A CANVEY-based golfer has finished fourth in one of Europe’s largest amateur golf competitions.

Darren Vickery, 34, took on some of the continent’s best at the grand final which took place in Dubai.

Vickery, a regular at the South Essex Golf Club at Herongate, battled through a five-round UK selection series to get to the Golf Care Matchplay Championship in Dubai.

And he did it all on a set of clubs costing just £45.

He said: “I’m not one for spending a lot of money on my golf.

“When I buy new clubs they cost about £6 each — I think my whole set of clubs and bag I used out there cost about £45,” he said.

And the philosophy certainly worked for Vickery who used his well-worn Dunlop clubs in the final for an overall score of 85, which scooped him the overall fourth slot behind the eventual winner Paul Llewellyn, and second and third-placed golfers Maartens van Rensburg and Saimir Guri.

“It was a fantastic competition and I could not believe how good the Els Club was,” said Vickery who works for Towergate Coverex Insurance which looks after festivals, concert insurance and major sporting event cover.

“I’ve played in Spain before, but the Els Club was something special.

“Effectively you’re playing on a lush green course — but in the middle of the desert.

“After the first round I was lying in third place and was really pleased with the way things were going.

“But in so much heat — its between 40 and 44 degrees out there at the moment — its easy to have a lapse in concentration.

“You’ve got to be taking in a lot of fluids after each hole just to keep playing,” he said.

Another factor for all the golfers was the presence of the Sky Sports cameras which followed the action from hole to hole.

“Having a TV camera stuck in your face was hard to get used to,” said Vickery. “But it was nice to feel like a pro and you realise you have to be a bit more animated than usual for the TV cameras.

“I think they’ve got some shots of me pumping the air with my fist after I’d pulled off a good shot.”

The course itself was a testing one with just fairways and greens — no rough at all.

“If you went wide you ended up in the sand,” he said.

“But the greens were super quick which took a lot of getting used. By the end of the competition we’d all adjusted to the speed.”

Initially Vickery had entered the doubles competition alongside his old pal from Canvey, Damien Euston.

But when the duo were dumped out of the doubles competition in the first round, Euston swapped into caddy mode and drove his mate around the course for the singles event.

“I could not have done it without him. It was so good to have a mate who I can rely on completely in the kart. He helped a lot selecting clubs and advising on shots,” added VIckery.

The duo did have some time away from the course, and chose to go to a water park and also to marvel at the world’s tallest hotels which now rise from the shimmering desert sands.

They also have the recorded Sky Sports highlights of the competition to look forward to when it is screened later in June.

And the competition also means that Vickery has secured sponsorship from a company which took pity on his battered clubs.

He has already signed with a company called Direct Golf, whose managing director, Neil Bell, has vowed to support him with new clubs.

Bell said: “Darren plays off of an eight handicap, qualified to Dubai using Donnay clubs and treated himself before Dubai to some Dunlops.

“He has the gift of the gab and will tell everyone about Progen and Direct Golf UK. He is a class act on a night out too,” added Bell.

Singles competition results: 1st Paul Llewellyn 97; 2nd Maartens van Rensburg 96; 3rd Saimir Guri 90; 4th Darren Vickery 85; 5th Jeremy Cleary 82; 6th Biren Shah 75; 7th Anthony Kelly 72; 8th Martin Scott 69.