Shinichi Yokota, Matthew Cort, Lionel Alexandre, David Shacklady and Craig Farrelly are the five players who booked their tickets for the 2025 Legends Tour season following a tense and dramatic final round in beautiful conditions on Gloria’s New Course.
Yokota started the day four shots behind Cort, but he signed for a 68 – his fourth consecutive round in the 60s – to reach -17 and edge out the Englishman, who had to settle for a closing 73. The third time was a charm for the 52-year-old from Tokyo as he’d previously failed to earn his card at Q School in 2023 and 2024.
The Japanese star applied early pressure with three birdies in the first four holes. Cort turned in -1 but bogeys at the 12th, 13th and 16th meant the pair were tied with two holes to play. Both made a two at the par-3 17th and Yokota sealed the trophy with a birdie four at the final hole after an excellent wedge shot set up his clinching eight-foot putt.
“I’m proud,” said the two-time winner on the Japan Golf Tour. “I’m very, very happy. The training, golf and food are all very good here. I’ve been feeling in good condition because I’ve been jogging and eating good food this week. I want to win on the Legends Tour this year.”
Cort turned 50 last September and he booked his place on the Legends Tour at the first time of asking in impressive fashion, despite his disappointing final round. He shot scores of 68, 66 and 65 over the first three days – dropping only one shot along the way – but four bogeys and three birdies in the final round meant he had to settle for 2nd on -16.
Cort played on the DP World Tour for three seasons between 2002 and 2004 and has represented Great Britain and Ireland in the PGA Cup on multiple occasions.
“I had the ball on a piece of string for three days, and then it was tough today,” he said. “But the top five is obviously where you want to be and that was the main goal at the start of the week, so although I’m slightly disappointed not to finish off and win the tournament, second is still good.
“I’m glad it’s over, but it’s been a good test. I’m looking forward to the season now. My game is good enough and I’m coming to win. It may not turn out, but that’s my goal.”
Lionel Alexandre was one of two players to jump into the top five in the fourth round as he made a fast start with three birdies in a row from the 2nd and never looked back. He reached the turn in -4 and picked up a couple more shots on 14 and 18 to finish in 3rd on -15. His bogey-free 66 was the best round of the day by two shots.
It’s the third successive year that the big-hitting Frenchman has finished inside the top five at Q School. He was 34th on last year’s MCB Road to Mauritius after missing the last four tournaments of the season due to ill health.
“It would be really good for me if all the tournaments were played here,” said a beaming Alexandre. “I’ve had my stepson with me this week, so that’s been really special. It’s been so tough emotionally and physically because I was injured at the end of last year.
“I’m happy to be back, and hopefully I will have a better year than the last two. I hope I’m going to win one this year. It’s going to be my third year on the Legends Tour and I’ve seen some friends like Greig Hutcheon and Simon Griffiths win tournaments, so now I know I can do it. I want to be more confident, and we’ll see what happens.”
Shacklady, a three-time winner on the Legends Tour, played his way back onto the circuit by finishing 4th on -13. He showed incredible determination to overcome injuries to both knees and only made three bogeys all week. He shot 70 in the final round, with vital birdies at the par-3 15th and the par-5 18th.
“I feel like crying,” said the 57-year-old. “It means everything to still be on the Legends Tour. That was horrible. That’s the only way to describe it. I’ve played great all week. I struggled early and then just found some way to get it over the line.
“I’ve had a few injuries and drifted down the MCB Road to Mauritius standings, so I only got eight starts before the Tour Championship last year. I played great the back end of last season to get into the Tour Champs, but I wasn’t looking at many starts this year. I’m extremely proud of what I’ve done this week. I’ve been here before, but it doesn’t make it any easier. If anything, it makes it a bit harder. You’ve just got to dig in, and luckily enough, it came off.”
There was huge drama on the final green when it came to deciding the final card. Farrelly had climbed the leaderboard with seven birdies in a gutsy 68, including a two-putt birdie on the last hole, to post -12 in the clubhouse. But a play-off was looking likely with Cameron Clark also at -12 and Chris Gane on -11 as they played the 18th in the group behind.
Clark found the edge of the water with his second shot and after removing his right shoe and sock he took two swipes to move the ball back onto grass as he made a heartbreaking double-bogey. Gane just stayed dry with his second shot but his chip from the steep bank came up 16 feet short and his birdie effort agonisingly burned the edge of the hole to leave him one shot shy of graduation.
Farrelly, who won Stage One of Q School earlier in the week, was preparing for a play-off on the chipping green when he discovered his -12 total was enough for the fifth and final card.
“It’s fantastic. I’m quite surprised because I was thinking ‘this is definitely going into a play-off.’ This week was crunch time for me. It’s now or never and there were times when I could feel it slipping away, and I just had to dig in. In these situations, you’ve just got to keep on going, and I think with age comes a little bit of perseverance and graft.
“I’ve been working with a new coach, and it’s really helped with my ball-striking and really upgraded my short game. I can see it really works under pressure.”
The 17 players who made the 54-hole cut but failed to finish inside the top five can take some consolation in earning the newly created category 10 ranking that enables them to join the Legends Tour and may secure some starts this year to help improve their status.
Click here to see the final Qualifying School leaderboard and the 2025 Legends Tour schedule. The first event of the season is the Staysure Marbella Legends at Aloha GC, Spain, from February 14th-16th.
