Rory McIlroy has won the Scottish Open for the first time in his career. Despite the harsh conditions brought about by the final round, McIlroy recorded back-to-back birdies on the last two holes. This strong finish edged out Robert MacIntyre (-14) by one stroke. Rory ended the tournament with a score of 15- under 265.
This victory is McIlroy’s first win since his 2022 triumph at The CJ Cup in South Carolina. The win is also his first professional victory on Scottish soil, a feat he has tried to conquer for many years. The 34-year-old will be taking home a $1,575,000 share of this year’s purse. Another plus is the 500 FedExCup points that come with the win. These points move McIlroy into third place in the FedExCup standings.
The PGA Tour shared win No. 24 for Rory on Twitter.
Tournament Recap
The weather in Scotland played nice during the first round. As a result of this, some low scores were posted early. However, on Thursday, none scored lower than Byeong Hun An. Hun An locked in a bogey-free round and secured a tournament-low 61-under par. Davis Riley found himself two strokes behind the leader after five consecutive birdies on the front nine led to a 7-under par round one.
Round two saw some players moving around on the leaderboard. Most notably, Rory McIlroy played well enough to seize first place from Byeong Hun An by just one stroke. Tyrell Hatton catapulted up the leaderboard after carding an 8-under par. This round two score put Hatton in second place with Hun An and Tom Kim.
Playing safe golf yet again, round three saw McIlroy hold on to the lead by one stroke. Tom Kim remained in second place after recording three birdies and zero bogeys. Tyrell Hatton lost his groove and shot one over par. This outing saw him fall to T13.
The final round came down to two golfers. Rory McIlroy got off to a slow start after recording four bogeys on the front nine. Despite the rough start, he rallied and responded with four birdies on the back. His back-to-back birdies on holes 17 and 18 were enough to defeat Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre by one stroke. MacIntyre put together a solid final round that included five birdies and one eagle.
The final round was highlighted by a booming 427-yard drive by champion Rory McIlroy. The monster shot came as a result of gale-force winds on the seventh hole. This shot eclipsed his longest drive of the season by 40 yards.
When is the next tournament?
The next tournaments on the PGA Tour are the Barracuda Championship and the Open Championship. These two events will begin on Thursday, July 20. The 2022 Barracuda Championship was won by Chez Reavie. This event will be held at Tahoe Mountain Club (Old Greenwood) in Truckee, CA.
The Open Championship marks the fourth and final major tournament of the year. This event was won last year by Cameron Smith, who hopes to take a shot at defending his title. Taking place at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake, Wirral (England), The Open will feature a $16,500,000 purse.
The Barracuda Championship will be available to watch on the Golf Channel and Peacock. You can stream the action from the Open Championship on NBC and USA Network.
Stay tuned for more PGA content including tournament previews, recaps and any breaking news!
Featured image courtesy of the PGA Tour
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