GOLF: For Peter Lawrie, the winter hiatus has been a blessing. After a long year in which he garnered whatever cash he could on the Challenge Tour, and ultimately bagged sufficient quantities to earn a card on the full European Tour for 2003, the Dubliner extended his playing season to take in the opening two tournaments of the new season - in Taiwan and Hong Kong, surviving both cuts - before finally having the luxury of putting his clubs away. Philip Reid reports.

Now, though, the rest is over; and Lawrie can't wait to set out on what promises to be the most challenging year of his fledgling professional career.

On Sunday he flies out to South Africa to prepare for next week's South African Airways Open in Erinvale, Cape Town. It starts an early-season odyssey that will see him compete in two tournaments in that country, followed by the Singapore Open and then two tournaments in Australia.

Unlike previous seasons, when Lawrie had to literally beg for invitations to play in prime tournaments, a new dawn beckons. This time round, with a full tour card in his pocket, he can pick and choose where and when he wants to play.

It all means he is in a position to map out his early-season itinerary to take him to South Africa, Singapore and Australia and then return home for a two-week break before setting off for Dubai, Qatar and Madeira.

If the past couple of months have been spent ducking in and out of rain showers in an attempt to keep his swing in order, Lawrie's schedule over the next couple of months - when he will follow the sun - gives him an opportunity to prove that he can mix it with the best.

"It's quite a change from 12 months ago," remarked Lawrie. "I remember travelling down to South Africa and attempting to pre-qualify for these same two tournaments and, on each occasion, I lost out in a play-off for a spot. Now, I can walk straight in."

Lawrie's reasoning for playing the five opening tournaments (seven, in fact, if you include the Asian Open and Hong Kong Open played in late November-early December) of the new year is to get as much of a head-start on other players as he can.

Lying in 48th place in the Order of Merit - which is headed by Padraig Harrington - although he knows he has what it takes to win a tournament, his primary goal is simply to ensure that he retains his card.

"I'm not thinking beyond that just yet," he admitted. "I took it quite easy over the winter break, mainly because I had such a gruelling season on the Challenge Tour. It was a very pressurised season and, yet, it was nice to finish it by going to the Grand Final knowing I already had my tour card. It was a great way to play, without a huge amount of pressure, and then to win the tournament was fantastic," said Lawrie.

Stepping up to the big league doesn't intimidate him.

"I've been playing in the second division too long and I can't wait to get out there and play with all the top players. That's why I went to Taiwan and Hong Kong, to get out there and play.

"I won't change my mental approach, though. It is still a four round tournament in a different country and the primary objective is to get the ball into the hole. It doesn't matter who you are playing with," he insisted.

While Lawrie has mapped out an intensive start to the season, he intends to be sensible in the season-long itinerary he finally settles on.

"One of the things that stood to me on the Challenge Tour is that I decided on my schedule and stuck to it. Playing too much can kill you, it can sap your energy levels. I don't intend to be chasing my tail," he claimed.

Having served his time on the Challenge Tour and other secondary circuits, like the Asian Tour, Lawrie intends to make his mark among golf's big hitters. However, there was no gentle sound of a letter from Augusta National landing on his floor - he still has a road to travel to get that far - but, for 87 players who have already qualified, confirmation of their participation in the season's opening major arrived in the past few days.

Included among the invitees is a record 39 non-American players, including Padraig Harrington and Darren Clarke, while 10 professionals, including US PGA champion Rich Beem and England's Justin Rose, will be making their first trip to Augusta.

Among those not on the invitation list are John Daly, Tom Lehman, Paul Azinger and Mark Calcavecchia, who will have to play hard in the first three months of next season to have a chance of playing in the Masters.

The final field will not be determined until after The Players Championship in March.

Augusta National changed its qualifying criteria three years ago to rely more on the world ranking and US Tour money list, which means the majority of the field is determined three months before the Masters, scheduled for April 10th-13th. The 39 international players breaks the

record of 37 each of the last two years. Tiger Woods, who will try to become the first player to win three consecutive green jackets, is among 20 former champions in the field.

Also on the list are six-time winner Jack Nicklaus, who didn't play last year because of back problems, and three-time champion Gary Player, who will be playing in his last Masters.