Michael Sims is through to the final stage of golf's Tour Qualifying School for the third successive year – thanks to a birdie at the last hole in the final round of qualifying at Bear Creek Golf Club in Murrietta, California on Saturday.

He now gets chance to regain full privileges on the Nationwide Tour, or even the most lucrative circuit in the world, the PGA Tour where he would rub shoulders with the likes of Tiger Woods, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood.

But that all depends on how he fares at the Orange County National Golf Center & Lodge at Panther Lake in Winter Garden, Florida from December 5-9 – a five-round, nerve wracking battle considered one of the most severe tests in golf.

Amazingly Sims secured his place despite shooting a two-over par 74 on Saturday but with torrential rain pouring down all day and strong winds, the Bermudian weathered those conditions far better than most. Only one player in the 76-strong field broke par.

And that birdie at the par-four 18th proved crucial.

It was enough for the Georgia-based player to leapfrog into 18th place with only the top 20 and ties advancing to the last qualifying stage.

So tough were the conditions, only six players in that top 20 recorded scores better than the Bermudian, one making it after a 79. Another turned in an 82 and missed out by just one stroke.

As would have been expected, Sims' round included a mixed bag of pars, birdies and bogeys.

But he started as he finished, with birdie at the par-four first.

In between those two birdies, he carded five bogeys and another birdie for a final total of 290.

California's Tyrone Van Aswegen topped the leaderboard with an 11-under 277.

Last year at the final stage of Q-School, the 31-year-old came agonisingly close to retaining his Nationwide Tour card, although he did enough to play in some tournaments this year. But injury kept him out of action for most of the season.

He made his breakthrough in 2008 when he was high enough in the field to earn full Nationwide Tour privileges.