Not far from the 18th green, the water laps up to the shoreline and it would be easy to fall into the trap of thinking this piece of rich real estate is simply too nice a place for a high-tension battle. The protagonists in this Walker Cup at Ocean Forest Golf Club, in Sea Island, know differently: in golf, what the United States don't hold, they want.

And the Britain and Ireland team, apart from not wishing to give the old trophy back to their hosts, also have a place in history beckoning them. Never has a B & I team managed to retain the Walker Cup and, despite the quality of the American side and the advantage they possess in terms of the course and the heat, there is a burgeoning confidence amongst them that this is their moment.

It doesn't matter that on only one previous occasion, ironically enough at Peachtree in 1989, the only other time the event was held in Georgia, has a visiting team won on American soil. Two years ago, in Narin, Britain and Ireland won by a record 15-9 margin and Peter McEvoy, who captained the team for the first time that year, believes he has even greater talent at his disposal this time round.

Facing them is a team of Americans that not alone features many of their young lions, including 22-year-old Bryce Molder who is ready to rush into a professional career as soon as the final putt is made, but also three 40-somethings. John Harris and David Eger are both 49, and Danny Green is 44. "When we lost in Nairn, it hurt me more than anything and, at that point, I said that I wanted to play in the Walker Cup again and go away a winner," remarked Molder, who will become a millionaire instantly once he moves into the paid ranks. By contrast, Gary Wolstenholme, at 40, is by some way the oldest on the B & I team.

So it is an indication of the allure that the Walker Cup - this will be its 38th staging - still holds to players when the likes of Molder, and indeed England's Luke Donald, have resisted the move to professional life until this latest skirmish is resolved. And, interestingly, McEvoy has taken the decision to pair Donald and Nick Dougherty, considered the bright young things of the visiting team, together in the foursomes.

The two Irish players, Hoey and Graeme McDowell, have also been paired together in the foursomes, where they will face James Driscoll and Jeff Quinney, the US amateur champion. And Hoey and McDowell will also feature in the singles: Hoey facing Glover in the final match, and McDowell meeting Molder.

The course is beautiful but tough. "Par is going to win a lot of holes," claimed Harris, "and you'll see a lot of holes swing dramatically around the greens. You're going to need much more finesse than power out there."

McEvoy believes the greens - with a stimpmetre reading close to 12 - will "be critical." However, the heat could be equally important and the importance of drinking water constantly has been drilled into the visiting team.

The confidence in the B & I side is immense. "As someone said to me, 'we've been dealt a winning hand, now we have to play it'," said Wolstenholme.

Foursomes: (Irish time) 12.30 pm: S O'Hara/G Wolstenholme v D Green/DJ Trahan. 12.40: L Donald/N Dougherty v N Cassini/L Glover.

12.50: J Elson/R McEvoy v D Eger/B Molder. 1.00: G McDowell (Rathmore)/M Hoey (Shandon Park) v J Driscoll/J Quinney.

Singles: 5.30pm: Wolstenholme v E Crompton. 5.40: O'Hara v Trahan.

5.50: Dougherty v Driscoll. 6.00: N Edwards v Cassini. 6.10: M Warren v J Harris. 6.20: Donald v Quinney. 6.30: McDowell v Molder. 6.40: Hoey v Glover.