SWINDON'S Martin Sell has announced he has quit tournament golf to concentrate on his family.

The 37-year-old says financial reasons have played a part in his decision but he also wants to spend more time with his eight-month-old twins Oliver and Oscar.

“I’ll really miss the competitive side. It will be hard to just turn it off after almost 20 years of playing at a high level. It was a difficult decision but one I’ve thought about for a year or so now,” said Sell.

“It’s tough to earn a living on mini tours, especially if you don’t have any sponsors. Obviously, with the two boys, I don’t have time to practice properly or regularly anymore, which makes it harder to compete.”

Sell’s career highlight came in 2002 when he finished runner-up in the British Amateur Championship.

Despite more than 20 pro wins, Sell has some regrets as he looks back on his career, which has spanned two decades.

“All wins are special, especially when you do it regularly but I wish I’d won the British Amateur,” he said.

“I’m really happy with what I achieved – over 20 professional wins. Obviously, I have some regrets, not establishing myself on the European Tour being one.”

In 2013, the former New College student had a ranking on the European Tour, but not the financial support, so had to cut his season short.

He said: “In 2014, I was playing the best golf of my life and finished with a stroke average of 69.4, which was only bettered by Rory McIlroy.”

His career in golf was not what he expected it to be when he entered his first pro tournament in 2005.

He said: “As a top amateur, I thought it would be easier. I didn’t realise the standard would be so high at mini tour level.

“There are a lot of very good players out there so you need to work much harder than the rest of them to reach the top.

“In the early days I thought I could rely on talent alone. How wrong was that?”

Despite no longer playing, Sell will still be involved in the game as he starts his new job at TaylorMade as a club technician and has not ruled out playing again.

He said: “I’d never rule out playing. You never know what the future might hold a few years down the line.”