SALISBURY tournament golfer Andy Beal has been bombarded by the slings and arrows of outrageous misfortune for too long.

The man who is now attached to the Hamptworth club, near Wellow, appeared to have established himself firmly on the European Tour with a top 80 finish in 1998.

It had taken him long enough to get there - ten visits to Tour School, but he was close to being the finished article.

Then a family tragedy put his life sharply into perspective. His wife's sister died in an accident and Beal (pictured) found it difficult to stay mentally focussed on his golf.

He lost his tournament card in 1999 but there was worse - much worse - to come.

Just days before returning to Tour School on the Costa del Sol last November, his 11-day-old baby son William was rushed to hospital, critically ill after contracting an infection on what started out as a cold. It was touch and go for a few hours but the little lad recovered in time for dad to go and play in Spain.

But with his mind still in a bit of a tormoil and he missed out on his card by eight places.

The year 2000 had already been bad enough with a nagging neck injury affecting Beal's play and forcing him to retire from two tournaments.

That has now healed up and, with the help of his sponsor, Mark Lawrence, who is a successful businessman and a director at Hamptworth, Beal is yearning for an uninterrupted year on tour.

Because he missed out on his card, he will only be able to play in a handful of main tour events, starting hopefully with the Malaysia Open on February 15, followed by the Singapore Masters a week later.

Then it will be off to Kenya in the first week of March for the first of the Challenge Tour events before playing three main tour events on the bounce in Madeira, Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires.

Beal is a respected campaigner on the main tour. When he finished top 80 in 1998, he was in the top ten putting stats for the season.

He earned his biggest cheque that year, £22,000, for sixth place in the BMW International Open, which always draws a world-class field.

His highest finish came in the West of Ireland Classic only last August when he was third at 11 under par. Unfortunately it was one of the lower ranked events and he only earned £13,000.

"I have a good Challenge Tour ranking and should be able to play in most of the events," says Beal whose switch to Hamptworth from Bowood has already yielded one big plus.

"They have a gym and I've been in there working on exercises to improve my stamina and body strength.

"Fitness is something I've let slip over the last three years and I'm going to be better prepared this year."

Beal and his wife Claire have two young children and he says: "The only downside to touring is being away from them for so long.

"But it's certainly something I'll need to do in the spring. The winter's a long time for a hungry tournament golfer!"