Mark Hilton carded a creditable five under-par 283 in the South African PGA Championship in Pretoria.

This ensures his place in the order of merit with only two more tournaments remaining. It guarantees the East Sussex National prospect his card in South Africa next year when there are four European Tour events played there.

While his placing of joint 26th may not sound earth-shattering, Hilton continues to gain valuable experience in good company.

Rounds of 70, 72, 69 and 72 reflect how well he is striking the ball and the only improvement he seeks is on the greens.

Reward at the Woodhills Club was just under £1,000 which keeps him on the right side of his expenses.

ANGLO-FRENCH PRO-AM BOOKED The popular Sussex PGU Anglo-French pro-am at Dieppe from June 12 to 14 is already fully booked with 30 teams.

Stalwart member Les Watts is travelling from his home in the Caribbean to play and there are two all-lady teams. The party is booked on Hoverspeed from Newhaven but one snag is a shortage of club class places.

EVANS IS YET TO IMPRESS Gary Evans' start to the European Tour has not seen him pull up any trees and after two tournaments his earnings are £5,380.

But Rustington-based Evans made the cut in both Australian events and, following the Heineken Classic in Perth, he finished joint 59th in the Greg Norman Holden International.

At the par 73 Lakes course in Sydney, Evans signed-off with a costly 76, giving him an aggregate of 290 and two under par.

This was 20 strokes behind Aussie winner Aaron Baddeley who beat Sergio Garcia in a play-off.

Now Evans is currently engaged in the Carlsberg Malaysian Open hoping for a change of fortune COVERS FOUND IN LOCKER Derrick Pillage had a surprise when he opened his locker door at Littlehampton Golf Club.

Derrick, a consultant for Callaways, was amazed when 42 club covers fell out and the majority bore the logo of his company.

earlier, about £12,000 worth of equipment had been stolen from the club.

Pillage said: "My waterproofs and umbrella had gone and it was clear what had happened. All the stolen clubs were stacked into one or two bags, but it seemed there was not enough room for all the covers.

"My locker is nearest the door, so the covers were stuffed in there. I had taken my clubs home before he arrived."

Police are investigating similar incidents at clubs in Hamphire and Wiltshire.