McIlroy seals Scottish Open win with final hole birdie

Rory McIlroy produced a brilliant birdie-birdie finish to win the Scottish Open by single shot.

The now world no.2 entered the final round with a one-shot lead but on a dramatic day in high winds at The Renaissance Club it was home hero Robert MacIntyre who threatened to seal a fairytale win.

The Scot played a stunning approach to the last to card a 64 and lead by one at 14 under, but McIlroy put his tee shot to five feet on the par-three 17th to bag a birdie and move into a share the lead. The 34-year-old then produced some closing magic of his own, putting his approach to 11 feet and nervelessly holing his putt to sign for a 68 and seal a remarkable one-stroke victory.

McIlroy’s first victory on Scottish soil now goes alongside the Dubai Desert Classic title he claimed in January in his Rolex Series collection and takes his tally of DP World Tour victories to 16. He also becomes the first player to win the Scottish Open, Irish Open and Open Championship the week before he goes in search of a fifth Major at Royal Liverpool, where he lifted the Claret Jug for the first time in 2014.

McIlroy said: “This is right up there with the best of my performances, especially after missing the short birdie putt on 16. I thought if I can birdie one of the last two and get into a play-off, that would be a bonus. So to finish two-three in these conditions, the two iron shots that I hit, the 5-iron into 17 and the 2-iron into the last are probably two of the best shots I’ve hit all year, and then to finish them off with the putts 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.”

Scottie Scheffler, Byeong-hun An and David Lingmerth finished in a tie for third at ten under, with An, Lingmerth and Dane Nicolai Højgaard – who finished a shot further back – all earning spots in the field at next week’s Open Championship. Lingmerth closed with a 66 and Scheffler and An both carded 70s to finish a shot ahead of Tyrrell Hatton, Højgaard, Tommy Fleetwood, Tom Kim and JT Poston.

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