CHRIS Paisley, attached to Close House, has moved up a place in the Challenge Tour rankings.

The former Walker Cup man from Mickley, Northumberland, who recently won his maiden tour title, rose from tenth to ninth yesterday with a £6,217 pay day following four sub-70 rounds in the Kazakhstan Open, the Challenge Tour’s “major”.

He closed with a four-under 68 for a share of tenth place at the Zhailjau resort in Almaty and a 15-under total of 273. The first three rounds brought him scores of 68, 69 and 68.

The leader of the Tour rankings, Penrith’s Gary Lockerbie, was one shot further up the leaderboard, tied seventh after a three-under 69.

Barnard Castle’s Robert Dinwiddie, ranked 58th, made it a trio of North East and Cumbria players in the tournament’s top 25 finishing with a 70 to tie for 22nd place on 12 under.