HAMPSHIRE golfer Richard Bland remains on course for his best ever season on the European Tour.

The Stoneham ace collected another his second biggest payday of the year at the weekend when he finished joint fifth in the Omega European Masters tournament.

He was joint leader at the halfway stage.

If he had taken four on the final hole – instead of a double bogey six – he would have finished fourth.

Still, Bland banked just more than 104,000 euros to take his seasonal earnings to 634,058 euros.

That is easily his most lucrative European Tour campaign since he made his debut in 2000.

His previous best was 463,754 euros in 2014 and 451,271 euros in 2010.

Bland is now 32nd in the Race to Dubai European Tour list and on course for only his sixth top-100 finish in 17 years.

His current best ever finish is the 65th he recorded six years ago, while he was 66th in 2014 and 73rd last year.

Prior to 2010, his best finish had been 72nd in 2006.

Bland started the 2016 season with top-10 ten finishes at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters (50,734 euros) and Maybank Championship Malaysia (85,694 euros) adding to a tied third place at the Volvo China Open – his best result in six years.

That saw him bank a season best cheque of 139,556 euros.

Bland has played 393 European Tour events since 2000 and is still waiting for his first ever victory.

He has finished in the top 10 on 21 occasions – of which 10ten have come in the last four seasons.

That elusive maiden success maycould not be far away …