In 2003 world number 15 Ong Beng Hee of Malaysia romped to victory in the $19,500 Logic Bermuda Open ? and now he?s back battling 30 of the world?s best for a piece of a $120,000 purse.

The striking difference in prize money is indicative of the huge strides Bermuda squash has made in only three years, with the prestigious Virtual Spectator Bermuda Masters ? the second largest tournament in the sport ? set to get underway tomorrow at noon.

The enormously talented Malaysian from Penang is a former world junior champion and has reached as high as number eight in the world rankings.

The last few years, however, have been an increasingly stressful time for Ong, whose attempts to remodel his game to cope with the added rigours of the senior tour resulted in a dramatic loss of form and confidence.

One of the genuine ?nice guys? of world squash, his temporary fall from prominence ? as he flitted between numerous coaches in search of the missing inspiration ? was a harsh reminder of the unpredictable nature of professional sport.

But after a couple of years in the wilderness, he has fought his way back into the world?s top 20 and he admitted yesterday that his self belief is gradually returning.

?I feel I?m on the right track again and starting to play well,? he said.

?When I first started playing on the tour I did well pretty much straight away and managed to beat a few of the top players and get up to number eight in the world.

?Then when they decided to change the scoring system from 15 to 11 I knew that I was going to have to adapt my game in order to survive.

?When I was 20 and younger, I was a very defensive player and just used to grind other people down over 15 points because I could run all day and keep the points going.

?But the players are so much more attacking these days and even when they are not hitting winners they are stepping up the court and taking the ball a lot earlier to try and put as much pressure on their opponent as they can.

?So changing my game was not an easy process and as I started to lose more matches, I lost a lot of confidence and it has taken me a long time to get it back.

?Now I would say that I?m playing better than I was when I was number eight in the world, but the self belief you need to win the really hard games is not quite all there yet.

?What it will take is a couple of wins against the top guys in a big tournament such as this one and then I might be back to where I want to be.?

Meanwhile, tournament organisers confirmed yesterday that all the registered players have arrived ? some as early as Tuesday ? and have been busy preparing for their first round matches on the all-glass court and at the squash club in Devonshire.

Tournament director Ross Triffitt also revealed that there were still a few tickets left for the final ? which takes place next Saturday at 7.30 p.m ? while available seats for both for the quarter and semi-finals are rapidly disappearing.

?We?ve been extremely happy with how the ticket sales have been going ? we are well ahead of where we were last year,? he said.

?This is obviously the third year we?ve put on a tournament at this venue so in terms of our preparations, everything has been running smoothly and we all know what has to be done.

?I just hope people enjoy watching the best squash has to offer this week.?