There seems to be no end to the summer of sporting success and the scenes of jubilant hysteria that have accompanied every single triumph.
Indeed, only last week, yours truly would like to think he played a part in bolstering the nation's current feel good factor. As part of an elite band of Scottish hacks and hackers at the delightful Close House resort near Newcastle, this scribe helped Scotland win the Association of Golf Writers' Home Internationals, a distinguished and fiercely contested annual affair noted for the kind of crippling shots not seen since King Harold took one in the eye at the Battle of Hastings. We are now eagerly awaiting the details of our open top bus parade and notification of an MBE.
As far as "real" golf is concerned – the kind of golf which includes pars and doesn't feature matchplay holes halved in 9s – it's been a profitable season on the home front. The two European Tour wins of Paul Lawrie, and his return to the Ryder Cup fray for the first time in 13 years, have provided the most uplifting tale of the campaign. Throw in the European Masters victory of Richie Ramsay and the title triumphs of Carly Booth and Catriona Matthew on the Ladies European Tour and you have a few extra chapters for this Scottish success story.
At all levels of the professional game, there has been plenty to be positive about, from Pamela Pretswell winning on the Ladies European Tour's Access Series earlier in the year – so too did Carly Booth before making the most of her progress to the main tour – to Scott Henry's career-changing victory in the Challenge Tour's Kazakhstan Open on Sunday. Look around the myriad tours of Europe and you'll see members of a Scottish expeditionary force making advances.
Two days before Henry's highlight, Duncan Stewart continued his superb September on the third-tier PGA EuroPro Tour with a second win on the trot. The Grantown on Spey man may not be a household name, but he's busy making a name for himself.
The pro game has never been more daunting or as cut-throat. Trying to compete in an increasingly competitive arena is hard enough. Trying to gain the financial backing required to compete and pursue the golfing ambitions is just about as challenging.
Stewart, a prolific winner on the US college circuit during his time at Jacksonville University with his fellow Highlander and now PGA Tour rookie Russell Knox, took the pro plunge in 2007 but only now is he flourishing. Determination, dedication and talent have aided him on the golf course.
Some inventive thinking off it has helped too. At the start of the season, the 28-year-old announced that he would be selling shares in himself to boost his funds for the expensive EuroPro escapades. The plan certainly caught the imagination. Paul Lawrie bought 10 shares at £100 each and Stewart managed to sell the remaining 140 he released to a variety of sponsors at a similar price. He splits his earnings 50/50 and, so far, everyone seems to be winning, with Stewart now assured of promotion to the Challenge Tour.
For Henry, it is also a case of onwards and upwards. The Kazakhstan Open, the richest event in the second division with a purse of more than €400,000, has always proved to be highly significant. Two years ago, Glasgow's Scott Jamieson, toiling away in the lower reaches of the rankings at the time, managed a share of second in this vast country which straddles Europe and Asia, propelled himself into the European Tour-winning places on the order of merit and has now well and truly settled into life at the top table.
Henry, 45th on the money list prior to his weekend win, has made a similarly decisive leap and is now fifth on the standings and virtually guaranteed a golden ticket for the main tour. A year ago, the former Scottish Amateur Strokeplay champion was battling away on the third-level Alps Tour and playing under the pressure of "knowing I had to win enough money to play the next week". Like Stewart, the lack of cash to compete cast a worrying shadow but, thankfully, he weathered the storm and is now benefitting from around £23,000 of government funding.
Whether it be a self-started share issue or a share of a ring-fenced support package, the hard-working duo of Stewart and Henry have certainly made the most of their financial fillips.
There are no financial concerns in the USA at this time of year. This week's Tour Championship will be the fourth consecutive $8m event and will bring the curtain down on a money-soaked FedEx Cup series that also offers a staggering $35m bonus pool.
Over here, the late scrapping of the Andalucian Masters was another savage blow to the European Tour. The Madrid Masters, due to be played this week, was also scrubbed from the schedule in July as the Eurozone crisis took hold.
You can't blame Europe's leading lights such as Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood, Sergio Garcia and Justin Rose for filling their pockets on the other side of the Atlantic. Yet in these challenging financial times for their own tour, a duty to Europe must extend beyond the Ryder Cup.
