DP World Tour : Q School Final Stage. Leaderboard Tee Times
Zander Lombard took a big step towards securing DP World Tour playing privileges for 2026 by jumping into a six-stroke lead on day four of Final Stage Qualifying School at INFINITUM.
The South African, who shared the overnight lead with Benjamin Follett-Smith from Zimbabwe, posted a -7 64 on the Lakes Course to reach -22 for the week, six clear of Australian Connor McKinney who occupies solo second.
Lombard got his fourth round off to the perfect start by birdieing his first two holes before adding two more gains at the fifth and sixth. A bogey at the seventh was cancelled out by birdies on eight and nine as he went out in 30 shots to separate himself from the field.
The 30-year-old added three more birdies and a solitary bogey on the back nine to extend his advantage, and he was delighted to remain on top in Tarragona.
“It was really good stuff again,” he said. “I hit the ball well and had good control over it, especially on the back nine when the wind started picking up and gusting in all different directions.
“The start set up perfect for me. I hit a gap wedge to about eight feet on the first and then hit the par five in two and two-putted, so the birdie-birdie start got some momentum going in the right direction. I just freewheeled and stuck to my process from there.
“It's easy to just sit back and start making sloppy errors, so I’m trying to stay focussed and stay in it for two more days.”
Lombard underwent ACL reconstruction surgery in July 2024 when he was a career-high 96th in the Official World Golf Rankings, before he returned to the course in March this year.
The South African is now in pole position to secure DP World Tour playing privileges through Qualifying School for the second time in his career having done so in 2018, and says the hard work done during his recovery is starting to pay off.
“My game has been trending, and it's nice to get some reward for the hard work behind the curtain,” he added.
Frenchman Quentin Debove fired a round-of-the-day -8 63 to climb into a share of third on -15 alongside Follett-Smith and DP World Tour winner, Matthew Baldwin.
Five players are one shot further back in sixth, including India’s Shubhankar Sharma, Canadian Aaron Cockerill, Englishman Nathan Kimsey, Dane Hamish Brown and American Davis Bryant.
A total of 60 players made the 72-hole cut, with the leading 20 players and ties after six rounds earning DP World Tour playing privileges (Category 18) for 2026.
The fifth round of Final Stage Qualifying School gets under way tomorrow at 9:00am local time, with Lombard teeing off alongside McKinney and Follett-Smith on the Lakes Course at 10:44am.
europeantour.com
Bryan Angus (edit)
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