PROFESSIONAL Paul Dwyer was set to make his European Tour debut when the West of Ireland Classic got under way at Galway today.

Dwyer, who plays out of Clitheroe, qualified for the event after a fine performance in the Beazer Homes Challenge Tour Championship at Bowood GC at the weekend.

All top 10 finishers at the event in Wiltshire were guaranteed a place in Ireland.

And Dwyer just scraped through, pipping 1998 Open hero Justin Rose in the process, after finishing ninth-equal with a five-under-par total of 283.

The 26-year-old former Whalley junior originally qualified for a place at Bowood after recording his third top-ten finish on this season's Mastercard Tour in the East Lothian Classic at Whitekirk a couple of weeks ago.

But a second round 73, which included a double bogey seven on the eighth, threatened to wreck his European dream before rounds of 68 and 72 saw him home on the Wiltshire course. Rose, who has endured a nightmare run since bursting on to the scene at Royal Birkdale 13 months ago, just missed out after finishing a shot behind Dwyer in joint 11th with a four-under-par total of 284.

Dwyer is now flying high in the order of merit as the scramble for exemption places in the European Tour's qualifying school hots up.

But his main target for the season is a top eight finish on the Mastercard tour which would take him through to stage two of the qualifying school and the chance to win his full tour card.

So far this year he's played in five Mastercard tournaments, finishing fifth, sixth and eighth, as well as two missed cuts.

That's a huge improvement on last year when he finished 41st in the Mastercard rankings.

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