The tartan army has assembled on Scottish soil and a gathering of 10 home hopefuls, the highest representation in the Open Championship since 2005 at St Andrews, compete at Muirfield this week.
From former Open winners like Sandy Lyle and Paul Lawrie to PGA Tour champion Martin Laird and amateur debutant Grant Forrest, it is a varied Caledonian contingent. There is plenty of quality and experience, plus a splash of care-free youthful exuberance, in the ranks and the local lads will have to draw on all of their qualities to plot a successful path through the perils that abound at Muirfield.
SANDY LYLE
The 1985 champion will be making his 35th consecutive appearance in the game's oldest major. The 55-year-old has always enjoyed the Muirfield test and was 12th, 17th and 12th again during his first three visits to East Lothain earlier in his career. Lyle – the first British winner of Augusta's famous green jacket in 1988 – has not made an Open cut since Carnoustie in 2007 but he played all four rounds of this year's Masters and will be hoping to roll back the years again on Scottish soil.
MARTIN LAIRD
The Glasgow man has hauled himself back up to 49th in the world rankings to reclaim his position as Scotland's No.1 on the global stage. A fifth-place finish in the Scottish Open last Sunday was a timely morale booster ahead of his assault on Muirfield. A three-time winner on the PGA Tour, most recently at the Valero Texas Open in April, Laird has missed the cut in three of his last four Open campaigns but is now getting back into the swing of links golf and tees-up in purposeful mood.
MARC WARREN
For a two-time European Tour champion and a former World Cup winner it is something of a surprise to find that this is his first major start. Back where he belongs in the upper reaches of the Race to Dubai after a spell in the doldrums, Warren has flirted with glory in the Scottish Open, the Spanish Open and the BMW PGA Championship over the past year as he strives to get into the winner's circle again. Qualified for the tournament by finishing in a tie for 13th at the French Open.
GRANT FORREST
The reigning Scottish Amateur champion emerged from the qualifying scramble at Dunbar to secure a first major appearance in his own backyard. It promises to be an emotional week for the North Berwick-based 20-year-old. The former Scottish Boys' champion lost his golf-loving father, Graeme, to cancer just three weeks before he won last summer's national amateur crown. Teeing-up for his biggest test yet with the world's finest golfers will be the ultimate tribute.
LLOYD SALTMAN
A practice round with his old amateur team-mate Rory McIlroy has been the highlight of his week so far and now the former Open silver medal winner has to take that feel-good factor into the championship itself.
The 27-year-old from Edinburgh, making his third appearance in an Open on Scottish soil, currently sits down in 71st place on the second-tier Challenge Tour rankings but a good four days at Muirfield could have a galvanising effect on the former Walker Cup player's season.
GEORGE MURRAY
The popular Fifer won the Scottish Amateur Championship along the road at Gullane back in 2004 and secured what will be a memorable Open debut in extraordinary circumstances during local final qualifying recently. The 30-year-old from Anstruther blasted a 64 on a pulsating day of drama at North Berwick to get into a play-off and earned one of the coveted spots when one of his rivals, David Higgins from Ireland, was disqualified after it was discovered he had 15 clubs in the bag.
RICHIE RAMSAY
The 30-year-old Aberdonian arrives at Muirfield determined to erase the memories of a 78 in the second round of the Scottish Open which saw him miss the cut. He made his Open debut as an amateur at Carnoustie in 2007 and has made two more appearances as a professional but he has yet to qualify for the weekend's action. One of the tour's most accurate ball strikers from the tee, Ramsay will be hoping to get into enough good positions to take advantage this week.
STEPHEN GALLACHER
The Bathgate golfer originally missed out on an Open place by just £754 on the European Tour's order of merit but entered the field from the reserve list when John Daly withdrew. It will be his fifth appearance in the championship, his best finish coming with a tie for 23rd in 2010. Gallacher ended a barren run of 201 tournaments and almost 10 years by winning the Dubai Desert Classic earlier this season and will now be desperate to put on a show in an Open being played on his own doorstep.
PAUL LAWRIE
The 1999 Open champion has not enjoyed the best of records since winning the Claret Jug, and a share of 34th at Royal Lytham & St Annes last year remains his best finish in that period. Lawrie has struggled recently to emulate the highs of 2012, when he played a key role in Europe's Ryder Cup success having skipped that year's US Open to qualify for the team. Muirfield, though, is one of his favourite tracks and if he can find a cure for his putting woes then he could be in for a productive week.
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