Rory McIlroy and his fellow vet Justin Rose accompanied each other from London up to North Berwick on Tuesday, ahead of this week’s Genesis Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club.

Upon arriving in the seaside town in East Lothian, the feeling was palpable.

“There’s a detachment from the sort of week-in, week-out grind when you get back over here, when you play PGA Tour golf for that sort of first 25, 30 weeks of the year,” said McIlroy, who took the last two weeks off to recharge while also moving he and his family into their new home in Wentworth. Oh, and he also got a haircut.

It's a relaxed week in many aspects, McIlroy says, from staying on-site in world-class accommodations to the benign layout and pristine practice area to even the evening rounds at nearby gem, North Berwick Golf Club.

“Logistically,” McIlroy said, “as golf tournaments go, this couldn't be any easier.”

That’s not to say, however, that the Scottish is some casual exhibition doubling as an Open Championship tune-up.

Players will certainly be refining their games ahead of next week’s Open at Royal Portrush, but the Scottish, especially since becoming a co-sanctioned tournament between the PGA Tour and DP World Tour three years ago, has also become a highly competitive date and one of the best national opens anywhere on the calendar.

This week’s Scottish, with eight of the top 10 in the world set to compete, has a field rating of just over 404 points. That’s the second strongest non-major field of the year behind only The Players, and it’s also stronger than this year’s Masters.

“There's definitely a certain aspect of getting preparation for next week, but I definitely am not looking at next week,” said world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, back in Scotland after skipping last year’s edition to spend more time with his wife, Meredith, and newborn son, Bennett. “This is an important tournament for me, and this is a tournament I want to play well in.”

Bob MacIntyre would agree – and exponentially so. The Oban native, who last year outdueled McIlroy and the rest of the field for his first Scottish title, calls this tournament his most important outside of the majors.

“I've won it once,” MacIntyre said, “but every time I pitch up, I want to win it again.”

MacIntyre, like McIlroy, skipped the Rocket Classic and John Deere Classic to head home across the pond early. He had played 10 of 11 weeks starting with the Masters when he wrapped up a T-17 finish at Travelers, so he was rightfully on fumes.

“If you looked at the locker room on that Sunday, everyone was dying to go home because it was just a long stretch,” said MacIntyre, who also finished runner-up to J.J. Spaun at the U.S. Open. “For me, I was out there … just running on empty. It's such a big golf tournament; you're trying your best. It's difficult with how kind of condensed the season is now, on the PGA Tour, especially. It's just log-jammed and you just feel like you can't take a week off because if you take a week off, you're going backward.”

MacIntyre’s slumber didn’t last too long. In the few days leading into the Scottish, MacIntyre spent some time practicing and playing at Machrihanish, a famed course located on the tip of Scotland’s Kintyre Peninsula, and then Royal Troon, host of last year’s Open. Much to his delight, he was greeted by 20 mph winds and firm conditions.

“It was just to get that feel, that sea air, the heavy wind, hitting the golf ball again, and just getting your eye seeing what you used to see,” MacIntyre said. “Whereas when I'm playing in America, I hit the ball up there, land it, normally on the number, it stops. It's just a completely different style of golf.”

MacIntyre must be considered a favorite in his title defense. So, too, must McIlroy, who has a win and T-4 in two starts at the Scottish since the event became co-sanctioned. Xander Schauffele and Collin Morikawa, two top-5 players with Claret Jugs to their names, are two more players expected to contend.

Then you have Spaun, who arguably has had the most taxing past month despite not playing since Travelers. The U.S. Open champion has countless media obligations and celebratory functions since prevailing at Oakmont four weeks ago. He was pictured recently at a bar in Scottsdale, sharing drinks out of the trophy with seemingly everybody in the place. Things have slowed down a bit since then, but not much.

“I'm just trying to soak it all in still,” Spaun said, “and I try not to let it be like a victory lap sort of mentality, but it still feels that way.”

Spaun has only just got his rhythm back with his golf game. It’s in a “good spot,” he says, though he’s spent the past few nights since his Saturday arrival getting acclimated to the time change and shaking off his jetlag. That’s something he’s not had to do much, since this is his second time playing links golf, the first coming at this event in 2022. He tied for 59th that week.

Much has changed since then, for Spaun and for this tournament.

At the same time, though, it’s remains a nice change of pace.