Barham admits he has struggled to focus since his daughter's birth

Former European Tour pro Jamie Spence believes Kent's top golfer, Benn Barham, will recover his form.

Barham, 33, who is currently ranked 191st on the European Tour, is at risk of losing his place after a poor season - with the top 115 guaranteed cards.

"Benn's a talented player, let's make no mistake about that," Spence told BBC Radio Kent.

"You're allowed a blip in your career and maybe Benn's having his now but he's still got time to turn it around."

He added: "Benn's had a real tough two-thirds of this year and he's not got going at all.

He's still got a burning desire to succeed as a professional golfer and I'm sure he wants to win an event Jamie Spence

"He's still got some time to get himself out of trouble.

"But the margins are fine these days and there are a lot of good players out there, and it can be touch-and-go between success and failure."

Spence is adamant that if the Ashford player does lose his card this season, he will not walk away from the sport.

"If he doesn't keep his playing rights then I'm sure he'll go back to tour school and keep going because he's only a young man," he said.

"He's still got a burning desire to succeed as a professional golfer and I'm sure he wants to win an event, so I think he'll keep going for a few more years yet."

Barham achieved his best European Tour results last season - finishing third at the European Open and fourth at the Welsh Open at Celtic Manor.

But he has failed to build on that this season, admitting he has found it difficult to focus on his game since the birth of his first child in December.

Spence won two events on the European Tour, and finished in the top 100 more than a dozen times, with a best placing of 10th in 1992.

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