JUSTIN Rose produced another fine performance on the European PGA Tour for a top 25 finish in the Belgacom Open at Royal Zoute yesterday.

A four-under-par 67 finishing round left the 20-year-old North Hants clubman in a tie for 25th place at six under in illustrious company which included Colin Montgomerie.

But still around £12,000 shy of the figure he needs to keep his card and with only two tournaments left to make it, Rose is facing the daunting prospect of having to return to Tour School in November.

The same goes for Hayling's Matt Blackey who has earned over £50,000 but wasn't able to boost his earnings by much in Belgium where a last round of 75 left him at four over.

No such problems for Salisbury's Gary Emerson whose closing round of 72 left him tied 11th at ten under par. Emerson made sure of keeping his card when he passed the £70,000 qualifying limit two weeks ago.

Lee Westwood chalked up his fifth European Tour win of the season to return to the top of the order of merit. Montgomerie's chances of keeping his long-standing grip on the number one slot are fading fast. He's now £500,000 behind Westood.

Converted for the new archive on 25 January 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.