Douglas Jopp, a 47-year-old who lives in the city centre, is in the European team that will take on the Americans in the Fightmaster Cup, a Ryder Cup-style event for one-armed golfers.

The match takes place on September 12-14 – the week before the main event – and is being played at the Cardinal Club, not far from Valhalla, where Faldo's side will be bidding for a fourth straight win in the Ryder Cup.

"I'm really looking forward to it," admitted Jopp, who lost a hand in a butcher's shop accident when he was a teenager.

Qualifying for the European team was based on the last two World One-Armed Championships, held at Stirling in 2007 and Dunmurry near Belfast earlier this year.

"There were ten automatic qualifiers and I was in fifth in the rankings," added Jopp, who plays off a handicap of 13 at Ratho Park.

"There are three other Scots in the team, which will be good, but I honestly don't know what to expect when I get over to Louisville. I've been over to the States before but not to play golf and I expect it will be hot and humid."

Jopp, who reached the final of the Lothians Handicap Champion of Champions in 1999, is the current Scottish One-Armed champion, having claimed that title at Cathcart Castle last year.

"When I first started to play golf again after my accident, I thought I was the only one-armed golfer in existence," he added. "I then came across the Society of One-Armed Golfers and have been a member of that for about 20 years now."

Formed in 1932, members of the Society were predominantly war victims at the outset. Over the last 15 or so years, however, it has opened up to include anyone with what is termed as a one-limb disability.

"It's an excellent Society and I would be delighted to speak to anyone who perhaps wanted to join," said Jopp, who is being accompanied on his trip to Louisville by a couple of friends. "The match is part of what is being called 'The Cup Experience' so the organisers have been given a decent budget to promote it in the build up to the Ryder Cup itself. The aim is to host a similar event over here to coincide with the 2010 Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor so there will be a bit of fund-raising going on between now and then. In the meantime, I'd like to say a big thanks to George Ballantyne and Ratho Park in particular as they've been kind enough to give a few bob to the Society of One-Armed Golfers as well as me individually."

The match in Kentucky will honour Louisville native Don Fightmaster, who lost an arm in an accident in 1954 while serving in the US Air Force.

Fightmaster taught himself to play golf one-handed and excelled to the extent that Time magazine referred to him as "the Arnold Palmer of amputee golf".