EAST Dorset's Shaun Webster missed out on retaining his European Tour Card by a heart-breaking one shot after finishing joint 37th in Tour School Finals in southern Spain, on Monday.

The 25-year-old was lying joint 19th going into the final round and looked well-placed to finish in the top 35 and claim a place on the main Tour for next season.

But two bogeys over the closing holes at San Roque and Sotogrande ultimately proved his downfall - his final round 74 (two over par) dropped him to four under-par overall and one shot out of the last qualifying place of joint 33rd.

"It's frustrating to miss out by one shot but it's not the end of the world," said Webster afterwards.

"I did at least finish in the top 145 on the main Tour which means as a category 12 player I will be able to play about 20 events next season.

"I've been hitting the ball well all week but ultimately my putting wasn't good enough. The par three 15th proved costly today as I three-putted from 10 feet for bogey."

It is the second time Webster has been denied his Tour card in dramatic circumstances. He held a qualifying position going into the final Challenge Tour event of the 2000 season only to drop two places after a disappointing show in Cuba. But he did bounce back by claiming his place through Tour School.

Ryder Cup trio Steve Richardson, Paul Broadhurst and Philip Walton also failed to make the top 35.

Richardson missed out by one after bogeying the final hole, 1991 cup team-mate Broadhurst took eight strokes too many after running up a triple bogey on the same hole and Walton, Europe's hero six years ago, failed by six.