SENIOR Tour star Kevin Spurgeon is going back to his West Region roots to maintain his competitive edge.

The Ferndown touring professional wants to fill the void left by the European Senior Tour’s two-month break.

“I will play in next month’s Cornish Festival and our pro-am (Ferndown) in May. I need to keep my hand in before the Senior Tour kicks off in earnest with five back-to-back events in June,” said Spurgeon.

He has also pencilled in the West Region order of merit event at Oake Manor in Taunton on May 24-25.

Spurgeon spent the majority of his playing career on the West Country circuit when he held professional jobs at the Isle of Purbeck and Dudsbury.

The 2010 Mauritius Senior Open champion has just returned home after clocking up the air miles to Brunei and China.

“I’m generally happy with my game,” said Spurgeon, who celebrates his 56th birthday next month.

“Brunei was fantastic, but nothing really happened for me the following week.”

Spurgeon finished joint 18 in The Aber-deen Brunei Senior Masters to win a cheque for 2,827 Euros. Among the other players who finished on three-under-par were former Ryder Cup stars Sam Torrance and Sandy Lyle.

In China, however, Spurgeon was out of pocket as he got off to the worse possible start in the ISPS Handa Senior World Championship at Missions Hills.

Spurgeon incurred a two-shot penalty on the first hole for hitting playing partner Bobby Lincoln’s ball by mistake.

“Take away those penalty shots and I was under par, so recovered well, but followed it up with a 77 that included five bogeys and no birdies,” explained Spurgeon.

A final round 73 saw him finish in a tie for 48th place, 19 shots behind winner Lyle who won the 37,484 Euros first prize.

It also meant Spurgeon had fallen short of his first target of the season to qualify for the US Senior PGA Championship at Valhalla, the club that hosted the 2008 Ryder Cup.

Spurgeon, currently 30th on the order of merit, needed to be in the top 18 for a return to the United States.

“I enjoyed my time in America last year, so have written for an invitation, but realistically it’s a bit of a long shot.

“My main target is to finish in the top 25 to 30 places, or ideally, a bit higher to ensure I keep playing on the Senior Tour.

“It’s not getting easier, however, there are a lot of top quality younger players coming off the main tour, while I’m getting a year older,” added Spurgeon.