GEORGE O'Grady, the chief executive of the European Tour, has warned that the Scottish Open could lose its coveted spot the week before the Open Championship if the event fails to attract a new sponsor before the end of the year.
Assessing the future of one of the Tour's flagship events in the wake of Barclays ending its backing after ten years, the Irishman said he was "confident something will come to fruition" as a result of fevered talks currently taking place with potent ial new sponsors.
American communications company Verizon, the second main sponsor of this year's event in the Highlands, is believed to be in the frame, while it has also been rumoured that one of the car manufacturing giants is showing an interest in the £3 million title sponsorship.
However, sponsors of two other European Tour events have already been in touch with O'Grady to lay down markers for the slot should it become available, with organisers of the French Open seeing this as a chance to get their hands on the week they have "always wanted".
"We are disappointed they've chosen not to go on and it has taken them a long time to tell us, in a sense," said O'Grady of the decision by Barclays to pull out. "We thought they would continue, but they're beholden to different levels of the company.
"Bob Diamond was one of the strongest supporters and is now president of the whole bank in New York, but others in the chain may have had a different view. The banking report that came out recently was so critical they maybe digested that as well.
"When you lose a sponsor, you try to work out whether you've done something wrong, but they were always positive about how the tournament worked for them.
"However, I see this now as a wonderful opportunity to sell a tournament. We're delighted to say we have quite a bit of interest, but interest and certainty are two different things.
"Unfortunately, in August, we were confident that Barclays were going to continue, so no-one really went to work on that. That's put us a crucial month back, but the other people we're talking to are good named sponsors who are serious at the business. We're confident something will come to fruition."
The Scottish Open took over the pre-Open slot on the schedule in 1987, when the event was held under the Bell's banner at Gleneagles.