West Waterford's Seamus Power gave himself the best possible Christmas present when he brilliantly won his Web.com Tour card at the Q-School finals in Florida last night.

The 27-year old graduate of East Tennessee State University produced the best performance by an Irishman at the revamped Q-School since Richie Coughlan and Keith Nolan qualified for the 1998 PGA Tour season. Final scores

Nolan and Coughlan would regain their cards again for the 2001 season but while the system has now changed, offering access only to the PGA Tour's second tier circuit, the Web.com Tour has proved to be a rich source of talent with many players graduating and going on to win on the main tour.

Seamus Power talks about his year and his ambitions at Q-School

Power finished tied for fifth on 16 under par at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens, 11 strokes behind medalist Brad Fritsch of Canada, who won the event by seven strokes on 27 under.

"Thanks to everyone for the support and kind messages this week!" Power tweeted. "Haha great week topped off by flying home this weekend."

The three-time former Irish Youths champion was just as impressive as winner Fritsch and was one of just two players in the 150 strong field — the other was American Tyrler Duncan — to break par each of the six rounds.

Power finished the 108 hole examination in style, following a birdie at the fifth with two more  on the last two holes on the Champions Course that hosts the Honda Classic at the end of February.

His three under 68 was his only bogey free round of the week but his other scores were equally impressive and all of them were in the red - 68 (Fazio Course), 70 (Champions Course), 71 (FC), 68 (CC), 68 (FC) and 68 (CC).

Needing only a top 45 finish to be sure of his Web.com Tour card, Power was bidding to finish as high as possible and earn as many exemptions from the re-ranking process that governs the WebTom Tour during the season.

Thanks to his haul of one eagle, 27 birdies, 11 bogeys and just one double bogey over 108 holes, he is now exempt through the first three re-rankings in 2015 based on early season performance on the Web.com Tour. 

He also earned $15,000, bringing his official earnings this year to nearly $100,000 thanks to his second place finish on the eGolf Gateway Tour — a mini tour — in North Carolina.

Who won their cards?

1 Brad Fritsch Holly Springs, N.C. (Canada) Campbell U.

The following players finished 2-10 and will be exempt through the first three re-rankings in 2015 based on early season performance on the Web.com Tour. They eached earned $15,000.

2 Andrew Landry Austin, Texas Arkansas
3 Dustin Bray Charleston, S.C. North Carolina
4 Rhein Gibson Monkey Island, Okla. (Australia) Oklahoma Christian U.
5 Tain Lee San Juan Capistrano, Calif. Claremont McKenna College
5 Seamus Power Waterford, Ireland E. Tennessee State
7 Rick Cochran III Paducah, Ky. Middle Tennessee State
8 Matt Fast Hattiesburg, Miss. Mississippi State
8 Stephan Jaeger Chattanooga, Tenn. (Germany) U. of Tenn-Chattanooga
8 Cody Gribble Dallas, Texas Texas

Those players who finished 11 through 43, including ties (49 players total), are exempt through the first two re-rankings. They each earned $10,000.

11 Justin Peters Stuart, Fla. U. of Nevada
11 Curtis Thompson Coral Springs, Fla. LSU
11 Andy Winings Brownsburg, Ind. Kentucky
14 Jorge Fernandez-Valdes Miami, Fla. (Argentina) --
14 Mark Silvers Thunderbolt, Ga. South Carolina
16 Ted Purdy Phoenix, Ariz. Arizona
16 Greg Eason Leicester, England Central Florida
16 Andrew Yun Chandler, Ariz. Stanford
16 Tyler Duncan Columbus, Ind. Purdue
16 Ryan Spears Wichita, Kan. Wichita State
21 Bryden MacPherson Jupiter, Fla. (Australia) Georgia
21 Patton Kizzire St. Simons Island, S.C. Auburn
21 Ben Geyer Arbuckle, Calif. St. Mary’s College of Calif.
21 D.H. Lee Yongin City, South Korea --
21 Brady Schnell Phoenix, Ariz. Nebraska
21 Hugo Leon Santiago, Chile Southeast Louisiana U.
21 Jeff Corr Longwood, Fla. Jacksonville State U.
28 Chris Gilman Yorba Linda, Calif. U. of Denver
28 Mikey Moyers Stanardsville, Va. Virginia Tech
28 Cameron Wilson Rowayton, Conn. Stanford
28 Michael Hebert Auburn, Ala. Auburn
28 Jhared Hack Sanford, Fla. Central Florida
28 Trevor Simsby Carlsbad, Calif. Washington
28 Brock MacKenzie Seattle, Wash. Washington
35 Hunter Hamrick Montgomery, Ala Alabama
35 Jeff Gove La Quinta, Calif. Pepperdine
35 Ted Brown Richmond, Va. Virginia Commonwealth
35 Erik Barnes Sarasota, Fla. Austin Peay State
35 Brian Richey Lakeland, Fla. Florida Southern College
35 Abraham Ancer San Antonio, Texas Oklahoma
35 Kelvin Day Charlotte, N.C. (England) Charleston Southern U.
35 Si Woo Kim Garden Grove, Calif. (S. Korea) --
43 Matt Atkins Owensboro, Ky. S. Carolina-Aiken
43 Drew Scott Henderson, Nev. San Diego State
43 Sam Love Trussville, Ala. Alabama-Birmingham
43 Richy Werenski Bluffton, S.C. Georgia Tech
43 Frank Lickliter II Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla. Wright State U.
43 Rob Oppenheim Orlando, Fla. Rollins College
43 Tyler Aldridge Nampa, Idaho Boise State

Those who finished beyond T43 will follow the above groups and be slotted according to their Qualifying Tournament finish. They will be subject to the first re-ranking.

Re-rankings will come after approximately every fourth event.

The 150 who competed at the Qualifying Tournament over the last six days will join the approximately 90 other players who already secured Web.com Tour status via 2014 performance.

The 2015 Web.com Tour season gets underway Jan. 29-Feb. 1 at the Panama Claro Championship in Panama City, Panama.