advance to Final Qualifying Stage.

Players who complete the four rounds and do not advance to Final Qualifying Stage earn Epson Tour Status. Those finishing up to position 80 get Category K status and thereafter it is Category N.

For context, the first player in Category K in 2026 was the 169th player in the list of eligible players on the Epson Tour and the first player in Category N was no. 204. That means in a regular field of 144 there need to be 60 players who do not want to enter that week before no. 204 gets a start. Kenzie Wright was no. 171 from Category K this season and had 14 starts.

Ozzies in the Field.

Steph Kyriacou and Hira Naveed are starting their Q Series journey at the Qualifying Stage as they were outside the top 150 on the LPGA Race to CME Globe rankings at the first cut-off date.

Maddison Hinson-Tolchard is inside the top 400 of the Rolex World Rankings and qualifies by that ranking.

Ella Scaysbrook qualified through pre-qualifying stage.

Final Stage - November 19-23, 2026

Played over NINETY holes with a cut after fourth round. Played at Magnolia Grove GC in Alabama. Cost – USD $3,500 if advanced from previous stages, $6,500 if exempt into Final Stage.

Top 25 and ties get an LPGA card for next season. Everyone who finished four rounds gets status in Category C on Epson Tour ranked by order of finish.

Kelsey Bennett is currently inside the top 10 on the LET Order of Merit so will get direct entry to Final Stage as long as she remains in that top 10.

Gabbi Ruffels will also be exempt into final stage as she is ranked inside the top 150 (142nd) as at the cut-off date of 4 October 2026.

Jeniffer Eliott and Caitlin Peirce are eligible to enter straight into Final Stage as the finished in the top 35 on the Epson Tour rankings.

The Ladies European Tour (LET)

The LET is similarly brutal with two stages of qualifying. Pre-Qualifying and Final Qualifying.

Pre-Qualifying Played at 4 sites in Marrakech, Morocco (Dec 10-12). This year there is also a pre-qualifying tournament in Bangkok, Thailand from 18-20 November. All venues play over 54 holes with no cut. Cost - €1,500

With a maximum of 312 entrants in Morocco and 120 in Thailand only about 20-22 from each venue will progress to Final Qualifying.

Amateur Jazzy Roberts is entered. Entries close on 9 November so we will update the list of Ozzie entries after that date. Much will depend on how players end up after their regular seasons finish. For those playing LET this season and who finish outside the top 70 on the Order of Merit then qualifying through Q School can get better status for 2026 and potentially entry into more tournaments.

Final Qualifying is also in Marrakech over NINETY holes played 16-20 December. Cost €1,500

PGA Tour

There is pre-qualifying and then three stages. This qualifying path leads to only FIVE PGA Tour cards. If you start at pre-qualifying and get through to Final Stage you have to play 270 holes of golf to try and earn 1 of 5 PGA Tour cards.

Pre-Qualifying - September 2026

Held over 54 holes on various dates in September at 8 sites across the country. Approximately 40 players from each course qualified to progress to First Stage.

Ozzies Ian Pienaar and Gareth Steyne(a)have qualified and will advance to First Stage.

First Stage – October 2026

Held over 72 holes at 14 sites on various dates in October across the USA. Approximately 20 payers from each First Stage tournament will advance to Second Stage. Medalists at First Stage sites, provided they don’t improve their position in later stages, earn PGA Tour Americas membership.

Joining Pienaar and Steyne in First Stage are players who have direct entry to this stage. They are:

Brody Harbinson

Sid Nadimpalli

Danny List

Jye Pickin

Samuel Slater

Jed Morgan

None of the Ozzies have played as at date of publishing. We will update after all first stage tournaments are complete.

Second Stage 1-4 December. Held over 72 Holes at five sites

Medallists at second stage sites, provided they do not improve their position in later stages, earn Korn Ferry Tour membership.

Final Stage 10-13 December

Another 72 holes over 2 sites in Florida Dec 10-13.

The top five finishers earn PGA Tour cards for 2027. The next 40 finishers and ties earn Korn Ferry Tour status with various exemptions for re-shuffles. The remainder of the finishers of final stage earn Korn Ferry Tour status and are subject to the first re-shuffle of the 2027 season. These players also have the option of membership of the PGA Tour Americas and are also subject to the first re-shuffle on that tour.

PGA Tour members who finish between 101 – 200 on the FedexCup rankings, up to a limit of 40 players, get direct entry to Final Stage. Cam Davis is currently 190th so if he can stay below 200 in the FedexCup rankings and be one in the first 40 entries he will get direct entry to Final Stage. The final tournament of the fall season of the PGA Tour ends on 22nd November and entries for Second Stage close the next day so Davis will know his fate by then. He has no other exemption on the Tour, (his exemption for winning the Rocket Mortgage Classic in 2024 expires this year) so will have to go through Q School to play next year.

The DP World Tour

DP World Tour qualifying is similarly brutal where if you make it to Final Stage you get to play a further ONE HUNDRED AND EIGHT holes of stroke play and the top 15 get DP World Tour playing rights.

First Stage September & October 2026

First Stage of DP World Tour Q School was held at 10 venues across Europe. Played over four rounds with a cut after 36 holes to those players within 10 shots of the lead. Approximately 20 players from each site advance to Second Stage.

Ozzies and Kiwis giving it a go at First Stage were:

Connor McDade Q

Phoenix Campbell Q

Cameron Harlock (NZ) Q

Jared Edwards (NZ) Q

Sam Jones (NZ) Q

Fraser Maclachlan (NZ) DNQ

Denzel Ieremia DNQ

Adam Brady DNQ

Harrison Crowe DNQ

Hayden Hopewell DQ

Louis Dobbelaar DNQ

Some other notables at First Stage were:

Jose Luis Ballester Q

Michael La Sasso Q

Chase Koepka DNQ

Second Stage Oct 29-Nov 1.

Played over 72 holes with no cut at four venues in Spain.

The list of Ozzies and Kiwi’s teeing it up at Second Stage is:

Fontanals Golf Club

Connor McDade

Anthony Quayle

Ryan Peake

Declan O’Donovan

Cameron Harlock (NZ)

Sam Jones (NZ)

Golf Las Pinaillas

Jack Buchanan

Doug Klein

Kevin Yuan

Isla Canela Links

Jay Mackenzie

Nick Voke (NZ)

Desert Springs Resort

Connor McKinney

Austin Bautista

Matias Sanchez

Jack Thompson

Lachlan Barker

Phoenix Campbell

Final Stage Nov 6-11

Again in Spain over 108 holes with a cut after 72 holes to the leading 60 players.

The Asian Tour

Unfortunately the Asian Tour has decided to cancel Q-School this year. The statement from the Tour referred to the cancellation of the International Series leading to less playing opportunities so they have decided to limit

It’s a long and challenging route to get playing status via Q School. And often the playing status awarded to successful competitors is pretty average and playing opportunities are limited. This means that there is extra pressure on when players actually get an entry into a tournament and early season success is critical as this means that a player can get entry into tournaments via the current season Order of Merit and not have to rely on their Q school status.

So good luck to all our Ozzie and Kiwi players teeing it up at all the Q Schools across the world. We will keep the results updated as the Q School season progresses.