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The Masters gave Welshman Bradley Dredge a taste of the high life on and off the course, and left him wanting more.

Dredge had much to reflect upon as he flew out of Augusta on his trans-Atlantic flight home recently. For three days, the 33-year-old Dredge was in contention, but closed with an 83 and wound up down in 44th place.

"It was just one of those days, but I loved the week," said Dredge. "It's the best course I've ever played and it's a big incentive to try to get back into the world's top 50.

"I played a practice round with Paul Casey and he summed it up for me really when he said that the people there don't just want you to hit a good shot to make a birdie, they want you to hit a great shot," he added. "I thought I could shoot the 68 that would have won it and wasn't nervous, but maybe I should have been. I've had it before where I've felt comfortable and then not put in a good score.

His hasty departure from Augusta had nothing to do with his disappointment at handing in an 83.

"It's a two-hour drive to Atlanta and with the late tee-off time we didn't think there was any chance of making our flight home that way," Dredge explained. "My wife and two friends came as well so it was worth it rather than staying an extra night and rearranging things.

"There were 50 or 60 small planes there and it was just like renting a car. You have to find yours, then just get in and off you go."

PYATT ENTERS RETIREMENT: Mel Pyatt, the President and CEO of Volvo Event Management for the past 21 years, is retiring, now that the 2007 Volvo China Open is in the books.

In 1995, Pyatt led the creation of the Volvo China Tour and China's first big open Championship, the Volvo China Open. The event joined the European Tour in 2005, when it was jointly sanctioned by the European Tour, Asian Tour and China Golf Association.

Pyatt was honored in a ceremony at the Volvo China Open, where he received a trophy and accolades from Chinese golfers Cheng Jun, Zhang Lian-wei and Liang Wen-chong and Aylwin Tai.

BIG BONUS FOR A DOUBLE DIP: Players competing in the Irish Open and the BMW PGA Championship in back-to-back weeks in May now have a unique incentive to capture both those prestigious titles. Tournament officials have put up a bonus of 1 million euros ($1.35 million) to a player who wins both crowns.

The initiative, conceived by Tom Kane, the proprietor of the Adare Manor Hotel & Golf Resort, and endorsed by BMW and the European Tour, means that a golfer fortunate enough to collect the prize will pocket a grand total of 2,141,660 euros (about $2.9 million).

A first prize of 416,660 euros ($564,000) is on offer at the Irish Open while the winner's cheque at the BMW PGA Championship amounts to 725,000 euros (981,000), with the 1 million euro bonus awarded if the same player wins both titles.

No one has ever won the two titles back to back, in large part because the tournaments have historically been played in different months. But Seve Ballesteros (1983), Bernhard Langer (1987) and Ian Woosnam (1988) have captured the titles in the same season.

The Irish Open is set for May 17-20 at Adare Manor, with the BMW PGA Championship following right behind on May 24-27 at the Wentworth Club in Surrey, England.

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