By Amanda Little

Last updated at 13:24, Tuesday, 11 November 2008

CARLISLE golfer Craig Goodfellow today admitted his dream of playing on the European Tour may never become a reality.

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Goodfellow, right, pulled out of his latest attempt to secure a place on Europe’s top tour after three rounds of the qualifying school in Spain.

The 32-year-old Carlisle Driving Range pro was 15 shots adrift of the leader after three rounds, and decided not to tee off in the fourth and final round.

Goodfellow went into the second-stage Tour School qualifier at Costa Ballena Club de Golf Club with hopes high after hitting form, but his confidence quickly evaporated when he hit a tree with his tee shot at the first hole.

He has downed clubs for the winter to focus on his job teaching at Carlisle Driving Range, and admits he may now never fulfil his ambition to play on the European Tour.

Goodfellow said: “I don’t know what I’m going to do about the European Tour in the future.

“That was the first time I’d been for two or three years and I know if I had been playing nicely I could have got to the final stage.

“I was a bit despondent for a couple of days but there’s no point in dwelling on it.

“I enjoy working at the range so I’ll go back to teaching and reassess what I’m going to do about trying for my Tour card again.”

Goodfellow, whose trip to Spain was financed by Carlisle Driving Range regular Mark Duncanson who runs Port Scene, was tying for 69th place with his two-over-par score of 218.

After shooting an opening round 74, he rallied gamely in the second round to post a morale-boosting 70, but the slipped back down the field with a score of 74.It left him struggling to qualify and he knew his chances of a dramatic fourth-round rally were slim because he was suffering a recurrence of a wrist injury which plagued him earlier this year.

Goodfellow said: “It was very frustrating because I didn’t play well. I did well in the first practice round but as the week went on I seemed to struggle.

“It’s disappointing because I don’t think it would have been to qualify if my game had been better.

“I knew after three rounds I was going to have to shoot 11-under to qualify, so I decided to forget it and get myself home.

“My wrist was aching and I didn’t want to cause it anymore damage by playing a pointless round.”

First published at 13:00, Tuesday, 11 November 2008
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk