Chris Gotterup held off Rory McIlroy down the stretch to win the Scottish Open, but McIlroy’s tie for second with Marco Penge has him looking forward to something special at the Open Championship at Royal Portrush in his native Northern Ireland.
McIlroy said he was playing his best golf since winning the Masters in April, which gave him the career Grand Slam. But he couldn’t chase down Gotterup, who started the final round tied with McIlroy and got off to a shaky start when he drove into a bunker and had to make a challenging 4-foot bogey putt.
But Gotterup was virtually flawless the rest of the way, shooting a 4-under-par 66 to finish at 15 under, two shots ahead of McIlroy, who shot 68, and Penge, who shot 66. The victory earned Gotterup $1.575 million and a spot in the Open.
Nicolai Hojgaard closed with a 64 to move up 11 spots into a tie for fourth with Matt Fitzpatrick, who shot 67.
Gotterup was Clutch Down the Stretch
“I definitely was the villain out there today,” said Gotterup, who fully realized that the huge crowds were pulling for the Irishman. “I felt like I was ready and prepared mentally today. And that’s kind of what I’ve been talking about over the last couple of weeks, that I’ve kind of gotten into the mix a little bit and just faded away a little bit. And today, my goal was to hang in there tough and I felt like I did that really well.”
“Chris played a great round of golf. He was so solid,” McIlroy said. “He made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on 16. After he got a couple ahead, I just couldn’t claw back.”
Gotterup was one shot ahead of McIlroy when he hit his tee shot on the 196-yard 12th hole to 2 feet for birdie — McIlroy missed from 4 feet — to take command.
After the bogey at 15, his lead was down to one over McIlroy and Penge, but McIlroy missed a 12-foot birdie at the par-5 16th and Gotterup hit a right-to-left putt from 10 feet in the heart of the cup for a two-shot lead with two to play.
McIlroy Pleased with His Game
Although he didn’t win, McIlroy took heart in how well he played.
“I’m really happy with where my game is — the way I played over the weekend, the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball flight,” McIlroy said. “It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s about it.”
McIlroy battled to the end, especially on No. 11 when he had to pitch out left-handed next to a tree and still managed to save par. When it was over, he said he was on his way to Royal Portrush, which McIlroy had not seen since the Friday of the 2019 British Open when he missed the cut.
“I feel like my game got a little better each and every day,” McIlroy said. “Getting stuck behind the tree on 11 and hitting a great third shot in there making par. My iron play was great. I feel like I did enough good things off the tee. Everything is in a really good spot and I’m happy with how my game progressed as the week went on.
“I’m looking forward to getting to Portrush and getting on the golf course and just turning my attention to that. I feel like I’ve gotten out of this week everything, really, that I wanted.”
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Scheffler has another Top Finish
Scottie Scheffler, the world’s No. 1 player coming off a two-week break, had a 67 and tied for eighth. It was his 10th consecutive tournament in which he finished eighth or better, a streak that began at the Houston Open. Winner of the PGA Championship, Scheffler will be gunning for his fourth career major. Among the other contenders is Shane Lowry, who won the Open at Portrush in 2019,
