DP World Tour Q-School: Who Earned A Card And Who Missed Out?

Main image of Jose Luis Ballester at DP World Tour Q-School with inset images of Byeong Hun An (top left) and Elvis Smylie (bottom right) — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Former LIV golfer Jose Luis Ballester earned co-medallist honors in the final stage of DP World Tour Q-School 2026, consequently becoming one of 20 players to earn full status at Europe's top table next term.

Ballester tied with fellow Spaniard Rocco Repetto Taylor on 32-under-par following six gruelling rounds at Infinitum's Lakes and Hills Courses, with a final-round 65 from both sealing the deal.

The former Fireballs GC pro wasn't the only LIV man to earn his way onto the DP World Tour in style, though, as Byeong Hun An finished T8th (-28) while reserves John Catlin and Ben Schmidt were among the final cluster of players to pick up a card.

An incredible 25-under was the score required to share 14th place, a number reached by Team Europe's Ryder Cup vice-captain, Edoardo Molinari courtesy of a closing 67.

Other golfers to make an immediate return to the DP World Tour included Australia's Cameron John - who finished solo third on 31-under - plus England's Tom Lewis and Spain's Ivan Cantero (T4th).

While Catlin's eight-under 63 was certainly an impressive feat, Germany's Philipp Katich posted the round of the day to squeeze in on the number.

A remarkable nine-under 62 at the Lakes Course helped him finish alongside Italy's Matteo Cristoni, USA's Jansen Preston and Sweden's Niklas Lemke just above the dotted line.

Albin Bergstrom, Marcus Helligkilde, Paul Beauvy, Ryan Lumsden, Jannik De Bruyn, Adam Blomme and David Nyfjall completed the group of players to earn full DP World Tour status in 2027.

WHICH PLAYERS EARNED DP WORLD TOUR CARDS VIA Q-SCHOOL?

Jose Luis Ballester
Rocco Repetto Taylor
Cameron John
Ivan Cantero
Tom Lewis
Adam Blomme
David Nyfjall
Byeong Hun An
Jannik De Bruyn
Ryan Lumsden
Paul Beauvy
Marcus Helligkilde
Albin Bergstrom
Niklas Lemke
John Catlin
Ben Schmidt
Edoardo Molinari
Jansen Preston
Philipp Kattich
Matteo Cristoni

WHICH BIG NAMES MISSED OUT ON A DP WORLD TOUR CARD AT Q-SCHOOL?

Over 150 players were originally listed in the field for DP World Tour Q-School Final Stage, so naturally plenty of notable names were not going to be successful.

Perhaps the biggest surprise of all was Elvis Smylie, who won the BMW Australian PGA Championship as recently as 2024.

However, the ex-LIV pro ended this week's Q-School test in a tie for 32nd on 22-under, just three strokes off a card, and will now likely try to make his way back via the HotelPlanner Tour or through invites into DP World Tour events next season.

Thomas Pieters also failed to pick up full status on the DP World Tour after ending in a share of 45th on 20-under-par.

Thomas Pieters during LIV Golf Hong Kong — Thomas Pieters is a six-time DP World Tour winner

The Belgian - who is a six-time DP World Tour winner - will likely rue a one-over round of 73 on Sunday as the primary factor for his disappointment.

Elsewhere, Spain's Pablo Larrazabal and Italy's Renato Paratore finished just outside of the top-50 once all was said and done, two strokes in front of former LIV player Luis Masaveu.

Among the players to miss the cut after round four included Kalle Samooja, Callum Tarren, Dylan Naidoo, Yannik Paul, Frederik Kjettrup, Jinichiro Kozuma, Ross Fisher and Luis Carrera.

Jonny Leighfield is our Staff News Writer who joined Golf Monthly just in time for the 2023 Solheim Cup and Ryder Cup. He graduated from the University of Brighton with a degree in Sport Journalism in 2017 and spent almost five years as the sole sports reporter at his local newspaper. During his time with Golf Monthly, Jonny has interviewed several stars of the game, including Robert MacIntyre, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, and Joaquin Niemann. An improving golfer himself, Jonny enjoys learning as much about the game as he can and recently reached his Handicap goal of 18 for the first time.