The news continues only to get better for Scotland’s Paul Lawrie ahead of making his return to Augusta National after being voted ‘European Tour Golfer of the Month for February 2012’ following his stunning four shot Commercial Bank Qatar Masters success.

Lawrie won the Qatar event for a second occasion as first winning in Doha in 1999 that capped an unprecedented run of four top-10s in succession dating back to last December’s Dubai World Championship.

The result in the Qatari capital put the proud Aberdonian inside the world’s top-50 and he’s now just a month away from ending an eight year Augusta National drought in returning the Masters.

The news for Paul Lawrie just gets better with the Scot being named 'Golfer of the Month' following his second Qatar Masters success. (Photo - Stuart Adams/www.golftourimages.com).

Lawrie’s Doha success earned him a place in last week’s WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship, where he capped a fine month by defeating Justin Rose and Ryo Ishikawa to reach the last 16, before falling to his compatriot Martin Laird.

The 43 year old edged out Spaniard Rafael Cabrera-Bello, winner of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, for the monthly award, which is voted for by a panel comprising members of the golfing media.

Derek Lawrenson, Golf Correspondent of The Daily Mail newspaper, said: “As ever, it was hard to separate the leading candidates for February. I was torn completely between Rafael Cabrera-Bello’s stirring win against a strong leaderboard in Dubai, and Paul Lawrie’s equally compelling success in Qatar.

“What was better, the Spaniard holding his nerve under pressure from Lee Westwood, or Lawrie’s brilliant final round to finish clear of a quality field?

“By the narrowest of margins I, and the panel, went with Lawrie, and furthermore he followed up his victory with a good showing at the Accenture.”

The panel also commended the performances of South African Jbe’ Kruger, winner of the Avantha Masters; his compatriot Keith Horne, who captured the Telkom PGA Championship on the Sunshine Tour; and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy, who just missed out on becoming the new World Number One after finishing tied fifth in the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and runner up in the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship.

Lawrie is the second monthly winner of 2012, following January’s Golfer of the Month Branden Grace, of South Africa.

Both players will join the subsequent monthly award winners, who will be considered for the ‘2012 Race to Dubai European Tour Golfer of the Year’ and won last year by Englishman Luke Donald.