THERE was a silver lining for Basingstoke golfer Stuart Archibald in missing out on a chance of a European Tour card, as he was invited to take part in the inaugural event of the Asian Tour next month.

The 30-year-old from Worting will be amongst the field for Dubai Open, which takes place at the Els Club from December 18.

The golfer, pictured below, had been hoping to make the final European Tour Q-School this week, but missed out by four shots in the qualifying event at Las Colinas in Alicante, Spain.

This was after a great start which saw him reach six under after 10 holes. However, the following day, it all went wrong as he carded a four over round of 75.

He recovered with a 69 on day three, but then shot a one-over 72 for his final round.

This saw him finish on three-under-par, but four shots off the qualifying places.

Despite the setback Archibald remained upbeat and said: “I played really well in my first round and had chances to make it an even better round than it was.

“I was full of confidence going into day two, but my golf swing disappointed and I spent the whole day fighting my way out of the rough.”

He added: “This has been my best season yet and although I played badly in Spain, I still got so close which shows how far I have come. I can’t be disappointed at missing out, unlike last year when I was one shot away, as I did not play well enough.”

Archibald was then pleased to receive the call to take part in the Dubai Open and said: “This is their inaugural event and I am looking forward to it.

“For me it is very much a silver lining after what happened in Spain.”