GULLANE – Rory McIlroy birdied the last two holes for a 2-under-68 finish in churning winds on Sunday to win the Genesis Scottish Open, his first victory on Scottish soil, and take heaps of confidence with him last major of the year.
McIlroy was a shot behind Robert MacIntyre when he almost perfected the slope on the par-3 17th and secured the lead with a 4-foot birdie putt. He then delivered what McIlroy described as his best shot of the year – a 2-iron downwind from 10 feet for a final birdie.
It was a heartthrob for MacIntyre, who was attempting to win his National Open and delivered a first-class shot. MacIntyre hammered a 3-Wood out of the rough on the 18th hole at the Renaissance Club to 4 feet and pumped both fists as he fell for a 64.
Given the harsh and unrelenting Firth of Forth winds, it was a remarkable final lap and for a long time looked set to give 26-year-old MacIntyre the decisive win of his young career.
Instead, it was McIlroy who played the tough back nine in 31 games and capped it off with two clutch birdies for his first win since Dubai Desert Classic.
The victory came at an ideal time. McIlroy is heading south Royal Liverpool for the British Open, where he’s trying to end his nine-year losing streak in the majors. McIlroy won the claret pitcher when the Open was last played at the Royal Liverpool in 2014.
“It was such a tough day — so tough,” McIlroy said. “I’m really proud of how I persevered there, playing the nine at 4 under par to win the tournament. I got some great shots on the course. It feels incredible. In my opinion, a long six months have passed since I won in Dubai. I gave myself plenty of chances and I hope this win breaks the seal for me, especially for next week.”
McIlroy finished 15 under 265 and moved past Jon Rahm for world No. 2.
World No. 1 player Scottie Scheffler finished with a 70 and tied for third place with Byeong Hun An (70) and David Lingmerth (68). Scheffler has finished in the top five in his last seven tournaments, including two majors.
An and Lingmerth received a consolation prize by securing places at the British Open, which were awarded to the top three players not yet exempted from the exception. Last place went to Nicolai Hojgaard (67), who will join his twin brother Rasmus Royal Liverpool.
The Scottish crowd had been chanting MacIntyre’s name all week at the Renaissance Club, cheering as he putt the 3-wood and birdie through the 18th, one of the toughest finishing holes on the tour.
MacIntyre was so caught up in the moment that he had to hold back tears as he left the green.
“I’ll never forget it. I had to take a minute off when I was 18,” he said. “If not the Open, then the Scottish Open is the event I want to be in for the rest of my life. It is one I’ve dreamed of winning since I saw him at home and I thought today would come as soon as I got 18 birdies and thought this might be the right one but it’s not meant to be just be now
“Rory McIlroy is possibly the best in the world and he showed why today.”
McIlroy gave him an equally good shot.
He was 201 yards from the pin, downwind, a perfect 3-iron for him—except McIlroy decided to swap his 3-iron for a 2-iron for the windy week.
“The 4-iron just put me on the front edge,” McIlroy said. He had to hit a 2-iron with a little cut and some upwind to take some distance from the wind, and “it went absolutely perfect.”
“It’s probably the best shot I’ve had all year,” McIlroy said. “When you make a shot like that, I feel like I deserve to pot the putt to finish it like that.”
The tournament was jointly sanctioned by the European Tour and the PGA Tour. McIlroy extended his lead at the Race to Dubai, although he still has work to do to catch up with Rahm and Scheffler in the FedEx Cup.
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