For Chris Gotterup, everything and nothing has changed on his return to the Genesis Scottish Open.
Unlike like last year when he arrived at The Renaissance Club a relative unknown on the British Isles as the World Number 158, the American is now an established star on the global stage.
Ahead of his title defence at this week's $9 million Rolex Series event, Gotterup won his third PGA TOUR title of 2026 - a victory that has lifted him to seventh in the Official World Golf Ranking.
As such, on Thursday, he will start as one of the leading pre-tournament favourites at the co-sanctioned DP World Tour and PGA TOUR event but he does so believing he is still the same golfer as he was before his rise to prominence.
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"I feel like everyone's asked, what have I done differently and I don't think I've done much differently," he said.
"If I knew, I would have done it a lot longer ago. I felt like I kept my head down and kept working hard on things that I knew.
"With the help of my coaches and family and girlfriend, we try to keep things simple and it's worked out. Hopefully, I'll keep improving, too."
Having won his first PGA TOUR title in 2024 at the Myrtle Beach Classic, Gotterup impressively held off Rory McIlroy and the chasing pack 12 months ago for what remains arguably the biggest win of his career.
Gotterup describes being thrust into marquee groups over the weekend as a big learning opportunity as it quickly proved to him he was better than he had allowed himself to believe.
"For me, it was being able to win on a completely different course than I have ever played on," he said of the impact of his victory at Scotland's national open.
"So it's like, I have a game that travels, at least I think so.
"Last year, coming up against Rory and Scottie and all these guys and coming out on top and I thought maybe I might be better than I thought I was beforehand. But thinking you can do it and doing it are two different things.
"This field is one of the strongest we'll play all year. So to be able to come out on top of that is a confidence boost in and of its own.
"We play different courses for the majority of the season, so to have your game travel over here I think just gives you another notch of confidence in that respect."
Gotterup further underlined his links credentials a week later as he capitalised on his last-minute qualification for The Open through his victory by finishing solo third at Royal Potrush.
A return to links golf now lies ahead, with the final men's Major Championship on the horizon at Royal Birkdale next week and Gotterup is enthused by the test that awaits over the upcoming two weeks.
"I just think it's fun," he said. "It's totally different. The shots that we are hitting are very different than what we are accustomed to every week.
"I just think the style of how you have to play out here, the creativity that is needed to play well is fun and challenging at the same time."
In a reflection of his remarkable emergence over the last 12 months, Gotterup will form part of a marquee three-ball over the opening two rounds this week.
Joined by World Number Two McIlroy and home hero Robert MacIntyre, the last three Genesis Scottish Open winners are sure to draw big crowds - something that Gotterup acknowleges only highlights his growing status as one of the world's best.
"Obviously those two are beloved here, and I'm excited for the opportunity," he reflected.
"It's been nice to kind of get in the mix a little bit with these big groups and just get more comfortable in that scenario.
"I think that's kind of what you want when you are playing out here. You want to be in the big groups, and yeah, I'll be looking forward to that on Thursday."
