Rory McIlory remained upbeat despite missing out on the Scottish Open win, as he finished runner-up at the Renaissance Club on Sunday.
The Northern Irishman ended two strokes behind surprise winner Chris Gotterup, sharing second place with Marco Penge. He was aiming to be the first player to win the Masters and the Scottish Open in the same year.
World No158 Gotterup held his nerve to secure victory ahead of the five-time major champion, who had been seeking to add the Scottish Open to his Masters triumph from April.
Despite the disappointment of missing out on the historic double, McIlroy remained upbeat about his performance ahead of this week's Open Championship at Royal Portrush.
Rory McIlroy is happy with his performance despite just missing out on the win
Getty
The 36-year-old expressed confidence in his game as he prepares to return to the venue where he lifted the Claret Jug in 2014: "I'm really happy with where everything is.
"Looking forward to getting to Portrush and getting out onto the golf course and just turning my attention to that."
The world No 2 praised his performance over the weekend at North Berwick, particularly his ball-striking and control: "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."
JUST IN: Christian Horner 'threatened by Red Bull owner' days before sacking
McIlroy missed the cut at last year's Open at Royal Troon but appears determined to mount a stronger challenge this time round.
Gotterup was thrilled with his unexpected triumph over the heavily-favoured McIlroy.
"It's amazing. It's all hitting me. It's just so cool. I played really well this week and I knew today was going to be tough," said the American.
READ MORE: Cole Palmer makes Donald Trump admission as footage from Club World Cup win goes viral
Chris Gotterup was the surprise victor at the Scottish Open
Getty
"It was a pleasure to be out there with Rory and obviously all the support he gets is amazing, but it was nice to kind of ruin that a little bit."
McIlroy acknowledged the narrow margin of defeat whilst maintaining a positive outlook: "It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that's about it."
LATEST SPORTS NEWS:
McIlroy had acknowledged in June that maintaining motivation after completing his career grand slam at Augusta National had proved more challenging than anticipated.
The five-time major champion admitted he had not anticipated how difficult it would be to sustain his drive following his Masters victory.
Rory McIlory has been struggling since his Masters win but is confident heading into the Open
ReutersHowever, his strong showing at the Renaissance Club appears to have reinvigorated his competitive spirit as he turns his attention to the year's final major.
"I just hung in there tight and tried to keep it together," Gotterup said of his composed performance under pressure as he secured £1.2million in prize money.