As they had been when they set off for their third round Paul Lawrie and Marc Warren found themselves together as the Open Championship ended but the mood was very different from the previous day.
A deep sense of gloom had swept away all the excitement when, as they set off in the penultimate pairing, suggesting that they might finish in a share of 40th place would have seemed liked the worst kind of Scottish pessimism.
Albeit tied it was the first time Warren had finished as top Scot at the Open however having, also for the first time, recently claimed that position in the world rankings.
Consequently, for all that he felt he had lost control of his game at a critical moment, losing control of his driving on the back nine on Sunday and failing to re-discover it in the final round, he was relatively philosophical as he pondered the immediate future.
“There's still another major to play, the U.S. PGA,” he pointed out.
“We've got the final series in Europe. I just want to play massive events from here on. This is just moving into the second half of the year to be honest. I’m in a decent position in the Race to Dubai and a decent position top 50 in the world comfortably.
“I feel as if my game is good enough to do that and I've got big enough events in front of me so if I play well, I can make a nice move up the rankings.”
By contrast Lawrie - best Scot in the field 22 years ago at Sandwich and on three subsequent occasions, including when winning at Carnoustie in 1999 - has been there and done that so felt rather less reason to be cheerful when asked if anything good had come of this experience.
“Not really, to be honest, because when you're in there, I'm normally pretty good at staying in there and the last two days has been the opposite,” he observed.
“I took myself right out of it yesterday. I missed from two feet at 12 for birdie and three-putted 13, and then mentally was really poor coming in, which is unlike me when I've got a chance in the tournament.
“So I'm not seeing much positives at the moment, but maybe when I sit down tomorrow, maybe there will be.”
Fellow Aberdonian Richie Ramsay, the only other Scot to make the halfway cut, was meanwhile, if anything, even more irked by his own shortcomings after closing with four successive bogeys for a 74 to be one-under and tied for 68th place.
“It just felt like a wasted opportunity on a course that I know well and just putted rubbish. I can't really describe my round because if I was, I'd be swearing, just straight out, so it's just a waste of time,” he said.
“I don't work to come out and play like that. It's great to be out there, don't get me wrong, but every one of us is out there to win. I don't hole putts to finish 70th in the tournament. It's a bit of a joke to be honest. I've got to sit down and look at it.”
So much so that he questioned whether there was any point in keeping his next tour appointment.
“I'm going to Omega, but can't even think about that at the moment. If I'm going to putt and chip like that, there’s no point in going,” said Ramsay.
While the difficulty lies with his short game he suggested that the problem is essentially psychological rather than technical.
“It's not a great place at the moment. I’ve just got to go away and break a few things and come back and start again,” he said.
At which point his audience beat a hasty retreat just as, unfortunately, the Scottish challenge had done in the closing two rounds.
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