Ryan Fenwick cannot afford to play the Challenge Tour any longer and will concentrate on the less costly Euro Pro Tour.
Ryan, 25, attached to Bognor, reckons entry fees and all other expenses meant him shelling-out close on £700 a week last season.
"It is too expensive for me," says Ryan who lives only a stone's throw from the Bognor course and learned his golf there.
He is just back from a second season on the Sunshine Tour and made the cut in four of the five tournaments in South Africa. He said: "I am extremely pleased after having to qualify considering there are about 150 others involved including some big names."
A card of three under par in the first tournament near Johannesburg got Ryan off to a good start but when it was time to go home he had only broken even.
When not playing or toning-up his game, Ryan works as a labourer to help fund his golf. He is also grateful for backing from Michael Foreman, a Mid Sussex member and captain of the Davies & Tate team at Ditchling. "Without him I would be up the creek without the proverbial paddle," says Ryan, who also acknowledges the support from Bognor and Brighton pals Kevin Foreman and Francis Fraser.
An avid fight fan, Ryan had a boost when Micky Ayres, the world IBS lightweight champion, raised funds for him at a glove-signing session that helped pay his way in South Africa.
Ryan isn't just concentrating on shot-making. He is consulting Nick Taylor, a sports psychologist, together with some of his former Sussex county team-mates.
Now Ryan and Scott Nightingale have joined forces to play in the Sunningdale Foursomes on March 17. Scott, Sussex champion in 2001 who subsequently turned pro, didn't get any luck on the Sunshine Tour nor did his Worthing chums Nigel Harrington and Nick Tull, while Mark Hilton returned home early.
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