A GOLFER from Catterick rounded off a busy year by winning the French mid amateur title for the second time.

Roger Roper travelled to the Club du Lys, in Paris, to take part in the 54-hole over-35s tournament.

After two rounds of 69 for a two under par 138 total, he lay four shots behind the leader. In the final round, he managed to produce an eagle three at the par five 18th hole for victory by a two-shot margin. He last won the French title in 2000.

The success came at the end of a hectic season for Roper, a member of Catterick Golf Club for more than 30 years.

In May, he finished second in the European mid amateur over-35 championship in Sweden, two shots behind winner Hans Gunter Reiter, a German who plays regularly alongside Ryder Cup star Bernhard Langer.

Two months later, Roper captained an English team in an international mid amateur team championship near St Moritz, Switzerland.

The event was contested by national teams of six from all over Europe and the English players, the only ones to compete at their own expense, defended the championship won narrowly in 2002. They won by 17 shots from the Swiss, followed by Sweden and Italy.

The biggest event of Roper's year was the British mid amateur championship in August, open to all amateur golfers aged 25 and over.

More than 300 entrants from all over the world competed, including more than 100 from the United States, on the tough Jubilee Course at St Andrews.

He said: "After coasting into the matchplay stages as one of the top ten out of 64 qualifiers from the first two days, I saved some of my best golf of the entire year for this event."

After five victories, the Catterick golfer took his place in the final against defending champion John Kemp, of the John O'Gaunt club.

After losing the first hole, Roper played the next 11 holes in four under par, but he was still four down on his opponent and eventually lost 4 and 3.

"It was a disappointment, obviously, but also perhaps a real achievement to finish runner-up out of over 300 players from so many different countries," he said.

Roper ended the season with victories in his final two events in October, including the French title.

He also lifted the Golf Illustrated gold vase, sponsored by Golf Weekly, at Cardrona in Scotland. The solid gold trophy, worth more than £75,000, is one of the oldest in amateur golf and was once won by Bobby Jones.

Roper played his first competition at Catterick in 1971, aged nine. His handicap tumbled from 30 to nine in 1975 and down to four the following year after winning his first Catterick club championship by a record 14 shots as a 14-year-old.

He made his full England debut in 1984 against France, beating the reigning British amateur champion, Phillipe Ploujoux, in his first singles match for England.

A serious car accident in January 1990 threatened to end his playing career. A badly broken left arm was accompanied by permanent nerve and ligament damage to the left shoulder, but Roper was again competing within the year, even winning two local scratch events over the 1990 August bank holiday weekend.

He now plays golf less often as he is involved in running the family caravan business from two sites, including Catterick, and is married to Jayne.

However, as Catterick champion in 2002, he represented the club at the 2003 Golf World Champion of Champions tournament. A level par 72 in the final qualifying round at Nottingham Golf Club ensured he went through to the final at Woodhall Spa, where a disappointing performance was partly compensated for by a hole in one at the fifth and by finishing ahead of reigning English amateur champion Gary Lockerbie.

He is unsure what the future holds, but hopes to play on for many years.

"At only 41, I can't help but notice that some of the best golfers in the world are a similar age, Vijay Singh and Davis Love III for example," he said.

"Perhaps if I can dedicate a bit more time to golf you may see me flying the local flag on the blossoming senior professional golf circuit when I reach 50."