ANOTHER year, another European Tour outing for the region’s golfers all full of fresh hope that they can build on a productive 2015 for one reason or another on the European Tour.

Can any of the five end the four-year wait for a title to arrive in the North-East or North Yorkshire? Or will, like on many occasions, they just come up short.

Graeme Storm, the Hartlepool pro, has come closest in the last two years when he has narrowly missed out at the Porsche European Open and European Open in Austria, but there are four others all dreaming of pipping him to the honour.

Storm, Harrogate’s John Parry and York’s Simon Dyson will all look for the perfect start at the BMW South Africa Open hosted by City of Ekurhuleni starting today, while Barnard Castle’s Rob Dinwiddie and Stocksfield’s Chris Paisley will head over there for the Joburg Open next week.

And they will all be planning to head over to desert for the lucrative events in Abu Dhabi, Qatar and Dubai, but how are they shaping up?

GRAEME STORM

Age: 37

Turned pro: 2000

Born: Hartlepool

Attached club: Rockliffe Hall

Best finish: Won French Open (2007)

Previous Race to Dubai finish: 61

World ranking: 197

After a slow start to last year, the former British Amateur champion came into his own in the second half of the season and recorded his fifth best finish since turning pro 16 years ago.

He earned more than £500,000 last year, taking his career earnings tally to more than £5m, even though his second European Tour title still evaded him.

Storm started to show greater consistency from July onwards, but he will look to go one better than his second place finish at the Porsche European Open in September by building on a productive 2015.

JOHN PARRY

Age: 29

Turned pro: 2007

Born: Knaresborough

Attached club: Harrogate

Best finish: Won Vivendi Cup (2010)

Previous Race to Dubai finish: 92

World ranking: 406

Parry has already played in his first event of this calendar year’s Tour at the Alfred Dunhill Championship at the end of November, which counts towards the next 12 months.

He also had a strong finish at the European Open in September when he ended up ninth to effectively secure his card for a further year.

This will be his sixth season with a full card and he will look to build on a year when he made a second appearance – and the cut – at the US Open in Chambers Bay.

The 29-year-old has been up and down in recent years, but he possesses the ability to repeat his maiden Tour triumph at the Vivendi Cup in 2010.

SIMON DYSON

Age: 38

Turned pro: 1999

Born: York

Attached club: Malton & Norton

Best finish: Won Indonesian Open (2006), KLM Open (2006 & 2009), Irish Open (2011), KLM Open (2011)

Previous Race to Dubai finish: N/A

World ranking: 386

Dyson had to undergo serious wrist surgery last summer which has prevented him from playing competitively ever since. He had hoped to be back for the Alfred Dunhill Championship in November, but he has had to settle for this week’s appearance in South Africa instead.

He boasts the best pedigree of the northern golfers on show with his six Tour wins but the last 12 months have been really difficult for him and a medical exemption has helped him to keep his card. He is determined to attack the new year with renewed confidence.

ROB DINWIDDIE

Age: 33

Turned pro: 2006

Born: Dumfries

Attached club: Barnard Castle

Best finish: Third in Lyoness Open (2015)

Previous Race to Dubai finish: 98

World ranking: 328

With the injury problems of 2014 seemingly behind him, the likeable 33-year-old retained his card because of a medical exemption and 2015 was his best year as a Tour pro.

As well as finishing third at the Lyoness Open in June he was fourth at the Czech Masters two months later to help finish with a year’s earnings of around £230,000; considerably more than his other years except for his rookie outing in 2008.

Last June also saw him appear at his first Open at St Andrews and, full of fresh confidence and excitement, he is determined to carry on his good work when he starts at the Joburg Open next week.

CHRIS PAISLEY

Age: 29

Turned pro: 2010

Born: Hexham

Attached club: Close House

Best finish: Third BMW International Open (2015), BMW Asia Open (2008)

Previous Race to Dubai finish: 108

World ranking: 477

The Northumbrian did not have the best of starts to the 2016 schedule when he missed the cut at the Alfred Dunhill Championship in November, the first event of this year’s schedule. He is, though, full of hope for the future after retaining his card through the Race to Dubai rankings.

His third place finish at the BMW International Open earned him just under £100,000 which went a long way to earning his card again.

He now commutes from Florida, USA, to events and he hopes the change of climate will improve his game and build on what he has already achieved.