IT'S a trip back to Tour School for Jeremy Robinson later this month despite a gallant effort in Sardinia last weekend.

The 34-year-old Evesham golfer needed to register his best finish in a topsy-turvy European Tour campaign to guarantee his Tour Card but he missed out by just three strokes at the Italian Open.

"I had a decent chance of making it," a philosophical Robinson reflected. "I needed to finish 17 under but I just didn't do it on the back nine."

Robinson saw a two-footer slip past and spurned a couple of birdie chances on par fives.

"After standing at ten under after 25 holes, I ought to have finished much higher and that's been the most disappointing aspect of the trip," he lamented.

Jeremy Robinson's all-round skills will be given a searching examination when he attempts to retain his European Tour Card in Spain later this month

However, the Evesham player's performance has left him in confident mood for a searching Spanish test over a daunting six rounds at San Roque and Sotogrande from November 17-22 when just 35 players from 168 entrants will claim their 2001 place on the circuit.

"If I play like that in Spain then everything should be fine," he declared. "There will be some big names there but I have been there before and know what it's all about."

Robinson carded a superb opening round 66 last Thursday and four birdies in his opening seven holes the next morning left him ten under for the Is Molas event.

However, bogeys at the next two dropped him down the leader board and it was at the first hole the next day that Robinson returned to ten under with a birdie four for starters.

That was four in the third round but a pair of bogeys left him just 11 under approaching the crucial final 18 holes.

Another quartet of birdies on Sunday and just one dropped shot left him tied for 17th place but agonisingly short of Tour safety.

"I played solidly throughout on a course where there wasn't a lot of rough but I didn't take my chances when I had them," Robinson concluded.

After suffering severe back problems last month that saw him unable to practice as he would have liked, Robinson is seeing a specialist today in an attempt to help his preparation for Spain.

He ended the season 130th on the Volvo Order of Merit with the top 115 guaranteed their Cards.

However, he won more Euros than last season - 98,431 - but the dwindling exchange rate left him around £16,000 short in the final count..