IT is safe to assume Graeme Storm will never forget his trip to Crans Montana this year, not least because the events of the last week mean he will return to Switzerland again in 2015.

He could even drive there in the brand, spanking new BMW i8 sports car he got the keys to last Saturday when he aced his six-iron on the 11th at Crans-sur-Sierre; the day before he secured his European Tour card for a further year.

Speaking to the Hartlepool golfer after he had been edged to second place in the Omega European Masters last Sunday evening, the relief was clear in his voice and in his approach. It has been a difficult year, but finally he has found some light at the end of a dark tunnel.

“It has felt amazing,” said Storm, who still boosted his earnings to the tune of more than £200,000 despite losing out to American David Lipsky. “It would have been great to have won it, of course it would, but to know that I have got my job again for next year is a huge weight off my mind.”

Storm had missed 15 cuts and his previous best finish this year was back in February when he ended tied 22nd at the Joburg Open. Such a finish only earned him around £10,000, which in the grand scheme of things on a European Tour schedule is minimal.

Through 2014 he had won just £61,000 before last weekend and was ranked 159th in the Race to Dubai standings, comfortably short of the top 110 required to retain his playing privileges for a further 12 months. With short-term concerns over, he will tee off at the KLM Open today in a completely different frame of mind.

“It’s such a relief,” said Storm. “I have had a lot going on away from golf, like trouble selling my house that we were renting out, and we have had other things going on too, so it’s been a really bad year any way away from golf.

“Then, as the year has gone on, I’ve struggled to make money, so I have had the worries about what I will be doing next year hanging around. It can all take its toll when you are trying to stay focused on the course.

“It’s certainly been a rollercoaster year and thankfully it looks like it could end positively. We had some good news with the house just before the tournament in Switzerland and then what happened out there was just amazing, really.”

Without wanting to go in to too much detail about the issues which have affected his year, his celebrations on the tee box after holing the 11th last Saturday were full of emotion and illustrated what it meant to him and his family. When those had died down, he regained his composure to hold his nerve and stay in contention until his wayward tee shot in the first play-off hole with Lipski.

“You know what, it would have been nice to win, of course it would, because I thought I only needed a four to win the tournament on Sunday,” said Storm. “Because the 18th leaderboard faced the grandstand, and nobody wanted to put extra pressure on me, I didn’t know David had birdied the last ahead of me to draw level.

“Had I known that, I would have gone for the flag instead of playing safely on to the green. But I have to be happy with finishing second. That result changes everything.

“I’ve gone from worrying about whether I will get my Tour card next year, receiving emails about Tour school at the end of the year, and to thinking I could finish the year with big money events in Turkey and possibly Dubai. They are huge prize pots. It’s a bit different.”

Storm trails the top 60 by around €50,000 in the Race to Dubai, but with the pressure lifted he will hope to build on the success of last week.

“I certainly hope so,” said Storm. “I’m at the KLM Open in Holland this week, then the Wales Open. I’m relaxed about what happens, I just want to see how strongly I can finish the year ... but of course it would be great to win on Tour for the first time since 2007 (at the French Open).”