BRANSGORE ace Scott Mitchell bowed out at the quarter-final stage of the Dutch Open with defeat to Richard Veenstra.

Scotty Dog had battled his way through a field of more than 3,200 entrants to reach the last eight at the event in Assen.

But having reached the semi-final in 2017, he narrowly fell short in his quest to repeat the feat with a 5-4 loss to the 36-year-old Dutchman.

The reverse meant the Dorset county star missed out on the opportunity to lock horns with Lakeside world champion Glen Durrant in the final four.

Meanwhile, 47-year-old Mitchell progressed to the semi-finals of the pairs’ competition alongside England team-mate Scott Waites in De Bonte Wever.

The duo, who agreed to team up during the Lakeside World Championship at Frimley Green last month, were beaten 4-3 by Yoeri Duijster and Davy van der Zande.

Veenstra and his partner Wesley Harms took the spoils in the final of the pairs with a 5-3 success over Duijster and van der Zande.

Mitchell is a three-time winner of the pairs’ competition, having played alongside Richie George, Martin Atkins and James Hurrell.