Richard Finch was one of just seven European Tour players to win twice during the 2008 – but despite missing out on his third win in just 17 months, the Hull golfer was pleased with his performance in the Volvo China Open, in Beijing.

The 31-year-old had stormed into the overnight lead with an excellent third round 66, but was unable to clinch the deal playing in the last group with Spaniard Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano, who also came up short for the second tournament in a row.

Finch has been using StrokeAverage.com to analyse his game since his days in the England Elite squad as an amateur.

With the Race to Dubai requiring a top 15 finish to qualify for the untold riches at the Dubai World Championship, in November, Finch could keep a perspective on his disappointment at carding a two-over par 74 in the final round in the Chinese capital as Aussie Scott Strange stormed to victory.

Finch, who took third spot behind his playing partner, said: “So far this year it's been 30th to 50th every week really so the consistency level's got a lot better from last year, but I've not been in contention, so it's nice to have been in contention.

“I've had four weeks off and my long game overall was as good as it's ever been. I think that was the best tournament I've played in terms of striking the ball so I was really pleased with that.

"Overall, it was a good week but obviously it's that little bit disappointing to be leading going into the last round and shoot a 74 and find out that one under par would've resulted in victory.

"I set out just to try and hit the fairways, hit the greens and that's what I did and it wasn't to be. Well played to Scott Strange and it just wasn't to be."

When he looks back on the weeek overall Finch should certainly get a massive boost of confidence from the run of six birdies he made from the 7^th to the 12^th hole on Saturday in round three.

Having almost lost his card two years ago, the Yorkshire ace burst into the winners’ circle in the New Zealand Open and then made a huge splash, quite literally, falling into the river when playing his approach into the last from a slippery bank at the Irish Open. 

When you put Finch’s winning record last year up alongside Ryder Cup players Darren Clarke, Miguel Angel Jimenez, Graeme McDowell, Robert Karlsson and a certain Padraig Harrington, he is not perhaps the most obvious player to nominate as a two-time winner.

He is now 43rd on the 2009 Race to Dubai Rankings and has an Official World Golf Ranking of 137th.

Fellow StrokeAverage.com user Graeme McDowell and Germany’s rising star Martin Kaymer, who went to the last Ryder Cup on captain Nick Faldo’s invitation having just missed out on qualifying automatically, are the only two of those seven under 30.

And while Harrington’s two victories of course were rather special coming in Majors, Finch is happy, for now, to be in such exalted company.

He only carded one birdie in the final round as he recovered from dropping a couple of shots early on, only to miss a number of makeable putts.

Meanwhile Strange produced three in the final four holes to leave himself a two-shot cushion as he posted the clubhouse lead with several challengers still out on the CBD International course.

At the start of the tournament it was another StrokeAverage.com player who was helping to set the pace.

Nick Dougherty was one shot behind first round leader Markus Brier after a four-under par 68, only to fade badly with a nightmare 79 in round two.

The Liverpudlian is desperate to regain his place in the world’s top 50 a year after the sudden death of his mother understandably halted his progress in 2007/8.

After a tough start to the new season, Dougherty is beginning to see some chinks of light at the end of the tunnel.

He said after his first round: "I'm delighted with what I'm doing, I've just got to keep doing the same stuff.

“There's no guarantees of anything but at the same time, I'm really proud of where I've come from and how well I'm playing,

“I think that's as good a golf as I've ever played in my career. It was phenomenal, it really was, I'm so delighted, a ray of sunshine in what has been quite a bleak year.

“It's sad when tidy results are not even top-10s. It shows you how far I've fallen from grace since 2007.

“But these things happen in golf and life and I'm just happy that I'm starting to make some really good progress coming into the meat of the season.”

Dougherty revealed there were times when he had to dig into the deepest parts of his mental reserves just to keep playing after his mum died a few days after watching him make his Masters debut at Augusta.

The protégé of Nick Faldo added; “I have experience. It's one of the things that's allowed me to come back.

“It's my eighth year on tour but you know, I've played bad before - but I've never had quite the stuff that's happened to me that has happened, and quite the depth of where I was going and how I felt about the game, and myself, and life in general.

“It's proven quite a challenge and I'm definitely making great progress.

“I'm chuffed, I've just got to keep doing the same stuff and confidence will build from playing more rounds of golf like that.

“Whether or not I play great for the rest of this week, I don't know and I'm not going to put that pressure on myself, but I'm just pleased with the bits I'm seeing.

“The team of guys I have around me are phenomenal. It's a real testament to my caddy.

“He's had huge success and a lot of people would've walked away seeing how bad I was struggling but he's stood by me.”

Dougherty completed the tournament with rounds of 71 and 75 to finish in a share of 48^th place, some 13 shots behind Strange.