David Higgins is older and wiser than when he first ventured out on tour. Over a decade has passed since those fledgling footsteps - following a family tradition - were first taken and, for most of it, the 32-year-old Kerryman has experienced a roller coaster ride that dipped and rose and occasionally brought glimpses of the promised land.

All too frequently, however, on other occasions it also showed him a harsher side of life as a tour player, especially when he lost his tour card. Yet, through it all, the dream persisted. Now, Higgins, who first turned professional in 1994 as a plus-three handicapper and with the scalp of - among others - Padraig Harrington on his amateur CV, is prepared for his next chance at the big time.

This week, he's in the field for the Smurfit European Open. It's what he calls "a bonus week," one away from the Challenge Tour where he is currently placed second in the money list and already assured of his full tour card for next season.

"My goal is to win the Challenge Tour, it's what I'm keyed up for. I'm planning for next year . . . and that approach definitely helps here. There's no pressure. I'm not supposed to win, am I? It'd be a different story here if I was chasing a tour card but I can come here and relax and enjoy it."

Not that Higgins doesn't believe he can win, even with the stellar field assembled for a tournament that is one of the PGA European Tour's flagship events.

"You wouldn't be here if you didn't think you could win. There are things you dream about obviously, and winning is one of them. You have to play well to put yourself in that position.

"I've only been in contention a few times and I haven't come out on the right end of it. But I'll get back there again and I will be a bit more prepared for it. No, you wouldn't be here if you didn't think you could win."

Higgins has learned well, become more hardened in his aims. He had six visits to the European Tour qualifying school - being successful twice, in 1995 and '97. Yet, probably his most successful season as a professional came on the Challenge Tour in 2000 when he won three titles and eventually finished runner-up on the Order of Merit to Henrik Stenson.

So far this season, Higgins hasn't won on the Challenge Tour. But he has had seven top-10s - including four top-fives - and earned €69,598 in manoeuvring his way into the second spot.

This week's tournament in Madrid on the Challenge Tour has just €115,000 up for grabs (compared to almost €3.5 million at the K Club), so it is no great hardship at all for Higgins to put aside his main goal for the season to concentrate on one of the tour's blue chip events.

Considering he didn't have a card two years ago, Higgins has done well to rediscover himself, mainly via the Irish PGA region. "If you are not playing well, you get down on yourself. You lose confidence. Compared to two years ago, I'm 100 times better. Compared to when I first started (in 1994), I'm probably the same but just in a different mould. It's not that I don't worry about things now, you do, but when you're down you worry about everything. I'm enjoying it; life's much better.

"When you lose something as valuable as a tour card and then you are back playing here you say, 'jeez, that was great, what I had' and you practice and you work to get back there and now I'm almost there. I have enough made on the Challenge Tour for my card and I couldn't be better in my golf . . . if I win a few tournaments, it wouldn't surprise me that much.

"Every year I learn more about it and understand more about it. Anything can happen in this game, but you have to be here to do it."