McGinley feels ready for new start

Some players have been busier than others on tour so far this season. For instance, Anton Haig and Simon Dyson have each played 14 times on the PGA European Tour while, in contrast, Paul McGinley will be making just his sixth appearance of the season when he forms part of a strong Irish challenge at this week's Spanish Open in Madrid.

"I feel like my season will start this week in earnest," remarked McGinley, who is a lowly 123rd on the European Tour money list. "I've trained and practised hard, and now need to turn my good work into good scores. I do feel a bit uncompetitive, but I am fresh and looking forward to playing a full and injury-free schedule this year."

In common with Darren Clarke, McGinley is also embarking on five-week long stretch of tournaments. Unlike Clarke, whose itinerary includes the Wachovia Championship and The Players, McGinley's schedule is entirely based in Europe. He plays this week's Spanish Open, next week's Italian, followed by the Andalucia Open, The Irish Open and, finally, the BMW PGA Championship.

McGinley is one of eight Irish players in action in the Spanish Open, where he is joined by Clarke, the in-form Graeme McDowell, who has had back-to-back top-10 finishes in China this past two weeks, Damien McGrane, Peter Lawrie, Gary Murphy, David Higgins and Irish amateur champion Rory McIlroy.

Meanwhile, Michael Hoey's win in the Tessali Open on the Challenge Tour on Sunday has lifted him to eighth place on the secondary European circuit's money list as he seeks to reclaim his full card for next season. And the 28-year-old Belfast man attributes his improved form to undergoing laser eye surgery in January.

He explained: "I got sick of asking caddies where my ball had landed. It was actually ridiculous when you consider I was playing against the best players in the world last year and I couldn't see where my ball was finishing."

Hoey, who has a free week to reflect on his win as there is no Challenge Tour event this week, underwent the laser surgery in London in January. "A week after having the surgery, my eyesight was perfect. Now, my vision is probably better than 20/20. It has made an outrageous difference to me on the golf course. I feel I can read greens a lot better as well, especially at times when the light is not so good."

Hoey's previous win on the Challenge Tour came when he won the CA Open in Austria in 2005, an event which is now part of the main tour. On that occasion, the former British Amateur champion succeeded in winning his full card and he hopes the win in Italy will lead to a similar occurrence this time round when the cards are awarded after the Grand Final in October.

Nobody will need to remind Hoey there is a long way to go to guarantee that full tour card, but last weekend's win provides a very strong foundation.