A revitalised Andrew Coltart is back where he wants to be and chasing a second Qatar Masters title after taking a share of the first-round lead alongside Ryder Cup duo Henrik Stenson and Miguel Angel Jimenez.
Last year Coltart was without a tour card and only competed in Doha thanks to winning the inaugural event back in 1998, and trudged off the final green after missing a putt which would have earned him a guaranteed trip to Dubai the following week.
An invite to Dubai and a host of other events did ultimately follow, but this year he is guaranteed around 25 tournaments - eight more than the number of invites he had to scramble for last year - after finishing 14th at the qualifying school in November.
And after a solid performance at the South African Open before Christmas, Coltart joined Stenson and Jimenez in carding opening rounds of 66, six under par, to open up a one-shot lead over Lee Westwood, Robert Dinwiddie, Anders Hansen, Brett Rumford and Louis Oosthuizen.
"My career wasn't really going anywhere expect down," admitted Coltart, 38, a member of the 1999 Ryder Cup team.
"I was on the career money list and not achieving anything out of that category and ended up losing my card last year and had to go back to Tour school.
"I went back and things went pretty well. I was working hard with Colin Brooks back in Edinburgh and I was quite confident going into Tour school and played well and achieved something."
After starting on the back nine at the familiar Doha Golf Club, Coltart reached the turn in four under, courtesy mainly of an eagle two after driving the 16th green.
And despite dropping his only shot at the sixth after three putts, three further birdies kept the Scot in the hunt.
"Losing the card and doing the media work really hit home this is where I still want to be while I'm still strong enough and fit enough to compete. I want to be out here and I hope to stay here for several more years," he added.
"Since I got my card back there is self worth in that. When you're just hanging on, with an iffy category, it wasn't nice asking for invites but I was very fortunate with the invites I received."
Dubai-based Stenson, the 2006 Qatar champion who finished runner-up last year, missed the cut in Abu Dhabi last week but more hard work on the driving range paid off.
"I had a good session on the range in Abu Dhabi on Saturday and that's about it," said the world number 11.
"I've been working away on the swing and that was the problem in Abu Dhabi. I've been struggling with my tee balls for quite some time but got it a bit more under control, and even had the driver out on a few occasions.
"You are always only a couple of shots away from a good score and you can quickly turn it around over a week or so.
"I wouldn't say I'm shocked with how I played but I am happy to start the tournament the way I did."
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