ROB DINWIDDIE did his chances of retaining his European Tour card the power of good by finishing off a promising week on a positive note in the Czech Republic.

The Barnard Castle ace stuttered a bit on the back nine to drop out of contention for the lead at the D+D Real Czech Masters but he still claimed a top ten finish after four sub-par rounds of golf.

He finished with a two under par 70 at the Albatross Golf Resort. Despite putting himself back in to contention with a birdie at the 14th he bogeyed 16 to leave Belgian Thomas Pieters clear to finish off his title surge. Pieters ended up six clear of the North-East contender.

Graeme Storm also had a decent finish too. The Hartlepool golfer finished strongly with a six-under 66 to propel himself up the leaderboard, even though it was not enough to get him in to the top 15.

It would have been an even better round had the Rockliffe Hall touring pro not bogeyed the eighth, but seven birdies more than made up for his frustrations at that particular hole.

Close House’s pro Chris Paisley was further back on four under after his final round 72, while Harrogate’s John Parry was frustrated with a Sunday outing of 74.