Matt Blackey admits he has reached the crossroads of his golfing career.

A fourth failure from five Final Tour School appearances has set him wondering: is it worth carrying on?

His stroke average on the European Tour improved in 2001 from 72.3 to 71.5, he achieved three top-ten finishes but he admitted: "The year has been a bit of a struggle and I wasn't surprised to miss out Tour School, where my iron play just wasn't good enough.

"I made good starts on the first two days when the wind was at its worst, but I couldn't keep it going.

"When the weather calmed down, I struggled to find the greens. They've had a very dry summer on the Costa Del Sol.

"The course was pretty fiery and the holes were playing shorter. I missed too many greens and, overall, my play was scrappy.

"Right now my head's full of negative things. I'll take a breather for a month then decide early in the new year whether I want to go on in professional golf.

"Looking to next season, I'll only get four or five starts on the main tour in smaller events like the Madeira Open and the Cannes Open.

"Then there's the Challenge Tour and I'm asking myself: do I really want to do that again?

Financially, it's not an option. I'm at an age now (30) when really I should have some independence, like my own place."

Blackey still lives with mum and dad at Hayling Island, he doesn't have a girlfriend - a sacrifice he says for spending most of the year travelling around the globe.

"I had a three-year plan" he says, "but it hasn't worked out.

"I'm not where I wanted to be. Financially, I've just about broken even and I hate living out of suitcases.

"Last season wasn't fun and I'm not going to carry on doing something which is not going to make me happy."

The options are a career outside golf. Blackey has an HND in business studies and the time might be ripe to make use of it.

But there's a feeling there's still some unfinished business in golf and, in Blackey's eyes, the UK-based EuroPro Tour is becoming a viable option to the Challenge Tour.

Blackey explains: "You have to pay around £250 to play in each tournament but the prize money isn't vastly different to the Challenge Tour and you don't have the travel expenses, so you don't spend so much time away from home."

The prospect of playing the EuroPro Tour, picking and choosing his Challenge Tour events and taking whatever event he can from the main tour, might just keep the former Hampshire Open champion on the golf course for another year.