Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño announced his return to the European Tour with a top five at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters and is looking to get back to his best now he is home.
The Spaniard enjoyed a stunning decade on Tour, winning the KLM Open in his rookie season in 2005 and winning six further times in the next eight years before splitting his time between the Europe and America in 2014.
He has plied his trade across the Atlantic for the last three seasons but after regaining his card at the Qualifying School in November, he is delighted to be back in Europe and is hoping to rediscover the form that saw him finish seventh in the Rankings in 2013.
"I'm loving it," he said. "The European Tour, it's my home Tour and will always be.
"When I left a few years ago I wasn't meaning to leave forever, my plan was to combine both, but unfortunately my game was so poor that I lost my exemptions here.
"I made the effort last year of coming back to School and definitely it's paying off and I'm very happy to be back here and seeing all my friends and enjoying playing back in Europe."
The 37 year old entered the final day at Doha Golf Club five shots off the lead but he had cut that gap to two when he made a hat-trick of birdies from the tenth, highlighted by a chip-in on the 11th.
He was disappointed he could not pick up any further shots on the way home as he finished three behind Eddie Pepperell, but was happy with his overall performance after missing the cut last week in Oman.
I'm very happy to be back here and seeing all my friends and enjoying playing back in Europe - Gonzalo Fernandez-Castaño
"It started very tricky in the morning and the wind was blowing in a slightly different direction to the last two days but I think it calmed down a little bit through the day and it got better," he said.
"I played well, I played some steady golf. Unfortunately I didn't manage to birdie any of the last three which I thought I needed if I was going to put some pressure on the leaders but it's still a very good week. It feels very good to be back in contention after such a long time.
"I knew I was going to have chances on the back nine and I took advantage of those, made three straight birdies, but unfortunately - even though I did some very good shots coming in - I didn't manage to birdie any of the last six holes which is disappointing.
"I'm very happy with my performance all week and hopefully this is a turning point."
