Higgins misses out on European Tour

Ireland’s David Higgins has missed the cut at the fourth round of Qualifyign School in Spain and will not be competing on the European tour next season.

Higgins shot a level par 70 this afternoon to finish on three-under-par overall, a shot outside the cut mark.

England's Nick Dougherty also failed to progress to the next round, capping off a miserable season for the 29-year-old.

Sam Hutsby shot a one-under 71 to stay top of the leaderboard.

Hutsby has been at the top of the standings since a stunning round of 60 on day one and looks set to make a return to the European Tour after narrowly losing his card in 2010.

The 23-year-old leads fellow Englishman David Sullivan by two strokes with his tally of 16 under, with a third Englishman David Dixon, South Africa's Branden Grace and France's Victor Riu tied for third on 13 under.

A total of 70 plays have made the cut for the final 36 holes.

"I got off to a great start and so did Andy [Sullivan], so we were bouncing off each other early on," said Hutsby.

"It looked like we were going to run away with it, which would have been nice. But there were some tough flags out there today, and I got a bit greedy.

"It's disappointing not to have broken 70 again, because my goal was to shoot six rounds in the 60s. But I'm still in a great position, so if I can smooth out some of the rougher edges and cut out the silly mistakes, I should be there or thereabouts at the end."

The four-under-par cut mark is the lowest 72-hole cut in the history of the Qualifying School, leaving last year's final stage winner Simon Wakefield missing out, alongside three-time tour winner Nick Dougherty.

Elsewhere, Norway's Knut Borsheim hit a hole-in-one for the second day running.