Southampton’s Richard Bland took a massive step towards retaining his European Tour card after finishing in a tie for 26th place at the Portugal Masters.
The Stoneham player pocketed €17,000 in prize money, taking his earnings for the season to €237,866.
That puts him 109th in the order of merit – the top 110 players securing playing rights for next year – with just one event to go, this week’s Perth International in Australia.
The 40-year-old came on strong during the final day in Portugal, carding a flawless six-birdie final round of 65 to move up 37 places and finish on -9.
Bland had earlier shot rounds of 69, 71 and 70.
Countryman David Lynn won the title with a four-round total of -18.
Race To Dubai standings (places 100-120)
100 VAN ZYL Jaco €271,680
101 BROBERG Kristoffer €258,105
102 QUIROS Alvaro €256,761
103 PETTERSSON Carl €256,348
104 NIXON Matthew €252,179
105 DOAK Chris €251,640
106 CARLSSON Magnus A €251,434
107 VAN DER WALT Dawie €249,550
108 LEVY Alexander €240,540
109 BLAND Richard €237,866
110 BHULLAR Gaganjeet €228,355
111 KINGSTON James €225,150
112 KOEPKA Brooks €217,762
113 LAWRIE Peter €217,107
114 HIGGINS David €210,987
115 TULLO Mark €210,421
116 GAGLI Lorenzo €209,227
117 GREEN Richard €193,503
118 HARTØ Andreas €199,447
119 KALEKA Alexandre €196,980
120 CLARKE Darren €195,130
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