ANDREW COLTART is hoping to put his European Tour struggles behind him in the Gleneagles Scottish PGA championship this week.
Coltart heads a 66-man field for the Tartan Tour showpiece, which starts today over the King's course at Gleneagles.
He is languishing in 145th place on the European circuit's order of merit and is facing another trip back to the dreaded qualifying school in December.
Coltart said: "What I'd really love is for me and a few others to be battling it out for the title on Sunday.
"I've not been in that position for ages and I've almost forgotten what it feels like to be involved at the top in an event.
"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 against some stiff competition."
Greig Hutcheon, winner of the Northern Open last month, can seal the Tartan Tour's order of merit with another strong showing at Gleneagles, while defending champion David Orr will be aiming to become the first back-to-back winner since Ross Drummond 20 years ago.
. CHRIS DOAK was disqualified in the first round of the Challenge Tour's Roma Golf Open yesterday for using a GPS measuring device.
The units are allowed in PGA regional events including those on the Tartan Tour, but not on the European Tour or the Challenge Tour.
Doak, who played full-time on the main Tour last year after winning the Northern Open the previous season, is believed to have forgotten to take his pin-placement book with him to the Rome course.
Inadvertently he turned to the GPS device for assistance, and immediately realised what he had done.
He called in a referee, and, unfortunately, there was no alternative than to disqualify him.
