Marcel Siem is looking forward to the challenge of match play golf as he prepares to tee it up in the format for the first time in 18 years at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach this week.
The four-time European Tour winner will have plenty of support at the Saltire Energy Paul Lawrie Match Play, with the event having moved to Germany for its third edition having been played in Scotland in 2015 and 2016.
While the surroundings may be familiar to Siem when he takes on Julien Quesne on Thursday afternoon, the format will not, although the 37 year old is not daunted by the prospect of going head-to-head.
"It feels pretty good and I'm looking forward to the week," he said.
"The last time I played match play in a tournament was 1999 as an amateur so I'm looking forward to that format. I like to gamble a little bit on the golf course so it should suit me.
"It's a bit dangerous, around the greens there is a lot of rough and a lot of water in play so I think tactics will be rewarded. You've got to be a little careful.
"I play a lot of poker, I like that, so I will adjust my play a little bit. I always play pretty aggressive, I never hit away from flags but if a par is enough because the other player is in a bunker somewhere or makes bogey then you have to adjust to that. I'm looking forward to that."
Alexander Knappe is another player flying the flag for the host nation and he is looking forward to making the most of home advantage as he gets his season back on track.
The Challenge Tour graduate missed eight cuts in a row between the Volvo China Open and the Dubai Duty Free Irish Open Hosted by the Rory Foundation but a good showing at the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open was followed by a tie for 12th at the Porsche European Open last month.
"It's nice to be back home, it's the last Tour event in Germany this season and I want to take advantage of that," he said.
"It's pretty tough, I'm thinking a lot about it because it's way different than a usual European Tour event. It's match play, you can only focus on the first match and win it and you can't really think about anything else. I think a lot of birdies will be out there and you'll need to make a lot of birdies to win your matches.
"I'm striking it better, my driver's flying better so I think my game is coming back a little bit and hopefully it stays like that and it can improve a little."
Florian Fritsch's tie for seventh at Golf Resort Bad Griesbach at the Porsche European Open last year matched his best finish of 2016 and he is confident he can perform well again in a change of format.
"It started kind of slow but I'm looking forward for it to pick up a little bit," he said of his form. "This is a great week to do it, I've done well here last year so I'm looking forward to picking up on that form.
"We've got par fives that are reachable for most of the guys around here. We've had some dry weather round here lately so I expect the ball to have a little bit of run on the fairway. We're going to see an exciting week with all kinds of different scores."
