Following Tom Watson's epic performance at Turnberry last week further echoes of the events of Ayrshire's glorious golfing summer of 1977 have wafted along the coast.

Just a fortnight after the American won the fabled "Duel in the Sun" at Turnberry 32 years ago, the Scottish Amateur Championship took place at Troon with Paul McKellar, of East Renfrewshire, reaching the final.

Watson having come within a putt of producing the most astonishing victory in sporting history eight days ago, it is McKellar's turn to aim to roll back the years today as Troon hosts the national championship for the first time since '77.

Something of a specialist at this venue, he was also to reach the final of the British Amateur when it was held over the same links in 1978 and, now a club member, the 53-year-old could not be involved in a more intriguing clash today. His opponent is Michael Stewart, the local teenager who plays out of Troon Welbeck and is now an established member of the national men's team having won the Scottish Boys' Championship last year.

While it is a challenging tie for McKellar, who still plays out of East Renfrewshire and rarely enters competitions these days but is proud of having recently become the Arran Open champion, the dangers for the youngster are also obvious.

"I feel kind of attached to Troon," said McKellar yesterday. "I have a love of the course, which is why I treated myself when I got the chance of joining three years ago and I'm very proud to be a member there."

Having won the Scottish Amateur Strokeplay title earlier in that summer of '77, also over links at Muirfield and Gullane, his performance at Troon contributed to his selection for that year's Walker Cup. At New York's Shinnecock Hills, he played alongside Sandy Lyle and Peter McEvoy, who was to beat him in the British Amateur final.

"Those were good times for me. I was a different golfer then. I hit it very hard and putted like God. It was a bit of a purple patch between 1976 and '79 and I'm still dining out on it," McKellar said with a laugh.

Naturally, all these years later, he sees himself as underdog for this opening tie, speaking generously of his gifted opponent who will be under the greater pressure, but is also, the more experienced man reckons, at the ideal stage of his career to cope.

"I met Michael briefly recently and he's a very nice lad," he said. "At that age, you just tend to say let's go' and just get on with it."

As Watson pointed out at Turnberry, superior knowledge of links play can provide something of an advantage, but Stewart's local knowledge may well level that out, according to his opponent. "The course closes the big hitters down at a lot of holes unless they are very, very accurate, but he'll know that and he certainly rips it," said McKellar.

Curiously, their meeting mirrors what happened in the same event in 1977. "I was seeded that year and in the opening round was drawn against Jackie Cannon, who had won the event the previous time it was held at Troon eight years earlier," he noted.

Since he knows exactly how Stewart must be feeling, then, the veteran, who still plays off plus two, is not without some advantages as he goes into this opening tie which, he reckons, is the best time to get one of the seeds.

"You want to get them before they get a run going. It was five-time Scottish champion Ronnie Shade who used to say that if they didn't get him in the first round they wouldn't get him at all," McKellar mused.

"I'll just be out there grafting and will do the best I can. I've got a friend on the bag and we've not entered it just to occupy our time. I'd like to think I'll be a difficult opponent."