Richard Bland says he feels a real sense of optimism about the rest of his European Tour season after making a strong start to the campaign.

The Stoneham ace, right, has just returned from more than a month away, playing the Middle East swing before last week’s Malaysian Open.

There, he finished in a tie for 11th place, earning €45,475 and jumping up to 62nd in the order of merit.

“It was nice to finish the four-week stretch with a good result,” said Bland, who birdied three of his final four holes in the tournament.

“It was a shame I couldn’t just creep into the top ten.”

It has been a gruelling run for Bland and the rest of the Tour pros who have been competing in recent weeks, but he believes it has been a valuable spell to get his game sharpened for the year ahead.

“As much as you want to go there to do well, you’re trying to also find your feet a bit and get rid of some rust,” said the 42-year-old.

“Going out there, I thought Malaysia would probably be my best chance, so it was nice to finish strong on Sunday and come away with a nice leap up the order of merit.”

He added: “It just sort of gives you a bit more optimism for the rest of the year.

“I’m up to 62nd in the Race to Dubai. It’s an incentive to stay around that 60th place and to go higher if I possibly can.

“Even right now, there’s a lot of positives for the season ahead.”

After some time off this week, Bland will then turn his focus to the Tour’s South Africa swing, which begins at the end of the month.