Pádraig Harrington is certain he can continue to mix it with the young guns over the weekend after a second-round 66 put him in a strong position at the Genesis Scottish Open.
The Irishman has been a player consultant at The Renaissance Club but is a master of links golf across the board, with two Open Championships and two Alfred Dunhill Links Championships on his CV.
At 51 years of age and World Number 192, it would not be unfair to say he entered this week as an outsider against eight of the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking but, with a top five in the Rolex Series in Abu Dhabi already secured in 2023, Harrington is in little doubt he can lift the trophy on Sunday.
"I can challenge anybody on a links golf course without a doubt," he said. "From years of playing, it comes natural to me.
"And I don't have a problem coming back and playing with the young guys on any golf course but obviously links makes it a little easier for me.
"So I am comfortable, no doubt. I'm comfortable here at The Renaissance and I should know more about this golf course than nearly any other player. Maybe Stevie Gallacher would know a little bit more but I'm very familiar."
Smart iron shots on the 13th, 14th and 18th and a two-putt birdie on the par-five 16th saw Harrington turn in 31 but he dropped a shot on the first after finding an awkward lie off the tee.
A 21-foot putt on the sixth was followed by a 60-footer on the next before he bogeyed the eighth to finish at seven under.
"It was pretty solid," he said. "It was not a lot of drama. It was pretty straightforward. I wish golf was as simple as that all the time. So it was nice playing.
"I hit it very straight off the tee, which, you know, you do that around here, the second shots are big enough targets. So driving the ball well certainly makes for stress-free golf.
"That early morning weather, that's the first time I've ever been out first and I was hoping that I might turn up and get a break with the weather but we kind of got the opposite.
"Then it lightened up obviously after six or seven holes. The ball started going a bit and it got a little easier then."
