Hereford golfer David Park faces a nerve-racking visit to the European Tour qualifying school if he is to keep his card for next season.

Park was one of the biggest casualties to finish outside the top 115 in the Volvo Order of Merit and thus miss out on automatic qualification for next year.

The 27-year-old won the Compaq European Grand Prix at Slaley Hall in only his second tournament in 1999, but ended this season 135th in the rankings, with a best finish of equal 14th at the recent Cannes Open.

A placing of joint 56th at the Italian Open yesterday, ending on a five-under-par total of 283, was not enough for Park who now faces a gruelling 108-hole contest in Spain from November 14-19.

Evesham's Jeremy Robinson also has to face the qualifying school again after finishing 146th, although he finished a creditable joint 23rd yesterday on 12 under par.

Droitwich's John Bickerton, who did not play in Italy, comfortably kept his card in 47th place, a second place at the Madeira Island Open being his best finish of the season.

Meanwhile, the Tour could be threatened with legal action after Scotland's Alastair Forsyth missed out on his card by just one place.

Forsyth finished 116th after the Italian Open -- won by Frenchman Gregory Havret -- but Forsyth's manager Ian Doyle is unhappy that Sergio Garcia has taken one of those 115 places despite having only played 10 Tour events this season, one less than required for European Tour membership.

However, all players including Garcia, who qualified for the $5million American Express Championship in St Louis -- cancelled in the wake of the terrorist attacks of September 11 -- have been credited with 'playing' the tournament, therefore taking Garcia up to the required 11 tournaments.

If the event was not counted then Garcia would be taken off the Order of Merit and everyone below him would move up one place, making Forsyth safe in 115th.

Doyle said: "We all understand and appreciate the circumstances surrounding the cancellation of the Amex but Garcia has profited out of it by the Tour allowing the cancelled event to count towards the 11 he must play."