The final day of the PDC’s 2014 Qualifying School saw Steve West, Nigel Heydon, Joe Murnan and Jason Hogg all win automatic PDC Tour Cards, while further stars including Holland’s Christian Kist and Austrian pair Zoran Lerchbacher and Rowby-John Rodriguez will also join the PDC circuit this year.
The 2014 Qualifying School has seen 360 players competing for places on the PDC’s ProTour and Challenge Tour circuits across four days of action in Wigan.
With four players per day winning an automatic Tour Card, West, Heydon, Murnan and Hogg completed the series of 16 players to secure their spot on the ProTour outright.
They will be joined by 24 players from the Q School Order of Merit, which is based on ranking points won by other players across the four days, with the standings headed by experienced Brian Woods but also containing several new faces.
However, yesterday’s four automatic Tour Card winners all had at least one year’s experience on the PDC circuit, with both Steve West and Nigel Heydon overcoming medical issues to win back their professional status.
A five-time Lakeside Championship qualifier, West had won a Tour Card alongside brother Tony at Qualifying School two years ago but had major hip surgery in October 2012 before returning to the circuit last February.
“I had to have a hip replacement and a bone graft and it’s not been easy for me, but I’m getting back there now,” he added. “I’ve had to change my action a bit as I stand more straight-on now.
“It’s nothing too dramatic but it’s a different feeling at the oche – fortunately it’s a good feeling!”
West had been facing the prospect of dropping down to play on the PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour after he had been defeated in the first round on the previous three days in Wigan.
However, the 38-year-old from Waltham Abbey regained the form which had taken him to the last 16 of the 2013 UK Open as he swept through the field on Saturday to regain his Tour Card.
He defeated Sandy Stephen, Jack Hill, Mike Norton in his opening three games before edging out Robert Turner 5-4 in the last 32, before defeating Vernon Sheppard 5-2 to set up a decider with Holland’s Mareno Michels, which he won 5-3.
“I was really down in the dumps on Friday but the feeling couldn’t be any more different now – I’m so happy,” said West, whose Dutch-based brother Tony also lost his Tour Card at the end of 2013 but is set to compete in European Tour events this year.
“I was under a lot of pressure having left it to the final day, but I’ve got through it and it’s so hard coming to Qualifying School because there are so many players who you don’t know who can play great darts and you’re never sure what to expect.
“The quality’s so high now, so I’m very proud and I can look forward to this year now.”
Leamington Spa’s Heydon, meanwhile, has had to adapt his throwing style after his previous position, which saw him leaning heavily forward, had led to back problems.
The 43-year-old has also had to get used to throwing with glasses in the past 18 months as his form dipped, but he showed signs of the form which has seen him qualify for two World Championships, the Grand Slam of Darts and five UK Opens in securing his Tour Card.
He opened the day with a whitewash of Roy Lowe, and defeated Dave Honey, Alan Derrett, Brett Claydon and Ryan Palmer for the loss of only five legs in four games, before another 5-0 win, against Sleaford’s Scottish-born Stuart Anderson, sealed his progression.
“It was very different being in Q School and it’s been very hard work for the past four days,” admitted Heydon, who is nicknamed “The Undertaker”.
“I played so well on the first day but lost to Kist, and I thought that was going to be my day, and I had a couple of tough draws on the next two days, but today I did the job.
“It means so much to me because I didn’t want to drop down to playing on the Challenge Tour, but I’ve proven that I can still do it.
“I’ll keep persevering and I can start afresh now. It’s taken me a year to get used to the glasses and to throwing differently, but I’ll keep working on my game and I’m getting there.”
Bolton’s Joe Murnan also secured his third year as a Tour Card professional as he defeated Austria’s Zoran Lerchbacher 5-1 in their decider.
The 30-year-old, who has reached the last 32 one in his two previous UK Open appearances, also defeated Scott Johnson, Shane Edwards, Tony Richardson, Glenn Spearing and Hong Kong’s Scott MacKenzie on Saturday, and said: “I’m delighted.
“I’ve been fairly consistent across the four days but there was still pressure coming into the fourth day because I didn’t have enough points for a Tour Card.
“The last couple of years have toughened me up and I’m not worried about playing any player now, whereas it was a bit overwhelming at first, so hopefully I can have a good year.
“I’m more settled and looking to have a big year – but I’m going to celebrate first by going to my son’s eighth birthday party!”
Aberdeen’s Jason Hogg continued his success at Wigan’s Robin Park Tennis Centre as he won through to claim an automatic Tour Card – having qualified for last June’s UK Open by reaching the quarter-finals and semi-finals of qualifying events at the venue last year.
Hogg had competed in 2013 as a PDPA Associate Member after missing out on a Tour Card at Q School, but went all the way this time.
Having opened Saturday’s play with a 5-4 win over Stephen Gallimore, he then defeated John Crossley and John Goldie before being pushed all the way by Gibraltar’s Dyson Parody.
He then overcame Michael Barnard 5-3 in the last 16 before a 5-2 win over Mick Todd secured an automatic Tour Card.
“It’s a very happy place for me and I’m glad Q School was in Wigan!” he said. “I’ve had success here before and winning a Tour Card is what I came here to do this time, so I’m really happy to have achieved it.
“It got a bit stressful as the days went on, but I showed that I can handle it and I kept focused and kept my head.
“I love to play the top players and it’s great that I’ll get the chance to do that week-in, week-out now. I want to get more and more experience and I’m really excited about the year.”
Hogg’s achievement means that he joins another Aberdeen-based ace, John Henderson, on the PDC ProTour, while Lanarkshire’s Gary Stone won a Tour Card 24 hours earlier.
And with three Scottish players – Peter Wright, Robert Thornton and Gary Anderson, competing in Premier League Darts, Hogg added: “It’s a great time for Scottish darts at the moment.
“The sport’s getting bigger in Scotland and a lot more players are giving it a shot now, so I’ll be in good company on the circuit.”
Cumbrian-born Woods, now based in Aberdeen, had reached the last eight in the first two days and topped the final Q School Order of Merit as he won back his PDC Tour Card.
Austria’s Lerchbacher, who made his World Championship debut last month, finished tied in second place with Mick Todd, Pete Dyos and the Isle of Wight’s Keegan Brown.
Oxfordshire pair Stuart White and Ian Moss – who also qualified for the World Championship last month – were further Tour Card winners from the Q School Order of Merit, with Somerset’s Steve Grubb, former Lakeside Champion Christian Kist and Austrian teenager Rowby-John Rodriguez also picking up 14 points.
Other Tour Card winners from the rankings were Derbyshire’s Scottish-born Jim Walker, Scunthorpe’s Dave Ladley, Holland’s Mareno Michels, Scottish pair Mark Barilli and Jamie Bain, Romford’s Michael Barnard, County Durham’s David Dodds, Coventry’s Steve Hine, York’s Terry Temple, Sleaford duo Ross Twell and Stuart Anderson, Gillingham’s Conan Whitehead, Swindon’s Mark Cox and Irish ace William O’Connor.
Cheshire’s Stuart Bousfield and Holland’s Joey ten Berge missed out on a Tour Card through a count-back of points won throughout the event, but will be the first PDPA Associate Members in line to top up the field for 128-player Players Championships during 2014.
Players who missed out a PDC Tour Card now assume PDPA Associate Member status, meaning that they will compete in the PDC’s new 16-event PDC Unicorn Challenge Tour, which offers £10,000 prize money per tournament.
Associate Members will also be able to enter the six UK Open Qualifiers, the qualifying events for all eight European Tour events during the year and the PDPA World Championship Qualifiers, as well as topping up the field for Players Championship events should all Tour Card Holders not enter.