The feelings are mixed with another top-20 finish despite a 10-under total for four days. Four straight under-par rounds at Dubai Desert Classic landed me in tied 16th for the second successive week.

Overall the Desert Swing was a good one in terms of my play - I was 30-under for three weeks - but the results were somewhat in tune with the play. Still, as I said last week I am not unhappy for this is only the start of the season. Also the fact that I have been over-par only once - in the first round of Abu Dhabi - and have twice been on par and the rest nine rounds have been under par is very satisfying.

The Dubai Classic was as usual a terrific event. I caught up with a lot of friends and had a great time, though a finish closer to the top would have had made it even better!

After Dubai, I have given myself another two weeks off and am continuing work on fitness and the game. It has got me relaxed and I am looking forward to getting to the United States in preparation for the Augusta Masters in April.

My plan is to play in the US for the next few weeks. I have some starts on the PGA Tour. I will begin with the Northern Trust Open in Los Angeles in the week of Feb 19-22 and then I have starts in WGC-Accenture Matchplay, the WGC-CA tournament in Doral, Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill, Houston Open and then the Masters.

Later I will play a few more event in US like Wachovia. My idea is to play about 12 events or so in US.

Meanwhile, here in India, the past few days have given me the chance to meet some friends and also fulfil a few sponsors' commitments.

I have been working on my yoga and also my game and it is looking good.

One particular event that was really satisfying during this period was the unveiling of Rolex Awards. I am a Brand Ambassador for Rolex, whose involvement with golf is well known. They have also put up a big amount of $ one million dollars for next few years to promote Indian amateur golf. That is indeed a fantastic idea.

Over the years, I have seen whenever amateur golfers are given the right kind of push and incentive their games grows by leaps and bounds.

I had a decent amateur career including playing for India at the Asian Games and hopefully some of the amateurs, particularly the juniors like Rashid Khan - who I also saw at the Volvo Masters of Asia in Bangkok - and Chikkaranagappa have tremendous potential. We are bound to hear from them more in the coming years.

That's all for now and Happy golfing till next time.