01시드 확보 향한 마지막 불꽃… 루이스와 헬리그킬데의 선두 다툼
DP 월드 투어 진출권이 걸린 퀄리파잉 스쿨(Q스쿨) 파이널 스테이지 최종 라운드를 앞두고 톰 루이스와 마르쿠스 헬리그킬데가 리더보드 최상단에서 어깨를 나란히 했다.
두 선수는 대회 기간 안정적인 경기력을 유지하며 공동 선두 자리를 지켜냈고, 다음 시즌 시드권을 확정짓기 위한 유리한 고지를 선점했다.
치열한 순위 싸움이 펼쳐지는 가운데, 최종전 결과에 따라 DP 월드 투어 출전권을 획득할 주요 선수들의 향방이 결정될 예정이다.
02Original (English) — DP World Tour
Tom Lewis and Marcus Helligkilde will enter the final round of DP World Tour Final Stage Qualifying School with a share of the lead.
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Englishman Lewis fired an eight under par 63 in round five at INFINITUM to reach 27 under par and vault to the top of the leaderboard, before Denmark’s Helligkilde shot a 67 to reach the leading number.
An incredibly packed leaderboard currently sees 18 players in place to earn playing status on golf’s global Tour for the 2027 season, with 22 under currently the mark to be inside the top 15 and ties.
It was Lewis who was the first to reach 27 under, getting off to an ideal start with four consecutive birdies from the second to the fifth.
The 35-year-old would make two bogeys on the back nine, but five more birdies, including at the 18th, saw him sign for 63 and his low round of the week so far.
Playing in the final group, Helligkilde too played the front nine without a blemish, birdieing the first before consecutive gains on the fifth and sixth saw him post 32 on the way out.
His sole bogey on the day, and second all week, came on the tenth, but he responded with birdies on the 13th and 18th to record his second consecutive 67.
Lewis’ route to Final Stage has not been ordinary. Following a Second Stage play-off to claim an alternate spot, he was preparing to board his flight home when he learned he was into the 156-player field.
Since then, five consecutive rounds in the 60s have seen the two-time DP World Tour winner move within touching distance of claiming his card.
"I think in the past I have probably taken things for granted and I have had a tough few years," he said. "Now, I sort of appreciate things a bit more.
"Just being here with the journey that I had from Second Stage and where I am now, you can’t write these things. There’s maybe fate there. I have only put myself in a good position so I think it’s important I go on and make it count.
"I think more importantly for me it is about going out there and trying to win this event. That’s what I tried to do today and I feel like I have got somewhere around there.
"I have probably wasted a lot of my years that we expected I should have been better but fingers crossed I can go out, do the job and go on from there."
For Helligkilde, Wednesday’s final round presents an ideal chance to cap off a perfect return after a torrid time of injury woes.
A pinched nerve in his spine saw the 30-year-old miss the entirety of the 2025 season, before returning to the DP World Tour this season thanks to a membership extension.
Keeping his spot in the top 15 tomorrow would see him return to the Tour where he spent four years, having won the HotelPlanner Tour's Road to Mallorca Rankings in 2021.
"I am looking to do my absolute best tomorrow and see how far up the leaderboard I can climb to see how many under par I can go," he said.
"It would be very nice because I love playing on the DP World Tour and that’s where I want to play. But if I just continue to do what I do maybe it’s going to be next year or in three years’ time, you never know."
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One stroke adrift of the leaders are Spanish duo Rocco Repetto Taylor and Jose Luis Ballester, Australia’s Cameron John and France’s Paul Beauvy.
Currently in a tie for 15th are Jansen Preston of the United States, Australia’s Jack Buchanan, and Swedish duo Adam Blomme and David Lundgren. Three-time DP World Tour winner Edoardo Molinari is currently one shot outside the top 15.
The final round of Final Stage Qualifying School begins on Wednesday at 9:00am local time, with Lewis and Helligkilde playing alongside Beauvy at 10:55am.