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Rory McIlroy was about to let another PGA Tour pioneer slip in frustration on Sunday.
Starting the day with a one shot lead, McIlroy struggled in the high winds that had plagued the Renaissance Club all day and forced the final pole times at the Scottish Open to move up several hours.
By the time McIlroy reached his 17th tee, Robert McIntyre of Scotland, behind a miracle birdie from the left ten on the 18th, had scored Sunday’s 64 and passed world No. 3, scoring 14 under.
McIlroy needed a par and a birdie over the final two holes, two of the toughest holes on the course, if he was to tie. He did one better.
On the 17th, he ruled the hills on the front of the green to perfection, bouncing a 5-iron 190 on the front and rolling it to just four and a half feet for birdie. After having him hook MacIntyre and then drive off the lane on the 18th, McIlroy again showed off his clutch gene.
After changing from 4- to 2-iron, McIlroy hit a shot from just 205 to 11 feet, rolled a putt to putt a 68 and finished 15th for his first PGA Tour title in 2023. The putt seemed so condescending that Breeze and McIlroy didn’t seem to think he’d will go down. He broke into laughter and looked up at the sky as it disappeared.
“I’ve had some close calls lately, so to get over the line and get a little bit of confidence next week and the rest of the season is huge,” McIlroy told CBS’ Amanda Renner on the 18th.
It is McIlroy’s 24th PGA Tour and 16th DP World Tour wins and his second on both tours this season. He’s been playing as well as anyone in the world over the past few weeks, finishing in the top 10 in each of his five previous starts, and making a comeback at the PGA Championship, including a runner-up finish at the US Open.
In three of those, he had at least a share of the lead at one point during the final round, but he just couldn’t get the job done.
But after hitting what he called two of his best shots of the season on the final two holes, his fortunes changed at the perfect time.
“This one is up there with the best of them,” McIlroy told CBS of his recent clutch holes. “I thought if I could birdie one of the last two and get into the playoff, it would be a bonus. To finish 2-3 in those conditions… It feels so amazing.”
The birdies of McIlroy and MacIntyre were only second-and-third on the 18th hole on Sunday, which played more than six-tenths of a shot over par despite the tees being raised nearly 30 yards due to the wind. MacIntyre badly fueled his tee on the final hole towards the fescue, but made a terrific break, finding a cut course and muscle in the fairway wood to just four feet.
The 26-year-old’s final round 64 was the best of the day by two strokes in his bid to become the first Scotsman to win the National Open since 1999.
Now McIlroy, who has won on European soil for the first time since the 2016 Irish Open, is heading south to Royal Liverpool, where he was already the favorite for the 151st Open. McIlroy won his only Open Championship there in 2014.