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Rory McIlroy is a champion for the second time this season after coming out victorious at the 2023 Scottish Open. The world number three has returned to his best form in recent weeks and after a string of top-five finishes, he finally got his hands on another trophy thanks to a score of -15 for the week at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick.
McIlroy’s last victory came in January when he won the Dubai Desert Classic, a Rolex event on the DP World Tour just like the Scottish Open. However, as the Scottish Open is co-sponsored by the PGA Tour, McIlroy can now say he has been a winner on both of the tours he competes on this year. Going into the Open Championship next week, he will now be more confident than ever of ending his nine-year major drought.
McIlroy’s victory came at the expense of home favourite, Robert MacIntyre, who finished just one shot behind the Northern Irishman after a sensational final round. The 26-year-old had carded a hugely impressive round of 64 to end his week and looked set for at least a playoff until McIlroy produced some golfing magic on the final two holes.
Scottish Open 2023 final leaderboard
Contents
Position/Player | Total | R1 | R2 | R3 | R4 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Rory McIlroy (NIR) | -15 | 64 | 66 | 67 | 68 |
2 | Robert MacIntyre (SCO) | -14 | 66 | 65 | 67 | 65 |
T3 | David Lingmerth (SWE) | -10 | 66 | 70 | 66 | 68 |
T3 | Byeong Hun An (KOR) | -10 | 61 | 70 | 69 | 70 |
T3 | Scottie Scheffler (USA) | -10 | 68 | 65 | 67 | 70 |
T6 | Nicolai Hojgaard (DEN) | -9 | 70 | 63 | 71 | 67 |
T6 | Tyrrell Hatton (ENG) | -9 | 69 | 62 | 71 | 69 |
T6 | J.T. Poston (USA) | -9 | 69 | 66 | 65 | 71 |
T6 | Tommy Fleetwood (ENG) | -9 | 70 | 66 | 63 | 72 |
T6 | Tom Kim (KOR) | -9 | 66 | 65 | 67 | 73 |
11 | Grant Forest (SCO) | -8 | 69 | 65 | 70 | 68 |
How McIlroy won the Scottish Open
McIlroy’s victory at the Scottish Open was far from plain sailing, with dropped shots, difficult conditions and brilliance from a home favourite all playing a part in a frantic final day in Scotland. The Northern Irishman, who took a one-shot lead into the final round, didn’t get off to the best of starts on Sunday and he was one-over for his round after just two holes.
A rollercoaster of a front nine followed, with McIlroy sharing two birdies with a further three bogeys to leave him at -11 for the week at the turn. Elsewhere on the course, Robert Macintyre was tearing the Renaissance Club up and was in the process of carding a round of -6 which gave him the clubhouse lead with a score of -14.
Knowing he had work to do to secure victory, McIlroy went up a gear in concentration and execution on the back nine. He found birdies on 11 and 14 which left him a shot adrift of Macintyre going into the final four holes. A solid par on 15 was followed by a missed birdie opportunity on 16 which left him facing 17 and 18 in need of one birdie to force a playoff or two to win outright.
His tee shot on the par three 17th was immaculate and left him with a five-footer to tie the scores at the top which he dealt with confidently. Going up the 18th, the hardest hole on the course, most players would have been thinking about consolidating a place in a playoff, but Rory McIlroy isn’t like most players.
The ball flight on what might’ve been the best shot of Rory McIlroy’s career 🤤 pic.twitter.com/iEYqMcFCFs
— Rory McIlroy Tracker (@RMTracker) July 16, 2023
A drive up the fairway gave him a look at the green but with 200 yards to go, and the wind blowing at 30mph, most players would have declined to take it on. McIlroy went straight at it, however, and he couldn’t have asked for a better result with the ball landing just short of the pin and rolling through for a birdie look on a hole most players scramble to make par. The Northern Irishman read the put expertly and victory was his – his first-ever win at the tournament.
McIlroy calls it an “incredible” win
Speaking after his win, McIlroy told reporters:
“To play that back nine in four under par to win the tournament, really proud of how I just stuck in there. I 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 feels absolutely amazing. I’ve had a few close calls recently so to get over the line and get this bit of confidence going into next week and the rest of the season is huge.”
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