Those players who make it through the 2024 DP World Tour Qualifying School will really earn their cards given the strength of the field for the Final Qualifying Stage.
Recent LIV Golf player Kalle Samooja is one of a number of notable names in the 156-man field that will tackle the toughest test in golf this week at Infinitum Golf Club in Spain.
The Final Stage for Q-School is a gruelling test of six rounds in Spain, with a cut after four rounds before the final 36-hole dash for DP World Tour cards.
Samooja was relegated from LIV Golf this year so the Finnish golfer is trying to get back on the DP World Tour by entering the Final Stage field in Spain - and he's joined by a host of well-known players in the field.
There are multiple DP World Tour winners joining Ryder Cup winners, veterans of the European game and up-and-coming amateur stars all looking to bag those precious playing privileges.
10 big names in 2024 Q-School Final StageKalle Samooja was relegated after one season in LIV Golf
(Image credit: Getty Images)
Kalle Samooja
The Finn won the 2022 European Open before then winning the LIV Golf Promotions event to book a spot on that tour for 2024 with Martin Kaymer's Cleeks GC. He was relegated after just one season though so is back trying to earn a DP World Tour return.
Stephen Gallacher
Now 50, the veteran Scot has four DP World Tour wins including back-to-back Dubai Desert Classic titles and was part of the 2014 Ryder Cup winning side at Gleneagles.
Edoardo Molinari
A three-time winner on the DP World Tour and 2010 Ryder Cup winner, the Italian is now also a stats guru and was part of Luke Donald's backroom staff for the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. He's also a vice-captain in New York next year but still wants to play full-time in Europe as well.
Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano
The 44-year-old Spaniard has seven DP World Tour victories under his belt including two Italian Open wins and the British Masters.
Eddie Pepperell
A two-time winner on the DP World Tour in 2018 - the Englishman won both the Qatar Masters and British Masters in the same season - Pepperell also finished T3 at The Players Championship in 2019. He finished just six places outside of the cut-off mark for retaining his card this year.
Ashun Wu
The first Chinese player to win three times on the DP World Tour, Wu was the unluckiest man on the Tour when he dropped two places to finish just one spot outside the cut-off for keeping his Tour card this season.
Jacob Skov Olesen
Yet another serious young talent coming out of Denmark, Jacob Skov Olesen became the first Dane to win The Amateur Championship in 2024 at Ballyliffin. He then finished T60 at The Open at Troon - coincidentally alongside fellow left-handers Phil Mickelson and Brian Harman.
Chris Wood
Low amateur at the 2008 Open, Chris Wood then finished T3 in The Open the following year as he won the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award on the DP World Tour. He's got three wins on Tour including the 2016 BMW PGA Championship, and also played at the 2016 Ryder Cup.
Oliver Wilson
Another former Ryder Cup player, Oliver Wilson has two DP World Tour wins under his belt and reached as high as 35th in the Official World Golf Ranking back in 2009.
Marc Warren
The Scotsman has four DP World Tour wins on his CV and a high of 48th in the world back in 2015.
Who else is playing the DP World Tour Q-School?The field as about as strong and deep as you could get, as along with the above 10 there are still more multiple winners on the DP World Tour taking part including James Morrison, Renato Paratore, David Horsey, Justin Harding, George Coetzee, Lee Slattery and Tom Lewis.
Talented Spaniard Adri Arnaus is joined by big-hitting South African Wilco Nienaber and amateur star Tiger Christensen.
Matthew Southgate has played 282 times on the DP World Tour and won €5.8m in prize money and is coming back for more, as is Dutchman Daan Huizing who has 148 appearances under his belt.
How many players from DP World Tour Q-School win Tour cards?The first target for all those involved is to be in that crucial top 65 places, and ties, after the first four rounds as that is where the cut will be made.
Play continues for a further two rounds and after the dust has all settled, the top 20 players and ties will win get their hands on those coveted DP World Tour cards.
It's down from 25 that were on offer last year but it's still the golden ticket to the top level of golf so is a reward well worth the marathon efforts this week.
