Elliot Saltman flies to Abu Dhabi for hearing

ELLIOT Saltman is confident he can get matters "straightened out" when he appears before a European Tour committee of players and officials in Abu Dhabi today over his disqualification from a Challenge Tour event last season over alleged cheating.

"I'd asked for this meeting to be held before Christmas but, due to the weather, I couldn't travel down to London," said the 28-year-old, who has earned his card for the main circuit since he was reported by his playing partners, English duo Stuart Davis and Marcus Higley, after they claimed he had repeatedly marked his ball incorrectly during the first round of the event in Russia.

"Now this is my chance to put the record straight. It needs to be sorted out because it's been a hindrance to me and I just want to get on with doing what I do best, which is playing golf. I had my punishment at the time and I thought that would be the end of it so it has been bothering me. I just want it all straightened out so I can move on."

All three players involved have been flown to the Middle East by the Tour for today's hearing, which could result in Saltman being hit with a whole host of pubishments ranging from a playing ban to a censure, the latter having been handed down to Colin Montgomerie over his much-publicised rules incident in the 2005 Indonesian Open.

Meanwhile, Marc Warren has secured an invitation for this week's Abu Dhabi Championship after one earmarked for Jose Maria Olazabal became available when the Spaniard got into the field instead through the European Tour career money-list. Warren joins Masters champion Phil Mickelson and Ian Poulter on the list of invites for the first of the four events in the Middle East.

Warren's target will be to secure a top-ten finish as that would also get him into the Qatar Open in a fortnight as next week's Champions Trophy in Bahrain is a winners-only field.