Aiming to end the long wait for a home winner, the Scot was bowed but not broken by his experience last July.

He had put himself in position to win only to come up short. Afterwards he admitted to how much it was hurting and, while he could not guarantee that he would one day make up for it, he vowed to give of his best to do so. A year later he returned to the same venue believing the psychological damage had been repaired and that, if the chance arose once more, he would be ready to grasp it.

Few sportsmen can derive such resonance from the achievements of Andy Murray this week than Marc Warren, the Glaswegian who led last year's Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open by three shots with five holes remaining, only to lose out in a play-off at Castle Stuart. He acknowledged as much yesterday.

"I hope so," he said, when asked whether he could draw upon the disappointment to emerge from among the 19 home contenders and end a wait that may not date back 77 years, but does extend to the last century and Colin Montgomerie's 1999 success. "I've been playing good golf and it's disappointing what happened last year, but that's last year. This is this year. I feel as if I've progressed and I've become a better player again, just like last year, and that's what put me in that position."

There is, of course, a difference in scale between Warren's situation and that faced by his countryman, as he also accepted without demur. "I probably wouldn't say anywhere near," was his assessment of the comparative pressure. "The way it all panned out that week as well, the week at Wimbledon for him . . . He had to deal with that expectation of winning. I suppose he would have had to control that in his own mind first and foremost and obviously done a great job of that."

Yet the parallels seem fair, right down to having to deal with the opinions of others, regarding his short-comings and finding ways of dealing with that.

Warren had made a fine start to his career, collecting the Scandinavian Masters during his first full season on the European Tour in 2006 then going on to win the Johnnie Walker Championship. After they partnered one another to victory in golf's World Cup the following season, Montgomerie tipped him to break into the top 20 in the world but questions were raised when Warren failed to do so, not least when he parted company with coach Bob Torrance, the grandee of Scottish golf who had taken issue with his attitude.

He subsequently worked with different coaches before getting together with Pete Cowen, whose stable includes major winners Padraig Harrington, Graeme McDowell, Louis Oosthuizen and Martin Kaymer, demonstrating that he knows what is required at the highest level.

"I'm just really enjoying playing good golf all the time, which is why I've made the changes I made," said Warren. "I was criticised at the time but, looking back, it was definitely the right thing to do. I was nowhere and I certainly wasn't contending in tournaments, but it was a chance I felt as if I had to make to be consistently better and because of that I am really enjoying what I'm doing just now."

Take the negative view and any remaining critics might feel he provided further ammunition with last weekend's finish at the French Open where, after getting into contention, he dropped five shots in four holes on his way to finishing 13th. However stemming the blood-flow with a brace of pars at the last two holes not only secured a healthy cheque but also the last automatic place in the Open Championship off the European Tour's Order of Merit.

As for last year's trauma, as well as his work with Cowen, he received some sage advice from the Vision 54 team that worked closely with Annika Sorenstam throughout her dominant career. "They said dwell on it and enjoy the good stuff from it, try and learn the lessons and you'll be disappointed," said Warren. "It's learning from it, definitely, but the positives of the week far outweigh any negatives from it.

"It's probably the most comfortable I've ever been on the golf course, what I was doing, the shots I was hitting. The old Marc Warren would have spent more time thinking about those few holes than about the other 33 or whatever it was I played great that weekend."

Should the opportunity arise, he may just be in the right place mentally to finish the job a year after his greatest disappointment. Just like a certain compatriot of his.