Lee Westwood is confident another European Tour victory is not far away - and is happy just to be in contention until then.
The Ryder Cup star has not won a tournament in more than 14 months, but there have been a succession of near misses and he is again in the hunt after the first round of the Qatar Masters on Thursday.
After joining Mark James as the second most prolific English winner in European Tour history with wins at the Andalucian Open and British Masters in 2007, last year Westwood produced a consistent but winless season, recording 13 top-10 finishes, including four runners-up spots and a third place at the US Open.
And after carding an opening-round five-under-par 67 at Doha Golf Club yesterday to sit in a group of five only one shot adrift of leaders Henrik Stenson, Miguel Angel Jimenez and Andrew Coltart, the 18-time European Tour winner is right where he likes to be.
"I was in contention every week I teed it up so that gives me confidence to take out on the first tee in every tournament," the 35-year-old said.
"I'd like to win as soon as possible, but I'm not putting pressure on myself. I played great last year and it seems like I've come out and carried on with the same vein of form this year.
"I felt unlucky a few times not to win tournaments; sometimes the luck doesn't go your way, you don't get the breaks, you don't get the up and down on the green and that can be the difference between winning and losing."
The now-slimmer Westwood opted to use his Christmas break after finishing third at the South African Open to concentrate on gym work to boost his strength and flexibility rather than spend time at the driving range.
That, coupled with the fact he was using a brand new set of clubs for the first time in a competitive round, bodes well for his chances of coming out on top this weekend ahead of the all-star field again assembled in Doha.
"I've been practising with them (the clubs) a little bit as far back as August last year, hitting a few balls and getting the feel. But there's no substitute for actually playing a competitive round," he added. "So that was my first competitive round and I'm quite pleased."
Westwood's first round did not catch fire until two late birdies saw him reach the turn in two under after missing four solid birdie chances over his opening six holes.
Three birdies in four holes in the middle of the front nine moved him up the leaderboard before he secured his place only a shot off the pace by saving par at the last following a wayward tee shot, which left him partially unsighted as he clubbed around a bush.
"I have not practised over Christmas, maybe three or four weeks off," he said. "I didn't really know what to expect but I was doing a lot of gym work and that keeps me from going rusty, which I used to when I took time off."
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