DORSET'S Kevin Spurgeon will be hoping to end his 'up and down' season on a high in this weekend's final European Seniors Tour event.

The 52-year-old Ferndown touring professional is among a select field of just 44 players who tee off in today's first round of the Seniors Tour Championship at the Buckinghamshire GC.

Spurgeon, 33rd on the Order of Merit, will be looking to reclaim his place in the top 30 on the money list to secure his Category One status next year.

"Worst case scenario would be the next category down (31-40 on Order of Merit) which should still get me in to all the events apart from the British Open," explained Spurgeon.

"So it's not too bad a situation to be in, but it would be nice to finish an up and down season on a high."

The 2005 rookie of the year started the season brightly with his best-ever finish on the Tour by finishing joint second in the Irish Open in May.

It landed Spurgeon his biggest cheque of £26,514 and gave him the belief that he may go on to win his first title.

But shortly after, an airline lost his golf clubs for two weeks, and a hand injury saw him miss the British Open at Muirfield.

"My luck seemed to take a turn for the worse after the Irish Open," said Spurgeon.

"Losing my clubs didn't help. They were eventually returned to Bournemouth via Germany!

"And when I did get them back in time for the British Open, I damaged ligaments in my hand on a practice day and had to pull out."

Spurgeon will be hoping to make a full recovery over the winter months and is planning to spend two months in South Africa before the 2008 season starts in May.