LUKE DONALD and Phil Mickelson headed to The Open in good spirits – despite scoring over par on the final day here.
The pair were ninth and fifth respectively with a round to go, but dropped back to joint 16th with rounds of 73 and 74.
What pleased the pair was that they had had a chance to test their games in wind and rain, the same conditions expected at Royal Lytham this week.
World No.1 and defending Scottish Open champion Donald said: "I'm leaving here with good feelings about where my game is.
"I didn't get much out of the round – a few lip-outs and a few bad bounces – but it was nice to play in a bit of wind and test out what I've been working on.
"You had to hit penetrating shots and it felt like I had pretty decent control. Good enough to contend next week.
"I had three weeks rest before this and I'm ready to go. I'll even consider 18 holes each day [before the start on Thursday] if the weather is not horrendous."
Mickelson, who asked for a late invitation to try to find his game after a poor two months, had middle rounds of 64 and 65.
"I think it was a great week," said the 42-year-old, joint runner-up behind Darren Clarke at Sandwich last year after coming 58th.
"To have two good rounds and then to play in some challenging conditions was a plus.
"Players here got a lot out of the week, myself especially, and I feel a lot better than I did three days ago." He was not even in the top 120 with his opening 73.
Padraig Harrington finished on the same 12-under-par mark after a 71 that included a bogey six on the second. His drive was found on the beach under what looked like an abandoned door.