Stuart Manley’s brother delivered the good news from his living room back home in south Wales.

Manley was in an apartment in Majorca, having felt too nervous to stay to watch the latter stages of the Challenge Tour Grand Final.

The Welshman had finished his final round three hours earlier and, after a disappointing display, was left waiting to discover whether he had done enough to secure DP World Tour playing rights in 2024.

“My dad and brothers were watching [in Majorca],” Manley told BBC Sport Wales.

“It was so tense that in the end I called my other brother, who was at home watching on Sky, and he was giving me live commentary while it was happening.

“It was unbearable really.”

Manley ended the season 21st in the overall Challenge Tour rankings after a disappointing 14-over-par finish in the last event of the season.

He had been well-placed in 14th before the Grand Final began.

DP World Tour places were on offer to the top 20 finishers in the rankings.

But thankfully for Manley, the player who ended in 11th, England’s Alex Fitzpatrick, had already secured his card thanks to his performances on the DP World Tour in 2023.

That meant 21st was enough, just, to get Manley over the line.

“The scenario where everybody jumped past me and that Sunday afternoon… it got really close,” said Manley, the oldest player to gain a DP World Tour card through this year’s Challenge Tour.

“It went down to the last putt of the 30th event of the year and if the guy had holed the putt, he knocks me out. It was that tight.

“That last hour was brutal, really tough, and I’m just relieved to get the card.”

Manley has since spent time back home in Aberdare preparing for his ninth season on the DP World Tour – formerly known as the European Tour – having last played at that level in 2019.

Between practice at Mountain Ash Golf Club and working with his coach Neil Matthews at Parc Golf Club in Newport, Manley has been busy organising a hectic pre-Christmas schedule.

He will play three tournaments in South Africa – starting with the Joburg Open, which begins on Thursday – and one in Mauritius in a bid to win some valuable early-season ranking points.

While the first goal in 2024 will be to perform well enough to secure a DP World Tour in the following year, Manley has loftier ambitions.

“People say it would be good to keep your card but I think you have got to try to aim a bit higher and try to get into that Tour Championship at the end of the year,” he said.

“The top 50 – that would be a dream to get into that.

“I feel fit and healthy and still have a good drive for golf. I’m ambitious and I want to get on the seniors [tour].

“Obviously I’d like to be on the DP Tour for a few more years and then hit the 50 mark and join the likes of Phil Price and Bradley Dredge. I’ll be the youngster then! I’ve got a lot of ambitions to keep on playing well into my fifties.”

Manley is one of four Welsh golfers who have playing rights on the DP World Tour in 2024 .

Former Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson has an exemption while Jack Davidson and Rhys Enoch won places for the first time at the qualifying school in Tarragona, Spain earlier this month.

Manley and Davidson, 27, know each other well having played together on the Challenge Tour this year.

“This year I’ve travelled with Jack Davidson and David Boote who are great guys, they are younger than me and they keep me young,” he said.

“It does make a difference. We room together, we eat out together and practise together, so we’ve got our own little bubble which is nice.”