Tour Qualifying School - San Roque

Nobody wants to be there, be it players, caddies - or us in the workshop. It is a week of sheer hell for everyone and nobody has any fingernails left at the end of it! I'm talking about European Tour Qualifying School at San Roque in November. It is a horrendous week, a make or break week which will determine whether professionals - budding and veterans - will have playing rights on the European Tour for the following year. We were there again this year, of course, witnessing the joy and the depths of despair felt by the touring pros, especially the ones who use our clubs.

For every bad luck tale there is a good luck story, though, and we at Mizuno had a real heart-warmer. It concerned one of our Japanese contracted players, Taichi Teshima. After two wins on the Japanese Tour, Taichi decided he'd try his luck on the European Tour. All week he was knocking on the door, hovering around the 35 top places that would earn cards for the 2007 season. He was one of the 80, from the 156 that started in hope, that made the four-round cut and survived to the final two rounds. Then when push came to shove, Taichi made his valiant effort.

In the closing round he needed to make pars on the last three holes to be sure of a card. At the tough 16th he got the first part of the job done. Then on 17 he chipped in for his par after being blocked out by a tree. The 18th was playing into a gale and Taichi was certainly not alone in coming up short of the green after playing two woods. He then, though, played an exquisite chip and run from 45 yards - and his ball found the middle of the cup! That took him to two-under, earning him the 19th card. It's going to be really interesting plotting his progress now.

Taichi was one of 11 players using Mizuno irons who prevailed at a San Roque bedevilled by bad weather. We all had to adjust our travel arrangements when the school had to add on a couple of days, taking it up to November 16, because the Old Course was unplayable at first, due to torrential rain. With only half the field able to play each day, only two rounds had been completed after four days. As if the pressure on the poor pros is not enough.

Many a tear was shed by those not making the cut to the final two rounds - no matter how long in the tooth some of them were. And there were more tears when those who did make the final two rounds, found their best was not quite good enough. Not everyone could finish as well as Taichi and I witnessed several players losing out right at the death, on the 18th. Nowhere will you see a scoreboard so avidly scanned.

We'd arrived on the Monday in time to provide a couple of days' service from the workshop and, as usual, it was one of our busiest weeks of the year. Many of the players had not had access to the workshop for some time, so they were almost trying to get a year's worth out of us - for instance, checking loft and lies and renewing grips - in a couple of days. Then, with the first two rounds being fragmented, it gave the players extra chance to visit the workshop on their day off.

It was particularly hard knowing some old close friends would have to ply their trade on the Challenge Tour instead of making a full card. The Challenge Tour, though, provides wonderful groundwork for the main tour - and Mizuno is to the fore with the lads who are trying to break through.

It's been quite a success story. Mark Pilkington, who won the Challenge Tour order of merit, was one of 10 players in the top 20 using Mizuno irons who have won full tour cards for 2007. We had six players in the top ten too. This really shows the popularity of our products. There aren't too many club contracts offered to players on the Challenge Tour, so most of them can use what they like. It's fantastic for Mizuno that such a large number choose to use our irons. That says so much about Mizuno's quality and performance.

The usual hectic end to the European Tour season included a debut for the workshop in Majorca. There was plenty of pressure there, too, for the players who were trying to do well enough in the Majorca Classic to avoid the dreaded qualifying school. When Mizuno player David Carter did enough to keep his card it all seemed well worth the long haul, including a seven-hour ferry journey from Valencia to Palma.

After Majorca it was on to the tour's grand finale, the Volvo Masters at Valderrama. Mizuno's top man Luke Donald finished second. Luke's had another fine year (he'll be rounding up his seasons both sides of the Atlantic in a final diary of the year very soon) and that's showed with a world ranking of eighth. To think he was 134th when he first contracted to Mizuno only two years or so ago.

Marcel Siem, Soren Kjeldsen and Gary Orr also flew the Mizuno flag high at Valderrama. The workshop is now undergoing refurbishment and I'll now be looking at player contracts, while also ensuring we have enough stock to keep them going for another year - which I hope will be a successful one for us all.

Have a great Christmas.

Pic: Caddy prepares for the final push at San Roque

Andy Kikidas - Workshop Manager