Playing in his third straight attempt at the Qualifying School, the 23-year-old led the gruelling 90-hole battle from the second round before carding three birdies against two bogeys for a five-day total of 15-under-par 340 at the Lake View Resort and Golf Club.

Follett-Smith, a one-time winner on the Sunshine Tour, was among the 35 graduates, who successfully secured their Asian Tour cards for the 2020 season after finishing inside top-35 and ties at the conclusion of the fifth and final round which was held on the A&B course.

“It’s amazing to win this. There are so many positives to take away from this week. It’s just one of the biggest for me. This was exactly what I wanted to do. Nothing has really sunk in yet. It’s just been tough,” Follett-Smith said.

Victorian Will Heffernan, who had advanced from the First Stage of the Qualifying School last week, made it a memorable two-week run after signing for a solid 66 to take second place. Like Follett-Smith, Heffernan, who was joined by fellow Aussies Scott Strange, Ben Eccles, Cory Crawford and Kevin Yuan in successfully nabbing a Tour card for 2020, also proved third time lucky in his Qualifying School attempt.

The graduates celebrate after securing their playing future for 2020. PHOTO: Asian Tour.

“I have been to a fair few of Qualifying Schools over the last couple of years and I have gained some good experiences which helped this week. To get my Asian Tour card for this season just means a lot to me,” said Heffernan, who turned pro in 2019.

FINAL LEADERBOARD

Sweden’s Malcolm Kokocinski successfully regained his Tour card after enduring a disappointing 2019 season. A closing 71 saw him share third place on 343 with 19-year-old Burmese Hein Sithu, who lived up to expectations by closing with a second straight 69.

Other notable graduates include Filipino veteran Antonio Lascuna, Korean hotshot Bio Kim, as well as former Asian Tour champions Strange, Natipong Srithong of Thailand and Masanori Kobayashi of Japan.

The 35 graduates feature players from Korea (8), Thailand (6), Australia (5), South Africa (3), Sweden (3), United States (2), Japan (2), France (1), India (1), Ireland (1), Myanmar (1), Philippines (1) and Zimbabwe (1).