James Byrne eager to mount a stout defence at Eisenhower

The Banchory youngster, runner-up in June's Amateur championship at Muirfield, is the first man off the tee for the title holders over the Buenos Aires course as the Scots look to emulate the historic triumph of Gavin Dear, Wallace Booth and Callum Macaulay in Adelaide in 2008.

Byrne and his team-mates - Ross Kellett and Scottish champion Michael Stewart - arrived in Argentina on Saturday after a week-long training camp with head coach Ian Rae in Brazil and national captain Scott Knowles is confident that his side's meticulous preparation can be rewarded over the next four days.

"Last week was ideal for the boys," said Knowles, who was a Scotland cap during the early 1990s alongside Andrew Coltart and Stephen Gallacher. "Thanks to Ian's planning and preparation work over the past two years, the players know both courses here very well and we've been working hard on our strategy and how best to tackle the courses since we arrived.

"There is a great atmosphere and an anticipation developing and I believe our guys have the talent and self-belief to defend the title. They will be giving it 100 per cent to try and achieve that goal and they just want to get going."

The Scots are one of 73 teams competing over 72 holes with the best two scores from the three players each day counting towards the tally.

Despite the high spirits in the camp, the holders know they face stern competition from a host of sides eager to wrestle the trophy from Scottish hands.

The USA, who finished a distant second to the conquering Scots by nine shots in 2008, have been the dominant force in the event over the years, and with a side featuring Peter Uihlein and David Chang, ranked number one and two in the world respectively, they will be confident of adding to their 13 titles.

The French are expecting to mount a strong challenge and have an impressive side that is headlined by Romain Wattell, the Scottish Open Strokeplay champion and the winner of the European Challenge Tour's Allianz Strasbourg Open this season.

Australia, winners of the first Eisenhower Trophy at St Andrews in 1958, and England, the reigning European champions, will also be looking to land the coveted world crown.

Five of the recent victorious European Ryder Cup team have taken part in the Eisenhower Trophy during the past decade: Luke Donald (2000), Eduardo Molinari, Francesco Molinari, Martin Kaymer (all 2004) and Rory McIlroy (2006), while captain Colin Montgomerie represented the GB&I side back in 1984.