JOHN Higgins and John Lardner may share the same practice facilities

at the Masters Club in Dennistoun, but until yesterday that's where the

similarities ended.

Higgins has the snooker world at his feet after defeating Dave Harold

last Sunday to claim his first major championship at the Skoda Grand

Prix.

Lardner would appear to have the world on his shoulders following

three unproductive years on the professional circuit.

However, despite a ranking of 209 Lardner remains cheerful and his

appearance in the #30,000 Benson and Hedges Snooker Championship

yesterday gave him good cause for optimism.

''I got a buzz walking through the club doors,'' he said after

whitewashing Lancastrian Ian McCulloch 5-0 at Edinburgh's JP Leisure

Centre.

Twelve months ago a similar result put him on the road to a surprise

final slot where only Ronnie O'Sullivan denied him a wildcard entry to

the Masters at Wembley next February.

''Maybe the score is an omen,'' he said, and by another strange quirk

his next opponent will be Harold, defeated by Higgins at Derby and

beaten by Lardner in last year's B & H semi-final.

Wishaw-based Higgins also breezed into round two without dropping a

frame.

''The tournament is wide open because the pockets are a lot more

generous than we're used to,'' said the 19-year-old, ''and that means

any one of 20 or 30 players could win here.''

There was disappointment though for Glaswegian rookie Andrew Duff,

beaten 5-2 by Jason Ferguson, of Mansfield, while Scott Bigham, from

Irvine, went down 5-3 against Barry Pinches, from Norwich. Other results

involving Scots:

R McDonald (Scotland) beat S James (England) 5-4, M J Williams (Wales)

beat P McPhillips (Scotland) 5-4.