DALE Whitnell’s challenge for English Challenge honours faded on a wet and thundery final afternoon at Stoke by Nayland.

With heavy storms twice suspending play late on at the PGA Challenge Tour event, Whitnell, pictured left, was unable to match the form of his opening three rounds on Stoke’s testing Gainsborough course.

The 23-year-old from Tiptree, who had been playing alongside the world’s finest golfers at the 141st Open Championship seven days before, finished just outside the top 20 on five-under par.

He had begun his challenge at the course in Leavenheath with back-to-back rounds of 69 to make the cut at a well-placed six-under par.

A 71 in the third round kept the Five Lakes member in the hunt for honours towards the top end of the leaderboard, but dropped shots as the weather turned for the worse on the last day proved costly.

Whitnell had started his final round with a run of three birdies, but four bogeys in five holes either side of the turn and another as the rain continued to fall at the 18th saw him finish with a round of 74.

His five-under par total of 283 placed Whitnell in a tie for 22nd spot, 11 shots behind the eventual winner England’s Chris Paisley, who sealed a maiden Challenge Tour victory and jumped to sixth in the overall standings with his win at Stoke.