Louis de Jager was relieved to come through a gruelling week where nerves and a lack of sleep were just part of the hassle in trying to secure his playing rights on the European Tour.
A bogey-free 65 was the culmination of a long road to the elite tour for the 31-year-old South African.
De Jager turned pro after bumper 2007 where he won the South African Amateur Stroke Play Championship, South African Amateur Stroke Match Championship, Gauteng North Etonic Open and Boland Open.
It took just a year to claim his first Sunshine Tour win – the Suncoast Classic – before a long wait for titles two and three. Both came in 2014 – the VOG Wild Coast and Nedbank Affinity Cup – before another prolonged spell waiting to win again.
His fourth Sunshine Tour win came last month at the Sun Sibaya Challenge, a win that sent him off to Lumine Golf Club high in confidence.
‘It is unbelievable,’ he said shortly after confirmation that he’d done enough.
‘It has been a hell of a week and mentally you try to prepare as much as you can as everyone tells you it is a long week, you don’t sleep much and you’re quite nervous, so I’m just so glad that I have got it done.’
De Jager joins Zander Lombard as the only two South Africans to earn their cards via Q-School.
