The changes in temperature probably threw the two-time Walker Cup player as much as anything. In growing up in Florida, where he spent part of his schooldays at the David Leadbetter Golf Academy in Bradenton before heading for Oklahoma State University, he had hated playing in a sweater. So much so that on those occasions when he did wear one, he would go through the rigmarole of taking it off to play a shot. In Europe, in contrast, there have been times when he has been cocooned in four layers.
It was in May of this year that Uihlein won the Madeira Islands Open. It was a full European Tour event, but one which the household names chose to ignore. As a result he qualified automatically for the main tour, and though few expected too much of him among the big guns at the following week’s BMW PGA Championship, he found a liking for Wentworth and finished in a share of 12th.
People were surprised at the easy assurance demonstrated by the young American when he was playing alongside the stars. There was the assumption that he must have been fraternising with top sportsmen since he was a toddler but, when questioned on that score, he was quick to explain that that did not apply.
"Brad Faxon has been a long-time friend of my father’s but he was really the only 'famous' golfer with whom I had any contact before coming to Europe," came his reply. On a slightly different tack, he could remember the excitement on that day – it was in 1999 and he was still only 10 years of age – when the then teenage Sergio Garcia turned up at the family home while playing in the Ryder Cup at Brookline.
Since Wentworth, Uihlein has notched a couple of top-10 finishes in addition to a second place in each of the Wales Open and the aforementioned Dunhill Links and has all but secured his place at the end-of-season DP World Tour Championship in Dubai this month.
The extent to which Uihlein is all about being the best golfer he can be shone through loud and clear on the East Lothian coast. On the Monday of tournament week, he posted the following note on Twitter: "Kingsbarns is one of my favourite courses in the world".
Four days later and he had an eagle putt to do a Jim Furyk and hand in a 59. The putt slipped by on the right but his 60 was still something to celebrate. Gary Player was among the first to send a congratulatory text.
Uihlein had started the last round at St Andrews with a two-stroke lead. He had returned a 65 over the Old Course the day before and, it was not too long before he was in birdie mode again. But Howell was making even more and, where the 40-year-old kept churning them out, Uihlein missed a series of makeable putts down the stretch. None was more agonising than the 15-footer which got away on the final green.
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