STUART Archibald has his sights set on more early-season success after claiming three top-five finishes on golf’s Mediterranean Tour.

The 30-year-old from Basingstoke, pictured, claimed a fourth-place finish in his first event before finishing second in the next two tournaments to end up third on the order of merit.

“It was a good start to the year,” Archibald said. “I had not played much at the start of the year, so I was not sure how I would play and wanted to see where I was.

“I played pretty well from tee to green, but my short game wasn’t quite up to scratch and I didn’t putt too well.”

All three events were played in Egypt, with Archibald finishing on +6 to finish fourth at Allegria, while a three-round total of +3 earned him second place at Palm Hills.

The final event took place at Katameya Dunes last week. Archibald carded an opening round of 75 (+3) and a second round of 74 (+2) before embarking on a roller coaster final round.

He made birdies at holes two, three, four and five to put himself in contention for the win, but a triple-bogey at the ninth was a major setback.

The Worting man bounced back in fine style, holing out with his nine-iron for an eagle on the 10th, but he four-putted the 14th on his way to a double bogey and a level par round of 72 that earned him second place.

Archibald will return to north Africa tomorrow, heading to Morocco for the first two events of the MENA Tour, before switching his attention to the EuroPro Tour, the third tier of European golf.

“I want to go out and win two events early on the EuroPro Tour, because I really want to get onto the Challenge Tour or above for 2016,” he said. “If I can win two events early on, I’ll probably get invites to Challenge Tour events for the rest of this season, so that is the aim.”