Peter Whiteford's wait over as he returns in India

PETER Whiteford has been kicking his heels in frustration since recording his best finish on the European Tour just under a month ago, when he tied for sixth place behind runaway winner Charl Schwartzel in the Joburg Open.

In all three of the events that made up the Tour's 'Middle East Swing', the 29-year-old Fifer fell agonisingly short of the cut-off point and missed out on the chance to build on that promising performance in South Africa.

Having regained his Tour card by graduating from the Challenge circuit last season – he won the year-ending Apulia San Domenico Grand Final – Whiteford knows his opportunities may be few and far between, so he's got to try and make the most of them.

Today he's one of six Scots teeing up in the opening round of the Avantha Masters at the DLFGolf & Country Club in New Delhi and is hopeful he can take up where he left off in Johannesburg.

"I'm looking forward to getting back playing again," said Whiteford, who opted to become a touring pro when he joined the paid ranks while his brother, Stewart, a former Scottish Boys' champion, was left to run the family's golf range at Wellsgreen between Kirkcaldy and Leven.

"It was frustrating not getting into any of the Middle East events. In the week of the Qatar Masters, the Tour contacted me to say I was second reserve and, with two players struggling with injury, I had a good chance of getting in.

"Even if I got a last-minute flight, though, the earliest I could get there would have been the Thursday morning and that's no use. It's not the ideal way to prepare for an event and I wasn't willing to take that gamble."

He did travel out to Dubai last week but, as the Desert Classic was taking place at The Emirates, Whiteford was getting in some practice at Dubai Creek.

"I wanted to get some work in before heading here," he added. "It was good to be able to hit from proper grass – we've not seen a lot of that at home recently – so my game isn't quite as rusty as it could have been. Hopefully the money that cost me will pay off this week.

"I am obviously trying to take my form from Joburg into this event, though it would have been better if I hadn't had to wait a month for my next tournament to come around. I played in India when I had my card a couple of years ago and one of the most difficult things to adjust to is the grainy greens.

"My goal every week is to win. You have got to aim high out here (on the Tour]. I would love to put in a good performance this week as it's unlikely that I will be going all the way to Malaysia for one event, so I'll probably have three weeks off after this one.

"My season will really start in earnest in March – that's when I should be able to get a decent run of events. However, I am really looking forward to this week as well."

Callum Macaulay, who has received a sponsor's invite, is out in the first group today, while Richie Ramsay has been paired with Shiv Kapur, the player he beat in a play-off to win the South African Open in December. David Drysdale, Andrew Coltart and Steven O'Hara are the other Scots in the field.

• Kilmarnock's Jack Doherty surged to the top of the leaderboard during the second round of the Hi5 Pro Tour's Mar Menor Open in Murcia, Spain yesterday. The former Australian Amateur champion birdied five of his last six holes in an eight-under 64 for a nine-under 135. Doherty heads into the final day a shot in front of Matt Evans of England and Danish amateur Joachim Hansen.