Former PGA Cup player, Richard Dinsdale from Parc Golf Academy in Newport, is desperate to renew rivalry with the top American club professionals.
Dinsdale was on the winning side of the Ryder Cup-style contest in 2005 at The K Club near Dublin, and was bitterly disappointed not to have made the Great Britain & Ireland team last year, when they were narrowly beaten by the hosts in Georgia.
Qualification for the 2009 team is through the Glenmuir PGA Professional Championship, whose regional qualifying round for Dinsdale will be at Burnham & Berrow in Somerset on Monday (April 28).
"I tried so hard in last year's championship (at Royal Porthcawl), but finished in the low 20's, which wasn't good enough to get an exemption straight into this July's 72-hole final (at Moortown, Leeds). But before Burnham & Berrow I'm playing in the three-day Cornish Festival, at Newquay, Trevose and St Enodoc, so that'll give me some much-needed preparation."
Dinsdale, whose record against the Americans in Dublin was formidable - he had two wins, two halves and one foursomes defeat - has scarcely played any competitive golf during the winter, but he has been working on his fitness and what he calls some minor adjustments to his swing.
And although Dinsdale's not all that familiar with the Somerset course, his father, who'll be caddying for him, used to play winter foursomes there, and hopes to guide his 35-year-old son to one of the qualifying places for Moortown.
Another PGA West Region stalwart likely to be near the top of the Somerset leaderboard is 37-year-old Barry Austin (Downes Crediton), whose quality of golf is such that he's made the cut in all six European Tour events he has qualified to play in the last few years.
The Wessex Golf Centre in Weymouth can boast two players of exceptional talents - Jon Bevan, who was a PGA Cup team member last September, and Michael Watson. Unlike Bevan, Watson has to pre-qualify, and knows Burnham & Berrow from his amateur days.
"I think the last time I played it as a pro was about 10 years ago during an Open qualifier when the weather was so horrendous even those scoring 80 were getting through."
The Leeds course at Moortown, the first in the UK to host a Ryder Cup, in 1929, will be offering all sorts of incentives to the Glenmuir winner - not just £10,000 and the use of a top-of-the-range Peugeot car for a year for the winner, but also a five-year exemption from Glenmuir qualifying, a place in the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, exemption from regional qualifying for The Open, and a place on the PGA Europro Tour.
One added plus: barring some strange arithmetic, the winner at Moortown is almost certain to line up against the Americans in Scotland next year - even if he fails to make the cut in the 2009 Glenmuir championship.
Glenmuir Marketing Director Andy Bough is delighted with the way this year's competition is taking shape. "We have been working closely with the PGA to make this year's championship the best ever, an event that the competitors really enjoy on and off the course, and I am confident professionals will respond by taking part and creating a truly memorable championship," he said.
This will be the 16th year of sponsorship by the Scottish-based golfwear manufacturers.