Coltart out to reignite his flagging career

Mallorca Classic/First Round Tee-Times:Andrew Coltart has played in five World Cups, won the Dunhill Cup for Scotland at St Andrews and played Tiger Woods in the singles in the Ryder Cup. But this week the 37-year-old Scot is fighting simply to keep his European Tour card for next season and reignite his career in the Mallorca Classic at Pula Golf Club.

Only the top 118 on the Order of Merit on Sunday evening will retain their full playing privileges for 2008 and Coltart lies a lowly 169th without a single top-10 finish all season.

However, the two-time European Tour winner is also 41st on the career money list - the top 40 also earn a tour card - and is just over £22,000 behind Seve Ballesteros.

Finishing 13th or better in Mallorca would save Coltart from a first visit to the dreaded qualifying school since 1993, although he insists he would approach the six-round marathon at San Roque next month in a positive frame of mind.

"If it's the tour school, then bring it on. Hopefully I can win the tour school and start things all over again," said Coltart, who earlier this year shot 27 for nine holes in the KLM Open to equal the European Tour record.

"It's an interesting time, an exciting time and whatever happens you have to try to grasp the opportunity the best you can and see what you can do.

"It (my career) has been very, very stale, whether you quantify this as a kick up the backside or not, there's a chance to win this tournament or do well here and failing that the mind is getting itself prepared for going to the tour school.

"It's been hugely disappointing but I can't do any more than what I've tried to do. I've tried to do the right things, I've always tried to improve. It's not for a lack of trying, things just haven't worked out.

"The frustrating thing is I know I can play, I've won tournaments, I've won an Order of Merit in Australia. I don't see any reason at all to why I find myself in the position that I'm in.

"I'm standing here thinking there is absolutely no reason why I can't win here.

"As long as I can maintain those thoughts that's got to be pretty good."

Coltart won the Qatar Masters in 1998 and the Great North Open in 2001, but it was a run of consistent form in 1999 which saw him close to qualifying automatically for the contest at Brookline.

In the end he was a somewhat controversial wild card choice by European captain Mark James, only to be left out until the final-day singles where he lost 3 and 2 to Woods as the United States staged a memorable fightback from 10-6 down.

"I look back to 1999 and ironically I feel I'm doing a lot of things better than I was doing then," added Coltart, who believes one factor in his struggles is the increasing strength in depth on the European circuit.

"I look back at that time and try and draw strength from it, I look back at that time and want to make sure it isn't the only time that happened. I want to get back into the top 10 in Europe, try to get into the top 50 in the world.

"I still harbour plenty of ambitions and I'm not past it yet. I'm only 37 and I think I have plenty of time to do something like that.

"I can play, it just hasn't all fired together. That nine holes in Holland was an example of what I'm capable of, it's just putting it together and the flicker of a flame at the minute turning into a bit more of a bonfire again."

Irish interest is represented by Paul McGinley, Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy and Graeme McDowell.

McGrane, McGinley and Lawrie have their own target, as a big week could get them into next week's season-ending and highly lucrative Volvo Masters at Valderrama. They lie 70th, 74th and 75th respectively in the Order of Merit, with the top 60 getting through.

Of course Coltart is not alone in battling to keep his card this week and Yorkshire's Ian Garbutt finds himself in an unwelcomely familiar position.

Garbutt kept his European Tour card by just £801.22 at the end of last year thanks to finishing 64th in Mallorca and currently occupies 117th on the money list, just £1,100 ahead of the man in 119th, Swede Jarmo Sandelin.

(British unless stated, Irish in bold. All times +1 Irish, (x) denotes amateurs):

FIRST HOLE

Selected

8.25 - E Rush, F Valera (Spn), JG Del Moral (Spn). 8.35 - S Struver (Ger), R McEvoy, A Salto (Spn). 8.45 - A Noren (Swe), G Lockerbie, J-B Gonnet (Fra). 8.55 - P Gustafsson (Swe), P O'Malley (Aus), A Coltart. 9.05 - A Forsyth, P Price, D McGrane. 9.15 - R Bland, M Erlandsson (Swe), J Randhawa (Ind). 9.25 - J Bickerton, C Nilsson (Swe), M Tunnicliff. 9.35 - T Price (Aus), D Carter, P Edberg (Swe). 9.45 - C Cevaer (Fra), K Sullivan, S Benson. 12.30 - L Claverie (Spn), M Zions (Aus), P Linhart (Spn). 12.40 - E Canonica (Ita), J-F Remesy (Fra), F Molinari (Ita). 12.50 - P Broadhurst, T Levet (Fra), J Edfors (Swe). 13.00 - M A Jimenez (Spn), N Fasth (Swe), A Quiros (Spn). 13.10 - Yong-eun Yang (Kor), M Vibe-Hastrup (Den), S Kjeldsen (Den). 13.20 - J Van de velde (Fra), M Eliasson (Swe), C Monasterio (Arg). 13.30 - S Wakefield, M Siem (Ger), R J Derksen (Ned). 13.40 - B Lane, S Little, C Suneson (Spn). 13.50 - A Tampion (Aus), M Pilkington, M Higley. 14.00 - R Rock, J Heath, A Tadini (Ita).

10th HOLE

8.25 - B Hafthorsson (Ice), A Domingo (Spn), L Slattery. 8.35 - G Storm, G Fdez-Castano (Spn), P McGinley. 8.45 - T Bjorn (Den), S Garcia (Spn), P Martin (Spn). 8.55 - P Lawrie, J M Lara (Spn), B Rumford (Aus). 9.05 - P Archer, M Brier (Aut), G McDowell. 9.15 - O Fisher, W Ormsby (Aus), P Sjoland (Swe). 9.25 - S Dodd, J Sandelin (Swe), A McLardy (Rsa). 9.35 - J Backstrom (Swe), I Garbutt, A Canete (Arg). 9.45 - J Axgren (Swe), J Hepworth, G Murphy. 12.30 - J M Arruti (Spn), G Davies, S Garcia (Spn). 12.40 - G Orr, B Barham, D Park. 12.50 - R Cabrera Bello (Spn), M Millar (Aus), S Luna (Spn). 13.00 - R Finch, J Parron (Spn), C Rodiles (Spn). 13.10 - G Bourdy (Fra), S Jeppesen (Swe), J-F Lima (Por). 13.20 - A Wall, A Marshall, T Whitehouse. 13.30 - G Emerson, S Gallacher, J-F Lucquin (Fra). 13.40 - T Jaidee (Tha), Peter Lawrie, G Houston. 13.50 - H Nystrom (Swe), M Foster, R Echenique (Arg). 14.00 - M Juan (Spn), S O'Hara, C Hanell (Swe).