If Paul McGinley needed to gain inspiration from anyone, then it could come in the figure of Thomas Levet. Although the Frenchman's win in the British Masters was the latest in a string of unlikely successes on the European Tour, perhaps the more significant aspect is that they share the same mind guru, Belgian Jos Vanstiphout.

"Everybody on tour can do it. It depends on how you think. As Arnold Palmer said, `golf is decided by inches, especially the ones between your ears'. Technically, most players on tour have the talent to win. After that, it is in your head," said Levet.

Indeed, Levet's win - coming so soon after equally unlikely wins by Andy Oldcorn in the Volvo PGA and Henrik Stenson in the Benson and Hedges International - enabled him to jump from 63rd to 13th in the Ryder Cup table. His win was all the more extraordinary for statistics which had him 166th in driving accuracy, 151st in putting and 165th in sand saves before Vanstiphout's mental approach transformed him.

McGinley, who is one of the most consistent players on tour but without a comparable strike-rate in terms of wins, having won only twice on tour, most recently in the Oki ProAm in 1997, has also put his faith in Vanstiphout and credits him - along with a stricter fitness regime and better club equipment - with an improvement this season which has seen him secure five top-10 finishes.

Having taken a week off - his absence from the British Masters saw him drop to 11th in the European Ryder Cup qualifying table - McGinley has decided to reappear for this week's English Open at the Forest of Arden in the English midlands. But he won't play again until the Murphy's Irish Open at Fota Island on June 28th-July 1st.

For Darren Clarke, this week's visit to the Forest of Arden - where he is seeking his third successive English Open title - will be the fifth event of a six-week long stint.

Inconsistency has been Clarke's Achilles' heel of late. Although he has been getting his share of birdies, too many bogeys and double-bogeys, have been finding their way onto his score card. Clarke hasn't missed a cut on the European Tour since his seasonal debut at the South African Open in January but he has only managed one top-10 finish (at the Volvo PGA where he finished tied-8th) in seven tournaments since. His two wins so far this season came in the Dimension Data Pro-Am in South Africa and the Crowns tournament in Japan.

Clarke will be hoping a return to a course where he won a year ago will provide the ideal preparation before he flies out to compete in the season's second major, the US Open at Southern Hills in Tulsa next week. Likewise, Colin Montgomerie and Lee Westwood have also decided to play prior to heading to the US.

Philip Walton, who has struggled to pick up sponsor's invites this season, gets into the tournament as a past winner while Eamonn Darcy benefits from an invite. Des Smyth and David Higgins are also competing.

Padraig Harrington, meanwhile, had initially sought an invite to compete in the St Jude Classic on the US Tour this week but, when confirmation was slow in coming from the US, he opted instead for a week off. However, he hopes to include some advance preparation for the Irish Open later this month by paying a visit to Fota Island for a practice round before heading off to Oklahoma at the weekend.