AS SCOTTISH golf's steadiest performer in the Race to Dubai so far this season, David Drysdale aims to explore the upper reaches of the leaderboard when the Madeira Islands Open gets underway today on the tiny island of Porto Santo, once the home of Christopher Columbus.
With earnings of more than 95,000 (£89,000),Drysdale is currently the highest-placed Scot on the European Tour money list. While his most encouraging performance was third place in the Joburg Open, he has also taken 29th spot in the Alfred Dunhill,
34th at the South African Open and 68th in Abu Dhabi.
The consistency of those performances bodes well for a swing of events closer to home. As well as being one nine of Scots teeing up in Porto Santo, Drysdale will head for Seville and Estoril in the weeks ahead. He is optimistic he can continue the run of positive results which catapulted him to second place in the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit over the winter months.
"My golf is heading in the right direction again," reported the 33-year-old from Dunbar. "I changed my coach and the work I've done with David Downie, who was taught for a long time by Bob Torrance, has helped me to use the lower half of my body more effectively. I'd always had a problem with straightening my right knee, which contributed to inconsistency. Because my legs are working better, my ball striking has improved. That breeds confidence.
"Don't get me wrong, I'm nowhere near where I want to be yet. But I'm taking a more positive attitude into tournaments and that's a big step forward for me. I'm thinking about competing and challenging rather than wondering if I'm going to make the cut or earn any money."
Although his track record of resilient performances in retrieving his playing privileges at Tour school is outstanding – he has secured his card under the cosh at the last three consecutive final qualifying events – Drysdale makes no secret of the fact he intends to be sunning himself on a beach when the next qualifying school welcomes anxious pupils at the end of November.
Life has mostly been a struggle on the European Tour since Drysdale began competing regularly at the highest level in 2002. So far, he has yet to finish a season inside the top 100. Twice he has missed out on keeping his card by just a few euros – coming up 586 shy in 2005 and 1,139 in 2006. This season he hopes the fates will consider his efforts more kindly.
"First and foremost my goal this year is to avoid that Tour school," he admitted. "OK, I've got through the last three times, but there will come a time if I do have to go again when that might not happen. I hope to be on a beach somewhere that week, looking at the scores and feeling relieved I don't have to go through all that again.
"I don't know where this season will take me, but I've made a decent start and there's an opportunity to achieve more than I've done in the past.
"The possibility of taking one of those top 60 spots and playing in the Dubai World Championship is a huge goal. Even finishing inside the top 100 in the Race to Dubai would show I wasn't that far away."
Although his main goals lie in Europe, Drysdale is currently second on the Sunshine Tour's Order of Merit. If he finishes the African campaign among the top three, he will be invited to play in next year's CA World Championship event at Doral.
"That would be an absolutely amazing opportunity," enthused a player whose previous closest brush to golf's big time came when he played as a marker with John Daly in the 1992 Open at Muirfield. "But I have to say my priority is getting my card in Europe. The main reason I joined the Sunshine Tour was to get somewhere to play at a time of the year when I knew I wouldn't get too many starts in Europe."
In his 14th year as a professional, Drysdale reckons the challenge of competing on the world stage has never been tougher.
"It's getting harder and harder to win," he said. "If you look at the players coming through, they're getting younger and better. Just look at Danny Lee, the 18-year-old New Zealander who won the Johnnie Walker, or at Rory McIlroy, who is 19 and already in the world top 20.
"Before Christmas, when I was in South Africa, I played with Richie Ramsay, David Horsey and Danny Willet at the Dunhill. All young and a good standard. The following week I played with Rory McIlroy. Now, there was no doubt in my mind he's streets ahead of these other young guys. Rory has the golf game to go on and achieve anything he wants. And, to go with it, he's a nice lad. We had a good carry-on and I holed a 30-footer on the last for a half."
