JAMES Scade is setting his sights on taking his place alongside the cream of European golf’s up-and-coming stars after an encouraging past 12 months.

The 24-year-old from Braintree is going to be focusing his full attention on the EuroPro Tour in 2014 as he targets a move on to the PGA Challenge Tour – the feeder competition for Europe’s showpiece golfing tour, the PGA European Tour – in 2015.

Scade has taken plenty of encouragement from his performances last year, when he made ten cuts out of the 13 EuroPro tournaments he played in, and is now looking to take his game to the next level.

He said: “I was very steady and consistent last year. The only thing I lacked was having a really low score that would have won me a tournament.

“I wasn’t far away from that and I felt it was only really my mental attitude that was getting in my way, so towards the end of the year I worked on that with my coach and now I feel I’m where I want to be.

“2013 was tough, but I learned a lot about myself. I’m going to play on the EuroPro Tour again this year and hopefully I can get the win that will allow me to move on to the Challenge Tour.

“It’s going to be tough because the standard of the EuroPro Tour is very high now and you have to play so well to win on it, but I’m looking to make progress.”

Scade, who is linked to the Ingrebourne Links Golf Club in Rainham, is working hard this winter to achieve his goal and is hoping to attract sponsorship.

Having now become fully qualified as a PGA professional should also help the former Notley High School pupil.

He added: “Now that I’m fully-qualified, I can focus fully on playing as there’s nothing in the way and all my attention can be on actually playing golf.

“Before, my preparations were limited because I was having to do exams and coursework during the winter and having to go to lectures, which all interupted my playing time. But this winter I’m able to practice every day and focus 100 per cent.

“That’s what other people on the tour are able to do and I have to be doing the same.

“I want to be on the Challenge Tour in 2015 and to do that I have to win on the EuroPro Tour.”

The EuroPro Tour schedule is due to start at the Belfry on April 15 and anyone interested in getting involved with sponsorship can contact Scade at jamesscade@hotmail.com