ALAN MEW could be excused for letting his heart rule his head when he plays in the Tobago Plantations Seniors Classic on April 3.

It was in his homeland of Tobago over 30 years ago that Mew, pictured, launched his career as a professional golfer.

And it will be there, a week on Thursday, that he will return to the professional ranks as a brand new member of the European Seniors Tour.

It's an astonishing coincidence but one which Mew has been working meticulously towards since he decided over two years ago to try and secure his European Seniors card once he reached his 50th birthday.

Mew was only one shot away from coming out of Touring School last November with a full card.

As it is he did well enough to qualify for a limited number of European events in 2003, including the Tobago Classic at the Tobago Plantations Golf and Beach Resort.

He could wish for a no more idyllic setting to complete a fairytale return to the professional ranks.

It almost matches his introduction to the professional game when a friend of his went to tour school, asked Mew to come along to keep him company and was then left gaping as Mew went on to get his card while he didn't.

In the days when the European Tour wasn't the giant money-spinning machine it is today, Mew lasted only two years - pulling out because he felt that as a journeyman golfer he wouldn't make a decent living from it.

When he came over to live in England, Southampton was his port of call and there he stayed. He joined Stoneham Golf Club and became one of their finest players, winning the club Championship many times and taking the Hampshire crown in 1987.

He played in the Hampshire team for 25 years and shared in their finest hour, helping them win the County Championship at Woodhall Spa in 1996.

Ironically, Mew was an automatic choice right up until last year when, in mid-season, his form nosedived.

His plan to go to Seniors Tour school in the autumn looked futile but Stoneham club manager Richard Penley Martin recalled: "He got his head down, worked really hard then went out to Tour School and became the only amateur to get through."

Although Mew exceeded all expectation with his 14th place finish, he came home fretting on what might have been. He missed out on his full card by just one shot and was left to rue the fact that he dropped nine shots in just four holes during the 72-hole qualifier. Two of them went at the very first hole.

Now, with his limited starts, Mew knows he has to make every event count. His position in the order of merit could get him more starts and, when he returns home next week, his aim will be a top-ten finish which carries the prize of an automatic entry into the AIB Irish Open, next event on the Seniors schedule.

Mew got a vital warm-up in this week's Digicel Jamaica Class. After that it was on to a plane for the short hop to Tobago where he'll holiday with his parents, who still live on the Caribbean island, before getting down to the serious business of trying to establish a foothold on the Seniors Tour.