Hoylake High

Next, what of Adam Scott?

Scott professed himself to be a little annoyed at losing an Open in which he followed a 68, 73 start with rounds of 69 and 66 for a share of fifth place. "I’m upset to be playing so well and to be leaving here and not winning," he began. "I’m going to give myself a little bit of a break and say it was a bit of a lop-sided draw this week. It didn’t work out for me; there were only a couple of guys from my half in the top 25 after two rounds and that made it hard to compete."

Steve Williams, Scott’s caddie, was thinking forward rather than back. "Adam’s playing better than ever, particularly off the tee. For a long time, he didn’t have a game plan for the Open. Now he’s got a plan and it’s an effective plan."

Scott, when he finished a good 40 minutes ahead of McIlroy, said he had no doubts that McIlroy would tie things up.: "When Rory’s on his rhythm, he’s phenomenal. He’s got more strengths than anyone else."

Wood’s comments on McIlroy had passed the test, but Scott’s were generous to a fault.

At the championship’s close, 63-year-old Tom Watson, the owner of a fourth-round 68 which saw him finishing at one-over, was smiling a smile which encompassed rather more than merely his own week’s work.

He may have been in a bit of a dilemma as to whether he should have Tiger in his team for Gleneagles but he had no worries about the state of golf in general.

The latest generation had acquitted themselves with distinction in the Open of 2014, while the championship itself, with its 202,917 spectators, had been a more than minor triumph.