Smith managed five birdies during his final round of 67 at The Renaissance Club, with a bogey at the last slightly souring a weekend where he bounced back from a second round 75 to finish in a share of 10th at two-under.

Like the Queenslander, Schauffele made a number of birdies on the final day after sleeping on the lead on Saturday but four bogeys made things more interesting than the Olympic Gold Medallist would have liked, including three in four holes before making the turn.

Schauffele opened his fourth round account with back-to-back birdies to pull away from the chasing pack that included Kurt Kitayama, Tommy Fleetwood and his close friend Patrick Cantlay.

However, the 28-year-old lost the sparkling form that delivered the Travelers Championship two weeks prior and the JP McManus Pro-Am at the start of the week momentarily. Schauffele making bogeys at the 6th, 7th and 9th to fall back to six-under for the tournament and one shot back of Kitayama.

RIGHT: Cam Smith finished the Scottish Open with his best round of the week ahead of The Open. PHOTO: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“I was trying to find something. Every time I wanted to cut it I hit it way right and every time I wanted to draw it I hit it way left. At least it was going the correct direction, but it was going, you know, miles apart,” Schauffele said of the mid-round struggles. “And it was nice to sort of hit a few better shots coming down the stretch and kind of calm the ship here. It was looking pretty bad for a bit but this one is extra special because of that.”

Schauffele proceeded to make four straight pars then get a shot back to par at both the 14th and 16th to resume his place at the top of the leaderboard. A bogey at the par-4 last took him back to seven-under, enough for a one shot win over Kitayama who alongside Jamie Donaldson and Brandon Wu secured spots at St. Andrews this week.

Schauffele’s win identifies him as a favourite to secure the Claret Jug, although the World No.5 admitted he has plenty of studying to do before the first round gets underway on Thursday.

“I've never played St Andrews. I've never played the Old Course so a lot of homework to do,” he said. “I have to use this time, sun going down at eleven o'clock at night to my advantage to try to prepare to the best of my ability.

“Going to rely a lot on my caddie to do that. I'm tired. I've played a bit and I need a rest and I need to get ready for the week. I'm not even thinking about Sunday quite yet. I need to prepare.”

"It was nice to sort of hit a few better shots coming down the stretch and kind of calm the ship here. It was looking pretty bad for a bit but this one is extra special because of that.” - Xander Schauffele.

Another player who looks a likely factor is Jordan Spieth who fired a Saturday 66 and was making a Sunday move before a double bogey at the par-3 14th.

“I think most importantly it's playing in this wind and off this turf. Getting acclimated to the speed of the greens and slopes of the greens and watching how much the wind affects the golf ball,” Spieth said of his preparations.

“I have a pretty good gauge on how far the ball is going to fly and having not come over here ahead of time, a lot of times you're trying to make that up in three short days. Nice to be over here for a while and just feel like I can get to go the course next week.”

So too will Smith like his chances after a solid showing in Scotland in varied conditions ahead of his fifth Open appearance and first time around St. Andrews in a major championship.

Jason Scrivener was the next best of the Australian contingent, the West Australian one shot back of Smith in a tie for 16th as he prepares to also head to The Old Course.