One brilliant round has suddenly convinced Ryder Cup Captain Colin Montgomerie that his winning days on The European Tour are not over yet.
Montgomerie returns to action at the BMW International Open in Munich 2 1/2 weeks after a course record 62 at Sunningdale New earned him a 21st successive appearance in The Open Championship.
"It gives you belief - of course it does," said the Scot, who had his last victory at the 2007 European Open and his last top ten finish almost two years ago.
"I'll be watching scoreboards this week (to see how his cup candidates are faring), but I am here as a golfer and I am here to win."
Montgomerie is now 375th in the Official World Golf Ranking, but it is only a month ago that Simon Khan lifted the flagship BMW PGA Championship title at Wentworth from 471st on the rankings.
This week Montgomerie will tee off alongside Paul Casey and defending champion Nick Dougherty.
"It was a wonderful win," said Dougherty. "Some very fond memories of what I achieved here, the way I won it - to shoot 64 on Sunday to win when you're playing with Goose [Retief Goosen] and Bernhard [Langer] is a great achievement in itself, but to win the event, it was magnificent.
"You know, last year was a disappointing year for me in general, so it was certainly the standout through the year. I'm hopefully going to try and use some of those memories from last year to try and kick start my season this year."
They are not the only two players hoping to catch the Captain's eye - Martin Kaymer is looking for a strong showing on home soil.
Kaymer said: "We have a big run of great events coming up from now and I will be defending two of them so it is an important part of the season. I would love to win one of the big tournaments over the next few weeks - it would get me close to making The Ryder Cup Team which is one of my main goals for the season.
"I love this tournament and have a strong history here - it was the first Tour event I played as an amateur and the first tournament that I won here in Germany so I am always happy to come back here."
But German hopes of a home win do not lie squarely on Kaymer's shoulders, with veteran Bernhard Langer taking a break from his US Champions Tour schedule.
"It is always nice to come back to your own country so I am very pleased to be here," said the former Ryder Cup Captain. "I am spending less and less time in Germany these days so whenever I do manage to come home then it feels special. I will be playing here this week and then having a three week holiday here in German before going to Carnoustie for the Senior Open Championship.
"I have been playing well and having a great time in America. There are so many great players on the Champions Tour these days, with Watson, Couples, Kite and lots of other Hall of Fame golfers out there competing and playing very good golf. I am continuing to work on my swing every day because if you can save one or two shots a week then it makes a huge difference - perhaps the difference between winning a tournament or not."
