Shubhankar shares second place at the DP World Tour Q School finals

Shubhankar Sharma in action during the DP World Tour Qualifying School Final in Tarragona, Spain, where he finished tied for second place. Image courtesy of DPWTQ School.

By Rahul Banerji

A tie for second place gave Shubhankar Sharma playing rights for the 2026 DP World Tour season at the six-round Qualifying School in Tarragona, Spain on Tuesday.

The 29-year-old two-time DP World Tour winner finished the final stages of the DPWT Q School on 24 under par 404 alongside Australians Connor McKinney and Aaron Cockerill of Canada.

Finished 178th in the 2025 Race to Dubai Rankings, Shubhankar was in top form, improving almost by the day before finishing with cards of 70, 69, 66, 67, 66 and 66, making him one of 20 players to earn playing privileges for next season.

At the top, South Africa’s Zander Lombard completed a flawless six rounds at INFINITUM with the qualifying race by a margin of 13 strokes, closing with an 8 under par 63, joining earlier rounds of 64, 69, 67, 64 and 64, for a total of 37 under 391 for the week.

Lombard lost his card last month after a delayed start to his season following a seven-month absence due to injury, the DP World Tour said. “It hasn’t dawned on me yet, but it’s what I came here for,” Lombard said in Spain.

“So surreal. It’s hopefully the springboard for what the season has in store.”

Tough week

“It was a great week. A tough week, a long marathon. It was easy to just sit back and relax and make a few mistakes, but my caddy and I had fun, we stayed focused all week and that led to the score we have on the board.”

“It’s been a tough year and a half, from knee surgery, learning to walk again, to trying to find my game over the last six months and then really starting to enjoy the game again over the last two months.

“It’s trending and hopefully I can keep this form going for the next year.”

Portugal’s Daniel Rodrigues, ranked 2,449 in the Official World Golf Ranking, recorded a final score of 68 to finish tied for fifth at 22 under, alongside England’s Nathan Kimsey.

Frenchman Quentin Debove, Argentinian Andres German Gallegos, Brazilian Frederico Biondi Figueiredo, American Hunter Logan and Mike Toorop of the Netherlands joined Rodrigues in completing all three phases to earn playing privileges.

Dramatic wave

England’s Eddie Pepperell birdied the final four holes to earn his playing rights for 2026 in dramatic fashion, while compatriot and fellow DP World Tour winner Matt Baldwin completed birdie-eagle to earn a quick return.

“I’m actually pretty proud of myself,” Pepperell said. “That was a tough day (with) a great finish.

“I didn’t have too many goals going into these two weeks. I was honestly just looking forward to playing some golf and hoping I would play well.

“This week has felt like a struggle at times and never more so than today at mid-round, but I persevered. I’m elated.”

Another former Tour winner, Adri Arnaus, birdied three of his last four holes to earn his card, while Norwegian Andreas Halvorsen and Thailand’s Sadom Kaewkanjana were able to celebrate their success in the six-round event.

The American Davis Bryant, the Zimbabwean Benjamin Follett-Smith and Gregorio De Leo from Italy reached the Final Stage for the second year in a row.

Frenchman Alexander Levy and Scot Marc Warren, who have nine DP World Tour titles between them, were among five players who finished just outside the top 20, tied by just one shot.

Qualifications for the final stage

Zander Lombard (RSA) 64 69 67 64 64 63
Connor McKinney (AUS) 62 73 68 67 65 69
Shubhankar Sharma (IND) 70 69 66 67 66 66
Aaron Cockerill (CAN) 69 66 70 67 67 65
Daniel Rodrigues (POR) 69 66 69 69 65 68
Nathan Kimsey (ENG) 68 67 70 67 67 67
Quentin Debove (FRA) 69 68 71 63 67 69
Davis Bryant (USA) 72 68 62 70 64 72
Benjamin Follett-Smith (ZIM) 66 67 67 71 65 72
Matthew Baldwin (ENG) 67 66 70 68 68 69
Gregory of Leo (ITA) 67 66 69 71 68 67
Andreas Halvorsen (NOR) 66 69 68 70 66 70
Adri Arnaus (ESP) 72 65 68 70 65 69
Eddie Pepperell (ENG) 70 71 67 68 67 66
Jack Yule (ENG) 68 74 66 69 67 65
Andres German Gallegos (ARG) 71 67 71 67 65 69
Sodom Kaewkanjana (THA) 70 69 66 70 67 68
Frederico Biondi Figueiredo (BRA) 67 67 70 74 64 68
Hunter Logan (USA) 66 73 69 68 67 67
Mike Toorop (NED) 70 66 73 69 65 67

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