GOLF ace John Bickerton has opted for the sun of Dubai rather than the rain of Droitwich as he prepares for the new season.

The Spa professional, aged 34, has been warming up for forthcoming PGA European Tour with a trip to the Middle East ahead of his first event - the Johnnie Walker Classic, which starts in Bangkok on Thursday, January 29.

It is part of a spell that will see him play tournaments in Australia, Malaysia and Qatar before returning to England in March.

John, who will play around 25 events this season, ended last year on a high by finishing fourth at the Volvo Masters at Valderrama in Spain. He won £119,609 for his efforts, just under a third of his earnings all year, and hit a hole in one in the process.

That result also propelled him 14 places to 38th on the Volvo Order of Merit.

Speaking exclusively from his Dubai base, John said: "My main ambition as always is to do the best I can in all events. It would be nice to improve on last year so I guess that would be my immediate target.

"My preparation this year obviously has been in a warmer climate but I have done a lot more physical work. I am working with Paul Costello at Altered Images in Bromsgrove and hopefully we can start the year feeling a little bit better, trying to get a consistency throughout the whole year.

"I am looking forward to this season as always and having had a few months off it will be nice to get started again and back to the grind of playing week in week out."