Q School would be more exciting to watch than 90% of golf tournaments. It has to be televised from now on

I don’t have many followers on X, formerly Twitter. You probably know that. Actually, you don’t because you probably don’t follow me.

I post about golf, about football, and the odd comment which, in my own head, is hysterical. But due to my lack of following, I don’t get much engagement.

This is fine. I won’t be paying for Elon’s blue tick out of principle. I don’t care enough to buy followers. If something I post does take off, I know I’ve posted something half decent, or perhaps a story that golf fans have enjoyed reading.

This brings me to Q School last year on the DP World Tour, where over 150 players were competing for playing status on the European circuit in 2026. It is known to be cut-throat, gut-wrenching and [insert any other hyperbolic adjective].

My X account was awakened from its coma in this most memorable week I speak of, because I was posting about Q-School. I am a fan of Eddie Pepperell (who at this stage isn’t), the two-time DP World Tour winner who has fallen out of form and somewhat out of love with the game in recent years.

I was posting about Pepperell’s progress. He is a hugely popular figure in the UK golf scene, not least because he is a member of one of the best golf podcasts around, other than the ones on NCG’s platforms, of course.

These posts had comments, likes and general support for Pepperell. While he is popular, I was attracting engagement because it was Q School, which is about livelihood and golfers chasing dreams.

It is an event of pride, genuine heartbreak and jeopardy. It is real, and if it were put on television, I would be absolutely shocked if it didn’t draw more eyeballs than the vast majority of golf tournaments, even where the PGA Tour is concerned.

I have watched golf for about 15 years now. Not every week, but I’ve been invested and watch where I can. The DP World Tour first caught my interest in the game, and then, of course, I began staying up to watch the PGA Tour on Sundays.

During the main golf season, a handful of reporters used to compare viewing figures between the PGA Tour events and LIV Golf events that are held in the same week. The PGA Tour absolutely dwarfed its Saudi-funded opponent when it came to tuned-in televisions, and the same chasm would probably exist with the DP World Tour, too.

The cost of covering golf tournaments isn’t lost on me, but hear me out. Who would be against dropping events such as the Bapco Energies Bahrain Championship or the Austrian Alpine Open from the tele, if it meant more resources and investment could be made in broadcasting Q School?

It’s easier said than done. I know, but would that be such a bad thing?

I have not one thing against those events. They were won by great players who don’t need to go to Q School. But for the reasons I’ve discussed above, why can’t even the final two rounds of Q School be on Sky Sports’ TV schedule?

We’re not asking for all six rounds. We just want some human interest in golf, a tournament that isn’t about prize money. Q School is endlessly more compelling than a huge chunk of DP World Tour and PGA Tour events as well.

I know for a fact that golf fans are sitting on their phones refreshing the app to look at the leaderboard, feeling helpless and left out in the dark when it comes to coverage.

Heck, if an event can resuscitate my X account, then people must be watching, and people must care.

If you think I’m talking nonsense, here is what Sky Sports commentator and former Q School participant Ewen Murray once said to me:

“I always thought that should be televised. It’s the most pressure – I had to go there once, and I missed (out) in 1989. It’s the most pressure that a player faces because the prize is so big, and failure is so bad because you’ve got to wait another year before you can have another go.

“It would make for great television – when you think 72 holes, to have a good first round and hang on to the lead or hang on being in contention until Sunday, that’s a long time. You add another 36 holes to that and one bad round and that can be the end of it. If you have a bad round in the fifth round, you haven’t got time to recover. The pressure in that is so different to any other tournament in the sport, and I always thought television should’ve had it on.

“Not for the whole six days, but after the cut is made after four rounds, you show the last two rounds and I think a lot of people would be fascinated by that, and they’d be surprised by A, the quality and B, the pressure these players are under.

“You’ve got someone taking a double bogey at 13 and the next thing they’ve gone from the 12th card to outside the 25th card. It would be good, I think it’d be excellent, I’m just amazed that television companies haven’t said look, we’re having a go at this.”

What do you make of the DP World Tour Q School TV debate? Should there be a DP World Tour Q School TV debate? Tell us on X!

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