The Canadian had started the final round at Pestana Resort’s Vale da Pinta course with a two shot advantage and never looked like relinquishing the lead, mixing two birdies with two bogeys on the front nine.
With his nearest rivals losing ground, Tarling had a run of six consecutive pars after the turn and then birdied the 16th hole before two more pars to finish, as he signed for a one under par round of 70 and a winning score of six under par 278.
“I’m thrilled,” said Tarling, a veteran of six previous Qualifying Schools.
“It’s been quite an experience this week. I’ve never played that well at this event, so it’s great to win here. It’s been hard sitting on the lead the last couple of days. It’s easy for your mind to wander. That’s why I’m so pleased with how I’ve handled it.”
While the 56-year-old calmly plotted his way to a full card for the 2015 Senior Tour season, where he will play alongside golfing greats such as Colin Montgomerie and Ian Woosnam, the battle to join him in the all-important top six proved much more dramatic, as Tarling ended the 72-hole contest as the only player to break par.
His playing partners Magnus Persson Atlevi and Graeme Bell, both of whom started just two shots back, could not match his steadiness during the final round, with first round leader Atlevi dropping three strokes on the front nine. Englishman Bell, who reached the turn one over par for the day, then hurt his hand playing out of the trees on the tenth hole, and while he made birdie there, he then dropped three shots in a row and three-putted the last hole for a round of 75 to drop back to one over par.
With English pair John Harrison (68) and Gary Marks (71), Australian Tim Elliott (71) and Frenchman Roger Sabarros (74) already in the clubhouse on that mark, Bell ended up taking the final full card on offer, with Atlevi the man to miss out after the Swede, whose only birdie of the day was on the tenth hole, dropping further shots on the 12th and 16th holes, before finishing with a double bogey six after four-putting the 18th hole.
That meant Atlevi, the youngest player to earn a card from the European Tour Qualifying School as a 17 year old in 1982, dropped back to three over par and had to settle for a conditional card for 2015 as a result of finishing tenth, with nine other players also earning a spot in that category.