GULLANE, Scotland — Rory McIlroy rallied with birdies on the final two holes and broke a lot of hearts by defeating native son Robert MacIntyre by a stroke to win the Genesis Scottish Open on Sunday.
McIlroy, the 54-hole leader, shot 2-under 68 at the Renaissance Club for a 72-hole total of 15-under 265 and earned his 24th PGA Tour title, tying him with Gary Player and Dustin Johnson on the all-time wins list. It also marked his first win on European soil in seven years at the Irish Open.
With all of Scotland trying to will him to victory, MacIntyre handled swirling, gusting winds to shoot 6-under 64 and take the clubhouse lead. He made his move on the back nine with a 6-foot eagle putt at No. 10 and a pair of birdies at 14 and 15. MacIntyre went 33 holes on the weekend before missing a seven-foot par putt at the par-5 16th, but he rebounded with a solid up-and-down par at 17. McIlroy tied him with a birdie of his own at 14 before MacIntyre delivered the shot of the tournament at 18, drilling a fairway wood from 213 yards to 4 feet.
“Shot of his life, no doubt,” CBS’s Jim Nantz proclaimed.
When he needed it most
@McIlroyRory delivers a beautiful approach on the 72nd hole @ScottishOpen
https://t.co/8mK1oukRZZ / CBS Sports app pic.twitter.com/igRkRENNpZ
— Golf on CBS
(@GolfonCBS) July 16, 2023
MacIntyre, 26, clenched both fists when he rolled in the birdie putt.
But McIlroy spoiled the script of another native son winning his national championship – following wins by Nick Taylor at the RBC Canadian Open and Wyndham Clark at the U.S. Open last month. He responded by knocking his tee shot at the 191-yard par-3 17th to 5 feet and tied MacIntyre at the top of the leaderboard. At 18, McIlroy canned an 11-foot birdie putt to claim victory.
Tee times on Sunday were moved up several hours to try to avoid unplayable conditions, but the wind still was whipping at more than 30 miles per hour. McIlroy and Tom Kim traded the early lead until Kim, who finished T-3, made three straight bogeys at the turn and McIlroy dropped shots at Nos. 8 and 9, giving him four bogeys in all on the front nine. England’s Tyrrell Hatton took a turn in the lead with birdies at Nos. 11 and 13 but made two bogeys coming home and a double at the last to finish at 9 under.
McIlroy showed plenty of resolve, making four birdies and no bogeys on the inward nine.
Sweden’s David Lingmerth (68) and South Korea’s Ben An (70) finished T-3 while Denmark’s Nicolai Hojgaard (67) finished T-6 to earn their way into next week’s 151st British Open as the leading three finishers who weren’t already exempt into the championship, which will be held at Royal Liverpool.