by Kevin Redsull

It is a case of do-or-die for Kent professional Benn Barham when he tees off in the Castello Masters in Spain later today.

The Tenterden professional is lying 133rd on the European Tour Order of Merit with winnings of 193,887 euros.

With only the top 115 players automatically retaining their tour card for next season, Barham knows he will have to finish in the top 10 this week to secure his place.

If he achieves that, an added bonus is that the 33-year-old will earn an invite to next week’s Barclays Singapore Open.

If he fails, however, Barham’s next tournament will be the European Tour qualifying school in Spain at the end of November.

"In some ways it is a relief knowing exactly what I have got to do this week in order to avoid going back to qualifying school," he said.

"People have kept asking me about it for the last few weeks and I haven’t been able to give them a definite answer but now I know that nothing less than a top 10 finish this week will be enough."

Barham has missed the cut in his last three tournaments and must quickly rediscover the form which carried him to a second place finish in the Austrian Open last month.

If he had won in Austria, the extra 50,000 euros in prize money would have already secured Barham his card for next year.

He added: "Just missing out on my first tour win was annoying and did leave me feeling a bit deflated for a few weeks but I had a good practice session at Chart Hills on Sunday and I will give it a real go this week."