Last weekend, his beloved Hearts meted out a thumping to old foes Hibernian in the Scottish Cup final. Yesterday at Wentworth, the 37-year-old kept the feel-good factor ticking over with an eventful six-under-par 66 in the opening round of the BMW PGA Championship which left him in a tie at the top with Dublin's Peter Lawrie.
To say that Drysdale made a splash in a pool of decorated players which features the world's top-three would be putting it mildly.
In one of the more bizarre incidents of his career, the former Challenge Tour champion saw his approach from 212 yards at the par-5 18th land in the burn that surrounds the green and bounce back out to safety.
Bolstered by his good fortune, Drysdale, the world's 291st ranked golfer, pitched to six-feet and holed out for a remarkable birdie 4 as he outshone Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald and Lee Westwood and thrust himself into the spotlight.
This particular Jam Tart got a bit jammy. "You could hit that shot 1000 times and it would never bounce out," said Drysdale, who has a chasing pack featuring Ryder Cup player Justin Rose lurking just a shot behind while defending champion Donald is just two back after a 68. "It's quite shallow but there is still a foot of water there. It maybe hit a fish or something, I don't know but it was amazing and I'll take it."
Of course, Drysdale, who made some early telling strides with a burst of four birdies on the outward half, is well used to dramatic conclusions down the years. And not all of them have gone in his favour.
Back in 2005, he failed to keep his European Tour card by just €586 and then missed out on regaining it a few weeks later by just a single shot at the qualifying school final. Since then, Drysdale has chiselled away tirelessly at the coal face and, with two runners-up finishes to his name, he has established himself on the main circuit. If anyone deserved a wee break from the golfing gods, however, it was this hard-grafting Berwickshire man.
With Drysdale leading the line, the Scottish assault on the leaderboard was bolstered by Scott Jamieson who produced a superb, late thrust and birdied the last four holes in a fine four-under 68 to share eighth. In last season's championship, the 28-year-old found himself in eighth place at halfway but weekend rounds of 85 and 78 caused him to tumble down to third last.
"Was my confidence dented by that? No," said Jamieson, who would go on to post a trio of top-three finishes during his rookie season in 2011.
"You put yourself in a position like I did and it gives you confidence. Okay, the weekend wasn't great but you don't dwell on it."
Marc Warren, out in the first group of the day, set the standard for his countrymen with a neatly assembled 68 which featured just 26 putts and was illuminated by an eagle 3 on the 12th where he launched his six-iron approach in to 10-feet.
His work with coach Pete Cowen, swing guru to some of the world's finest, continues to reap rewards and Warren, a two-time tour champion and a World Cup winner, once again showed his fondness for the big occasion.
"Pete has taken decent players and made them better and taken good players and made them world class," he said. "For me, it's a constant quest to get better and major events like this brings out the best."
As is the norm these days, Paul Lawrie made his presence felt with a 69, which was accomplished despite breaking his driver on the 11th tee, to finish alongside his fellow Aberdonian Richie Ramsay, who birdied his last two holes.
There was even something of a renaissance for Colin Montgomerie. The former Ryder Cup captain, whose seventh place here year ago was his first top-10 in almost three seasons, marked his return to his happy hunting ground with a 69. Stephen Gallacher birdied his last two in a spirited 72 while Martin Laird birdied the 17th and made a fine up-and-down from the back bunker at the 18th for par in a 73.
The two-time US PGA Tour champion could not match the sparkling display of playin g partner Ernie Els, who had a 68, but he did outscore world No.1 McIlroy, the other member of the three-ball.
Laird's turbulent 74 was marked by frustration and it boiled over on the 12th when he hurled his club to the ground after watching his drive dribble out of bounds by barely an inch. As Drysdale would no doubt testify, there's a fine line between success and failure in this funny old game.
