Alan Mew missed out on his full European Seniors Tour card at Pinta last week - but the man from Stoneham is assured of at least a dozen starts next season.

The 52-year-old former Hampshire champion took a respectable 19th slot at Final Tour School in Portugal, but with only the top eight getting their cards, Mew was thankful for his finish in the 2004 order of merit.

A terrific performance in the last event of the season - eighth in the Estoril Tour Championship - lifted him to 50th place in the money list, exactly where he finished last year.

Although it doesn't afford him full playing rights and means he has to qualify for the big events like the Senior British Open, 50th place in 2003 was good enough to get him 13 starts.

Mew's one over par finish at Tour School was accomplished with a consistent set of rounds - 70, 72, 74 and 70.

But at one over he was seven shots behind the player who took the eighth and last card, so high were the standards.

American Bob Boyd won the four-round competition with an astonishing 19 under par total, and finishing in a tie for third place was the south coast's Kevin Spurgeon, who had one of the best weeks of his life for an 11 under par total.

Spurgeon, from Dudsbury in East Dorset, is 50 next April and has earned his first full season in Europe after making the odd appearance down the years in the Volvo PGA Championship as West Region champion. His best performance on the European Tour was 14th in the Celtic Manor Welsh Open of 2001.

Mew grossed just 32,750 euro for his efforts in 2004, which included two top-ten finishes.

Unlike the American equivalent, the Champions Tour, money is tight on the European Seniors circuit and Mew's biggest cheque was just 7,962 euros for his performance in the Tour Championship.

He was born in Trinidad and Tobago and played as a professional there before coming to England and eventually reverting to his amateur status.

Apart from capturing the county title twice, Mew helped Hampshire win the English County Championship in 1996.