NORTH BERWICK, Scotland – Rory McIlroy didn’t win the Genesis Scottish Open, but he got everything he wanted out of his week at The Renaissance Club.

Playing for the first time since the Travelers Championship last month, McIlroy refound his motivation and his form along the Firth of Fourth – a one-two punch that should hold up well as he turns his focus to The Open Championship in his native Northern Ireland next week.

Holding a share of the lead entering Sunday at the Genesis Scottish Open, McIlroy shot 2-under 68 but was bested by a “so solid” Chris Gotterup, who shot 4-under 66 to win by two shots on Sunday. McIlroy trailed by as little as one shot on the back nine, but he was unable to generate the same birdies in deteriorating conditions as Gotterup.

“I'm really happy with where everything is," McIlroy said. "Looking forward to getting to Portrush tonight and getting out onto the golf course early tomorrow and just turning my attention to that.”

McIlroy’s lull in form has been well documented over the last several months. He admitted to a lack of motivation after accomplishing his career-crowning feat, the career Grand Slam at the Masters. That led to a drop in form, failing to contend in any of his recent starts – including the PGA Championship at his favorite TOUR stop, Quail Hollow, and the U.S. Open at Oakmont, a course that should fit McIlroy’s game to a tee. His biggest superpower, his driver, looked mortal at times. And the usually chipper McIlroy turned a bit terse.

But McIlroy arrived in Scotland with a newfound frame of mind, refreshed by a few weeks at his new home in London and energized by the opportunity to win The Open Championship at Royal Portrush, a course he grew up 60 miles from and once shot 61.

That left his motivation for the Genesis Scottish Open simple: to get himself as close to that pre-Masters form as possible. By the end of the week, McIlroy said he was “pretty much there.”

The world No. 2 made steady progress throughout the week. His first round identified a pair of issues he needed to iron out – his pace on the greens and his proficiency in the wind. Each got better every day. McIlroy finished fifth in putting for the week and gained strokes tee to green in each of the last three rounds.

McIlroy credited the conditions for his inability to challenge Gotterup down the stretch. With the wind whipping and the greens getting bumpier, the course didn’t lend itself to a chaser. McIlroy made nine pars on the back nine.

“I controlled my ball flight, some of the iron shots I hit, especially today, sort of the 5-iron into 12 after Chris hit it in close," McIlroy said. "Getting stuck behind the tree on 11 and hitting a great third shot in there making par. Iron play was great. I feel like I did enough good things off the tee. Everything is in a really good spot and I'm happy with how my game progressed as the week went on.”

Form doesn’t guarantee anything for Royal Portrush. In 2019, McIlroy won the RBC Canadian Open and finished top 10 at the U.S. Open in the lead-up to The Open. That mattered little when he stepped on Royal Portrush, a golf course that was a dream come true to play as a kid and now played host to the oldest major championship in the world. He shot 79 in the opening round and missed the cut.

But McIlroy enters The Open in as good as form as he could have hoped, with his mind rejuvenated. That’s McIlroy’s recipe for winning golf.

“I'm really happy with where my game is; the way I played over the weekend; the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball flight,” McIlroy said. “It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that's about it.”