Kuala Lumpur: The Asian Tour Qualifying School presented by Sports Authority of Thailand has attracted over 700 players from across the globe as they seek playing rights on the 2014 Asian Tour season.

Over 600 players have signed up for the First Stage, which will be played over two weeks in Hua Hin, Thailand from January 29-February 1 and February 5-8.

Approximately another 130 players will be exempted directly into the all-important Final Stage from February 12-15 where they will be joined from those who successfully negotiate past Stage One.

The top-40 and ties at the Final Stage will earn Asian Tour cards for 2014.

All Qualifying School entrants will also be eligible to compete on the burgeoning Asian Development Tour (ADT), which has become a career pathway for professionals to hone their skills and gain experience before entering the elite Asian Tour.

The ADT, which will conclude its 2013 season with the on-going Linc Group Jakarta Invitational as its 16th leg, carries Official World Golf Ranking status and rewards its top three players at the end of the season with playing rights on the Asian Tour in the following year.

For the First Stage, Japan has the number highest of participants with a total of 94 entries followed by Australia (82), Korea (82), the United States (63), England (41), Thailand (40) and Chinese Taipei (37).

Sweden (19), Singapore (11), Canada (11), Spain (10), the Philippines (10), France (10), Malaysia (10), Finland (8) and New Zealand (8) will also be represented at the Qualifying School.

The Qualifying School has also received entries from China, Germany, Italy, Denmark, Scotland, India, Ireland, South Africa, Hong Kong, Norway, Portugal, Brunei Darussalam, Kenya, Monaco, Pakistan, Switzerland, Venezuela and Wales.
 

The First Stage Section A will be held at the Imperial Lakeview Golf Club and Royal Thai Army Sports Centre in Thailand, Hua Hin while the First Stage Section B will be held at the Imperial Lakeview, Royal Thai Army Sports Centre and Springfield Royal Country Club.

The Final Stage will be held at Springfield Royal and Imperial Lakeview.

The strong number of entries reinforces the immense appeal of the Asian Tour as the Qualifying School is the only pathway to compete on the region’s premier Tour and ADT. With the Olympic Games looming in 2016 which golf will be reintroduced as a medal sport, players in the region will be aiming to garner Official World Golf Ranking points through the Asian Tour and ADT.
 

This year’s Qualifying School hopefuls will be aiming to emulate the feats of past Qualifying School graduates such as Thai heroes Thongchai Jaidee, a three-time Asian Tour Order of Merit champion, and Kiradech Aphibarnrat, who will be installed as the 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit winner at next week’s season-finale King’s Cup Golf Hua Hin, and Noh Seung-yul of Korea, Asia’s youngest number one in 2010.

Other graduates who have become Tour champions include Korea’s Charlie Wi, India’s Shiv Kapur and Arjun Atwal, England’s Simon Dyson, Japan’s Tetsuji Hiratsuka, Malaysia’s Ben Leong, Australian Scott Hend and Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh.