Portrush, July 15 -- Adam Scott already has spent seven days at Royal Portrush, three of them with Darren Clarke, and the advice was invaluable to the end. They stood off the 18th green Sunday as Scott listened intently to a British Open champion whose game was forged on these links.

How the course plays in different wind directions?

Whether it's worth hitting driver down the steep hill on the 17th?

No, this was where to spend the next few days away from the course, with the Bushmills Distillery the leading option.

"I've seen enough now," Scott said. "I feel ready."

What he saw was better than he imagined. Royal Portrush hasn't hosted golf's oldest championship since 1951 and has a mystique except for the few who know it well. Clarke...