An exciting finish to the Genesis Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy started the final round with a one-shot lead over Tom Kim. McIlroy started his final round with a par then followed it up with a bogey on the second hole. McIlroy returned to 13 under after a birdie at the seventh hole before finishing the front nine with bogeys on eight and nine. McIlroy started the back nine on 11 under two behind leader Tyrrell Hatton.
The 10th hole at The Renaissance is a par five which was playing downwind but McIlroy failed to achieve a birdie. The Northern Irishman missed the fairway at the 11th but played an incredible shot from 121 yards to set up a two foot putt for birdie. McIlroy made a birdie at the 11th but kept the momentum going as he made a great putt for par at the par three 12th. The 14th is a 154 yard par three and McIlroy holed a fantastic putt for birdie to reach 13 under.
The 15th also played downwind but McIlroy had to settle for a tap in par. While McIlroy was playing the 15th, Robert MacIntyre hit an amazing shot from 212 yards to set up a three foot putt for birdie. MacIntyre set the clubhouse lead on 14 under after shooting a final round of 64. McIlroy had to play the last three holes in one under to enter a play-off. McIlroy played a great chip shot at the par five 16th to set up a birdie putt but he unfortunately missed his putt.
The 17th and 18th at The Renaissance were playing tough due to the strong wind. McIlroy heled the birdie putt at the 17th to tie the lead with MacIntyre on 14 under. McIlroy’s tee shot at 18th ended up in the fairway after just missing a bunker. The birdie putt for McIlroy from 10 feet was a good one and ended up finding centre cup. “To finish 2, 3 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”.
McIlroy shot a back nine of four under to win the Genesis Scottish Open by one shot. “Hit some amazing shots down the stretch and was able to finish it off with a really nice putt”. McIlroy made history as he has now won the Irish Open, The Open Championship and the Genesis Scottish Open. “I didn't know that. That's really cool, especially a player coming from this part of the world”. McIlroy received $1.62 million for winning the Genesis Scottish Open.
Royal Liverpool is a special venue for McIlroy as he won The Open there in 2014. “Yeah, it's amazing, for The Race to Dubai, for the FedExCup, for my confidence”. It’s nine years since McIlroy won his last major and The Open is his last chance of winning a major in 2023. “To get over the line and get this bit of confidence going into next week and the rest of the season is huge.
Shane Lowry, Padraig Harrington and Tom McKibbin also played in the Genesis Scottish Open. Shane Lowry finished in a tie for 12th on seven under. McKibbin finished in a tie for 35th on four under. Harrington finished in a tie for 42nd on three under.