DANIEL Brooks says he’ll concentrate on the Challenge Tour for the rest of the season after his outing on the European Tour in Scotland this week and Wales next week.

The 26-year-old from Basildon admits he’s had a difficult first year on the top tour and says his priority will now be to secure a good playing card for next year’s second tier event.

The Mill Hill Golf Club member tees off at 1.05pm today at the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles knowing he is well adrift at 218th in the Race to Dubai rankings of the top 110 spot he’d need to retain his playing card.

But says he’d like to use the event to find some form.

“I’ve been struggling for the last few months,” he said.

“It’s my long game which has been the problem, but I’ve been practicing hard and slowly getting back to where I want to be.

“But that’s just the way golf is and it is just something I need to play through.”

Brooks will also play at the Wales Open at the Celtic Manor Resort next week, and also has invitations for the European Tour’s KLM Open, Italian Open and the Perth International in Australia.

But he says he intends to decline those invites and concentrate on improving his 70th place standing on the Challenge Tour.

He said: “I could probably play at another five or six European Tour events, and it is tempting because there is good money there.

“But after the Wales Open I am going to concentrate on the Challenge Tour, because 70th place keeps a good playing card, and I have to start thinking about next season now.

“It’s always tricky when you get a low category on the European Tour because you have to balance it with the Challenge Tour. I’ve played half and half this year and it has been tough.”

Brooks is not alone in struggling to hang onto his European Tour place this season, with Thorpe Hall members Richard McEvoy and Matt Southgate also needing to pull rabbits out of the hat over the next couple of months.

McEvoy is currently ranked 164th in the Race to Dubai and Southgate is 175th, and both need to make up more than 100,000 euros to reach the top 110 and retain their playing Privileges.

McEvoy, from Leigh, and Southgate, from Southend, are also both in action at Gleneagles today, and both get underway at about 4pm.

FULL GOLF ROUND UP IN THURSDAY'S ECHO