Justin Rose believes he still has enough in the tank to win the Open after a two-under-par first round put him in early contention at Royal Troon.
The Englishman turns 44 in a fortnight but since coming fourth on debut as an amateur in 1998 he has only once bettered that finish, as a runner-up six years ago.
He had to qualify to make it into this year's event and he admits that has made him appreciate his appearance in Ayrshire this week.
But now he is here, he is determined not to allow the opportunity to go to waste as he knows his chances of adding to his solitary major at the 2013 US Open are diminishing.
"It's a little bit of a ticking clock. It's obvious, isn't it? (I'm) 44 soon and history would suggest (winning is less likely) but I think the Open offers you that opportunity maybe more than some of the other majors," he said.
"I still feel very kind of confident in myself that I can actually still improve tomorrow versus today. As long as that's the case, I'll keep kind of believing, for sure.
"Will I compete week in and week out at the very highest level at 44? Who knows, but I still feel like I'm a good enough golfer to find my spots and find my angles and have my weeks where it all comes together.
"What I've been really working hard for the last two, three years is to have the opportunity late in my career to have a couple of special, amazing opportunities. That's what's keeping me going."
