Eduard Rousaud will play on the Asian Tour in 2025. The Spanish golfer has earned his rights after completing an outstanding qualifying school. First, he overcame the always tricky pre-qualifier in Kanchanaburi and then delivered an impeccable final in Thailand. Nine consecutive days playing under par. Two weeks of golf to break into a major tour. Finally. Rousaud joins the top division at 24 years old. Ready to showcase the flood of golf he displayed during his brilliant amateur career. The downside was for Pep Anglés, who fell just short after a sensational but insufficient comeback.
Rousaud approached the final round within the card positions, top 35 without ties, but without having the objective secured by any means. In fact, he was in a complex situation. He had a two-shot cushion, a buffer that can skew your perspective. It’s not enough to be comfortable, but it can add pressure of not letting it slip away when you’re already there. It’s not an easy position to handle emotionally.
The reality is that the Barcelona golfer did wonderfully. At no point was the objective in jeopardy. The final round was played on the A and B courses of the Lake View Resort and Golf Club. Just in case, he started with a birdie on the 2nd hole to relieve pressure. Shortly after, an unexpected bogey came on the 5th, a par 5, but doubts were set aside. His reaction was immediate. Two consecutive birdies on holes 6 and 7 and the card was back on track. He further solidified the objective with another birdie on the 14th and finished with a bogey on the 16th, which was already inconsequential. He shot 69, two under par, and finished in 16th place, with a total of -12 and a two-shot margin over 35th place. Sensational.
Meanwhile, Pep Anglés started from a different position. He was one shot off the target in the final round. He needed to make a comeback and finish with a great day of golf to get inside the target. He began his round on the 10th and everything turned bleak and uphill. He made a birdie on the 11th, but what followed were three birdies on holes 12, 13, and 18. He was at -5, and the card would eventually be secured at -10. Therefore, he needed nine spectacular holes to secure the card. He came close…
The 31-year-old player from Llavaneras made a birdie on the 2nd and achieved a great eagle, his trademark, on the 5th. That put him at -8, two shots off what would eventually be the target. A bogey on the 7th made things almost impossible, although he signed another birdie on the 8th to at least give himself hope. Ultimately, his great reaction was insufficient (70 strokes), but he should leave Asia with the conviction and confidence of having proven himself perfectly competitive for the top division.
The seismic birdie of Charng Tai Sudsom
The cut with the top 35 was experienced dramatically. Everything pointed to the line being set at -9. In fact, there was a moment when eleven players were tied at that score, right at 35th place with two of them still to play the last hole. One of them was Darcy Breton and the other Charng Tai Sudsom. A bogey on that final hole would leave them out of the eleven-way tie for one spot, a par would put them in a nerve-wracking playoff, and a birdie would send ten other players packing. The latter happened. Breton made par, but Sudsom signed a seismic birdie on the 9th, the hole where he finished his round. Exactly 35 players have entered, with no need for a playoff.
The Japanese Takumi Murakami (-20) was the winner of the Asian Tour Qualifying School Final with a one-shot advantage over Kyungnam Kang (-19). The country with the most players in the top 35 was Thailand with five, followed by Japan, the United States, and Australia with four. The most exotic representation was Macau, with golfer Ngai Si.
