Colin Montgomerie is hoping that age can be just a number as he aims for a fourth Senior Major title at the ISPS HANDA Senior Open.
The over-50s element of the senior game is one of its great levellers but there is no doubt it still favours those closer to eligibility than retirement.
Montgomerie won his three Senior Majors so far in a 12-month spell when he turned from 50 to 51, and even the greatest senior of them all Bernhard Langer has only won one of his 12 Major titles after Montgomerie's age of 63.
But the eight-time European Number One is still relishing the chance to take on the King's Course at The Gleneagles Hotel and is confident he can compete if the putts drop.
"This is our last Major, and we have five on the Champions Tour as such," he said. "I've done well in a couple of them and performed. You know, I was in contention at the first one at the Regions where I finished third.
"There's still something there. I'm 63 but the competitive juices are still wanting to flow, and I look forward to every time I tee it up.
"Having finished second in The Open, it would be nice to finish up one's career with a win in the Senior Open. There's a lot of good players out there and there's a lot of talent on show here.
"And I've got to hole out. If I hole out well, I have a chance. But I've got to hole out very well. I mean, the seven-footers have got to go in."
Like many senior players, Montgomerie splits his time between the Staysure Legends Tour and the Champions Tour, playing the majority of his golf in 2026 in the United States.
This week, however, he is back home in Scotland and looking forward to the firm, fast test that the King's will produce.
"We travel the world for most of our life, back to America and back and forth, it's nice to come home, isn't it, really?" he said. "It's a lovely spot. I think everyone feels the same way.
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"It's quite bouncy out there. Obviously we've had a drought in Scotland, which is a very rare thing to put in the same sentence, but at the same time, it's quite bouncy. You've got to be careful and miss the greens at the right side or else you're in trouble.
"A lot of course management skills coming into it. I think you look forward to someone who has got a good caddie on the bag and can get them around."
One person who should not have any problems getting around is Montgomerie's countryman Stephen Gallacher, who made his DP World Tour debut over the King's Course as an amateur at the 1993 Scottish Open.
He also played in Europe's 2014 Ryder Cup victory over on the PGA Centenary Course, and he is delighted to be back on a happy hunting ground this week.
"I can't wait to get started tomorrow," he said. "It means a lot to me, Gleneagles. I made my debut in a professional event in 1993 as an amateur in the Scottish Open.
"I think the minute you drive through the gates, experience the sort of elation of winning the Ryder Cup and what it was... the sort of run-up to and how many times I've been here. Been playing here for 20-odd years.
"Just a place I love coming, probably one of the best facilities in Scotland for golf. As a Scot coming back here, you just get the emotions and you just feel good the minute you walk through the gates."
Gallacher believes the King's is "as good as I've ever seen it" in the 33 years since he made that debut, with fast conditions combined with juicy rough.
As someone who has won on links, in the desert and at the treacherous DLF Golf and Country Club, Gallacher is unlikely to be fazed by the challenge and would rank a win this week among his career highlights.
"All you can do as a pro, you just want to be in contention on a Sunday with a chance to win, especially in front of my friends and family and stuff, that would be lovely," he said.
"I think if you ask the ten Scots playing in the field, they would all say a proper dream come true.
"Missed the chance of winning The Open, so this is the second best, if you ask me. This is probably the best tournament I'll play as a senior. And to have it in Scotland on a course that I'm very familiar with, would be just another steppingstone and a great achievement for me and something that I would love to do."
