STUART Archibald faces a battle to reach the finale of golf's EuroPro Tour after missing the cut at the Clipper Logistics Players Championship.

The Basingstoke golfer travelled to Moor Allerton Golf Club, near Leeds, for the tournament but endured a tough two days in difficult weather conditions, missing the cut by four shots.

Archibald's opening round was decidedly mixed. He was three-over-par after just three holes and dropped a further two shots before the 12th, where he made an eagle three.

Sadly, that wasn't the start of a dramatic comeback and the 31-year-old had to settle for an opening round of 75 (+4), leaving him with it all to do in order to avoid the cut.

It was a challenge that he was unable to meet, making just one birdie on the way to a second round of 73 (+2) and an early exit from the tournament.

The result saw Archibald slip to 68th in the EuroPro Tour's Race to Desert Springs standings with just one event of the regular season remaining.

That tournament, the HotelPlanner.com Championship, gets under way at Princes Golf Club, in Kent, today, with Archibald knowing that he needs a good performance to qualify for the season-ending Matchroom Sport Tour Championship.