IT will be third time lucky for Robert Webster at the De Vere Northumberland Seniors Classic when he tees off in the first round on Friday, writes Paul Fraser.

And, although the 59-year-old may be giving away a couple of years to those he is competing against at Slaley Hall over the next few days, he is determined not to go there to make up the numbers.

Webster is the North-East's only hope in the Classic - the ninth leg of the PGA European Seniors Tour.

And the Eaglescliffe man is there courtesy of an invite - his third in consecutive years - as he bids to try to finish among the leading pack on Sunday, something he has failed to do in his previous outings.

Webster finished 52nd last year and 32nd in 2002 in the same competition and, but for two wayward first rounds, he would have been right in amongst it.

The Matfen Hall-attached golfer is hoping to have the perfect start at Slaley Hall as he bids to build on his improvement 12 months ago.

"The first year I shot an 82 in the opening round and then a 77 last year," said Webster, who started to play on the Seniors Tour in 1995.

"I played well enough in the other rounds for a top-ten finish so if I can start better this time around then I should be looking at a place in the top ten.

"I have improved my short game and I'm happy with how I'm playing at the moment. It should be a good few days because it's a really great course and everyone on the Tour thinks highly of it."

Webster, who will be urged on by his family, was a regular on the European Tour during the Seventies and he played his part in the Seniors British Open at Scotland's Westin Tunberry course.

He is also expected to play a part in this year's competition at Ireland's Port Rush resort.

"It's classed as the Seniors' European Tour but it's not nowadays because there are players from Argentina, America everywhere playing, so really it's the world," he said.

American Jerry Bruner, the defending champion, will head the prestigious list of past winners at Slaley Hall.

England's Tommy Horton, the Tour's most celebrated golfer, boasting five Order of Merit titles and 23 tournament victories, is the only player to have won the title twice - in 1995, the event's inaugural year, and 1998.

England's Carl Mason will be the player to watch. Mason has two victories in 2004, in the Tobago Plantations Seniors Classic and in the AIB Irish Seniors Open this month.

He currently leads the Order of Merit list, a title he claimed last year after winning his final three events of 2003.

* Day and season tickets cost between £10-£25 per person.

Published: 24/06/2004