The old World Matchplay Championship at Wentworth used to be anticipated as eagerly as Santa's annual tumble down the lum.
In recent years, the event has, in many folk's eyes, gone up in smoke but, despite its myriad facelifts and its slide down the pecking order because of the onset of the lucrative WGC-Accenture Matchplay event, the original man-to-man shoot-out remains a cherished affair.
Thracian Cliffs in Bulgaria, the host venue for this week's gathering, may be a long way from the leafy, Surrey stockbroker belt that was the tournament's original home but Scott Jamieson is not seeing the radical move as a complete kick in the Balkans.
"I used to watch the matchplay on television when it was at Wentworth and it would have been even cooler to have been playing in it there, but it's still the same tournament so it's cool to be playing in it anywhere," enthused the 29-year-old Glasgow man.
The last time Jamieson was embroiled in the cut-and-thrust of professional matchplay combat came during an impressive debut in the Seve Trophy for Great Britain & Ireland against the Continent of Europe in France two seasons ago. On that occasion, the former Scottish Boys' Strokeplay champion, who won his first European Tour title last December at the Nelson Mandela Championship, showed his qualities with a vital one-hole win over Spain's Pablo Larrazabal in the closing day singles as the visitors won 15½-12½.
Jamieson's encounter proved to be so pivotal that the GB&I captain Paul McGinley walked the final few holes with the Scot and was mightily impressed by what he saw. McGinley, of course, is the Europe team captain for next year's Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and Jamieson is eager to put on another matchplay masterclass this week and show the Irishman his worth again.
"It's the Ryder Cup, so I don't think it matters who is captain in terms of motivation to get in that side but Paul was certainly an excellent captain," said Jamieson, who opens his challenge tomorrow against Carl Pettersson, a PGA Tour regular. "He was great in the team room and what made him so good in my eyes was that he took everyone aside and coached them individually. I was a rookie and he told me what he expected of me. He wasn't adding pressure but taking it off.
"He told everyone they had a part to play and he certainly made me feel more at ease. He followed me around for the last few holes on the final day, having picked out my match as one that we needed to win as they [Europe] had made a huge comeback. I think he was there just in case I needed him. He told me in Qatar this year that, if I hadn't won my match, he might not have been Ryder Cup captain today."
Sitting at 90th on the world rankings, Jamieson still has some way to go in his Ryder Cup quest but, with qualifying for the 2014 Europe team beginning in the Wales Open at the end of August, the Cathkin Braes member is eager to seize the opportunity. The possibilities do add to the pressure, though.
"The Scottish boys and I do talk about Gleneagles," he said. "Not all the time, mind you, but occasionally, as we all want to be there. We all know that we need to be close to, or in, that top 50 at the start of next year to have a realistic chance. You think about the Ryder Cup and dream about the Ryder Cup and when you get into the top 100 in the world, you realise it's not that far away. When you win an event, it opens up doors like the World Golf Championship [events] and the World Matchplay, so all of a sudden you are aware of all the possibilities, and I've perhaps been putting too much pressure on myself. Expectancy levels rise and, when you're out on the golf course, your acceptance levels rise, too."
With lofty ambitions, Jamieson will certainly be looking to rise to the occasion in Bulgaria this week.
* Stephen Gallacher anticipates having to beat Graeme McDowell, the Ryder Cup stalwart, if he is to qualify from his three-man pool in the Volvo World Matchplay Championship near Kavarna in Bulgaria, writes Bernie McGuire.
He and fellow Scot Scott Jamieson will sit out today's opening round-robin ties which feature the 16 seeded players in the 24-strong field over the stunning Thracian Cliffs course on the Black Sea coast.
Gallacher tackles England's Chris Wood tomorrow morning and McDowell, who holed the winning putt at the 2010 Ryder Cup, in the afternoon.
The Bathgate man secured a place in the €3m event by winning the Omega Dubai Desert Classic and will this week have his first taste of individual matchplay in a 17-year pro career. "Even before I saw the draw for this week, I knew there would not be any easy matches," he said. "Graeme's won recently in the States and we all know what he did a couple of years ago for Europe at Celtic Manor, and then there's Chris, who won a week before me in Qatar. But the nature of matchplay [is that], if you are on your game, you can knock out a player like Graeme ranked No.8 in the world; it's very much like sudden death.
"Having played the course, I'm pleased it is matchplay because it would a tough course to play with a scorecard in your pocket."
Should Gallacher and Jamieson qualify for the last 16 and win their initial knockout ties, they would meet in a quarter-final on Saturday afternoon. No Scot has won the title since Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
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