There can be no such thing as textbook preparation for a major championship. That much was again proven at this month's US Open.
After travelling through the night Phil Mickelson arrived at the Merion Golf Club with little time to spare on Thursday morning after spending the earlier part of the week at home in San Diego. He went on to finish second to Justin Rose, who had appeared in Pennsylvania on the Tuesday afternoon.
Even though poor weather had played a part in both of those matters and both players had spent crucial time on the course the week before, the approach of Mickelson and Rose cannot be described as routine. This may offer a glimmer of hope to Rory McIlroy, Tiger Woods, Lee Westwood and Rose as the Open Championship appears on the horizon.
In isolation McIlroy's missed cut at the Irish Open may not have overly troubled him. Speaking of a feeling of "suffocation" when playing at or close to home McIlroy highlighted the difficulty when he is so close to adulation and expectation. He feels a natural obligation to play in the Irish Open but it is perfectly easy to infer he does not particularly enjoy it. That said it was to McIlroy's credit that he returned here on Saturday to practise and sign autographs for what is an adoring public.
The problem is that two over aggregate at the tournament was not isolated. It leaves McIlroy with no competitive play before he arrives at Muirfield. The East Lothian venue, moreover, is a completely new one to him. The world No2 can take solace from being in decent company, in what represents a curious Open preamble. Woods withdrew from this weekend's AT&T National event at Congressional – which he won last year – because of the elbow injury that was apparent at Merion.
Rose pulled out of the AT&T citing an "extremely demanding mentally and physically" spell. That explanation was understandable given the reaction to his major win when he appeared on television chat shows in the United States and his involvement the following week at the Travellers Championship. Were Rose's season to finish tomorrow, he could reflect on a stunning and life-changing achievement.
Rose will not play in the French Open and neither will Westwood, who cited fatigue when removing himself from the field at Le National. Graeme McDowell at least had the opportunity to bounce back from missing the Irish Open cut by appearing in France, where he will have Ian Poulter and Luke Donald for company.
From there all roads lead to Muirfield with the diminishing value of the Scottish Open, be played at Castle Stuart the week before the third major of the year, highlighted by a noticeably weak field. Mickelson, who will play competitively the week before a major if at all feasible, is the most high-profile competitor by a considerable margin.
It has been a logical criticism of McIlroy after his tribulations of 2013 that he has not entered enough tournaments. Linked to that is his continual assertion that his play on the driving range is strong. McIlroy belatedly added the Texas Valero Open to his schedule to prepare for the Masters; the likelihood that he would have done likewise with France was deemed impossible by sponsor commitments and a family wedding.
"I guess it has been a light schedule but from the Open onwards I'm playing seven tournaments in nine weeks or 10 weeks, so that will be a busy stretch coming up," McIlroy said. "I'll finish with a couple at the end of the year, so I've still got a lot of golf left to play.
"It has been a light schedule for the first six months of the year and I'll look at that going into next year and see if I will do anything differently."
One man who hopes the Scottish Open will hand him a path to the Open Championship is Paul Casey, who hinted once again that he is returning to something even approaching his best form.
The Englishman signed for a third-round 67, which leaves him on an aggregate of nine under and holding a legitimate chance of his first tournament victory in two years.
"I am really excited," Casey said. "That was a wonderful round. The key has been putting; when I make putts I am going to shoot good rounds because the ball striking is there."