Andrew Coltart out to revive season at Gleneagles

Andrew Coltart has spent most of the 2010 campaign battling to hold on to his European Tour card but the former Ryder Cup player is hoping a return to the domestic circuit in this week's Gleneagles Scottish PGA championship can re-energise his season.

The 40-year-old, who won the national championship at Dalmahoy in 1994, headlines a streamlined 66-man field for the Tartan Tour showpiece, which starts today, over the King's course. Coltart, making his first appearance in the Scottish PGA since 1995, currently languishes in 145th spot on the European Tour rankings and is already preparing himself for a return to December's qualifying school, the gruelling six-round ordeal that the Scot has described as: "the longest job interview of anybody's life".

Coltart could yet safeguard his place among the elite with a final flourish at next week's Castello Masters in Valencia but, for the time being, the two-time tour champion is aiming to play his way into contention at Glen-eagles and experience, once again, the rush that comes with being involved at the sharp end of affairs in a tournament.

"I'd really love for me and a few others to be battling it out for the title on Sunday," admitted Coltart. "I've not been in that position for ages and I've almost forgotten what it feels like to be involved like that at an event.

"I didn't get into the European Tour event in Portugal this week. I have Spain next week but, at the back of my mind, I'm preparing for the qualifying school and this is a good chance for me to keep my game sharp. It's been a long time since I played in the Scottish PGA and I'm looking forward to going back. The King's is a great old course with a great history and I'm sure this will be a good challenge against some stiff competition."

With its new end-of-season slot, this week's championship will be the deciding event in the race for the Tartan Tour's order of merit. Greig Hutcheon, the winner of the Aberdeen Northern Open last month, heads the standings but, with a large number of points on offer in Perthshire, the Banchory pro could yet be caught.

Jason McCreadie lurks in second place, just over 100 points behind Hutcheon, while Craig Lee, fourth on the standings, still has a chance of retaining his crown.

David Orr, the reigning Scottish PGA champion, will be aiming to become the first back-to-back winner since Ross Drummond 20 years ago while Tartan Tour stalwart Colin Gillies, in his 25th year on the circuit, has his own milestone in sight and needs around 3,060 to become the first player to break the 500,000 barrier in career earnings on the Scottish tour.