Rory McIlroy birdies last two holes to win Scottish Open

 

[July 17, 2023]  Rory McIlroy birdied the last two holes in blustery conditions on Sunday to win by one stroke at the Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland.

His final round of 2-under-par 66 marked his fourth straight round in the 60s at the final tune-up for next week's Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England.

McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, capped an up-and-down round of six birdies and four bogeys with birdies at the par-3 17th and par-4 18th to finish at 15-under 265.

Scotland's Robert MacIntyre carded a 64 on Sunday to get to 14-under, including a closing birdie that momentarily gave him the lead at The Renaissance Club.

McIlroy drained a 4-foot birdie putt to move into a tie at No. 17 and then smashed a 2-iron into the wind to within 10 feet to set up the winning birdie putt.

"Had to cut it and try to get it up into the wind a little bit and I just hit this 2-iron and it came off absolutely perfectly," McIlroy said. "Probably the best shot I hit all year. It was exactly the way I wanted to play it.

"When you hit a shot like that, I felt like I deserved to hole that putt to finish it off."

McIlroy, 34, played the back nine in 31 to collect his 24th PGA Tour title and first since the Dubai Classic in January.

"To play that back nine 4-under par to win the tournament, yeah, really proud of how I just stuck in there," McIlroy said. "Hit some amazing shots down the stretch and was able to finish it off with a really nice putt there. It feels incredible. It's been a sort of long six months I feel since I won in Dubai. I've given myself tons of chances, and hopefully this win sort of breaks the seal for me, especially going into next week as well."

It is the first triumph on Scottish soil for McIlroy, a four-time major winner who now returns with momentum to the scene of his only Open Championship at Royal Liverpool in 2014.

Trying to win his national open, MacIntyre recorded five birdies, an eagle and one bogey despite the 40-mph winds on Sunday. At the 18th, he struck a fairway wood from the fescue 213 yards to within a few feet to set up his go-ahead birdie putt.

"It's one I've dreamed of winning since I watched at home, and I thought today coming down once I birdied 18, I thought, this might be the one," said MacIntyre, 26. "But it's not to be just now, and plenty of years ahead."

Sweden's David Lingmerth (68), South Korea's Byeong Hun An (70) and Scottie Scheffler (70) tied for third at 10-under.

It was the seventh consecutive top-five finish for Scheffler, whose official money total of $19.02 million marks the highest in a single-season in PGA Tour history.

--Field Level Media

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.