Matthew Coritz

It was starting to get late in the final round on a typical Scottish Sunday and a familiar feeling was sinking in for Rory Mcilroy. He couldn’t do much wrong but once again in such a similar vein to what we’ve seen recently, he just couldn’t get much right. He was stuck in par-land, merely staying afloat in the tournament whilst the Scotsman Robert Macintyre was swimming past him. The similarities between this Sunday and a famous one last summer seemed to be taking root, with Robert Macintyre playing the role of Cam Smith at St. Andrews, stealing another tournament on Scottish soil that surely should have been Rory’s. 

The scene picked up on the brutal final 2 holes. Macintyre had ascended to -14, but had to grind out a bogey on 17. He then stepped up to the brutal finishing 18th hole and leaked a driver left into the unpredictable fescue that borders the fairways on the links of the UK we’ve grown so accustomed to seeing over the years. By this point he’d found himself level with Rory at -13 working the low round of the day and had done this while fighting through gale-force wind conditions. Proper golf from a proper Scot. He stepped up and delivered a knifing low three-wood through the wind and set up a birdie seeming to twist the knife into Rory and win. There was still golf to be played, but entering that final stretch it was getting late very quick for Rory. With Macintyre in the house 1 ahead, it was make or break time for Mcilroy. He flighted an iron beautifully into the par 3 17th and played the contours to give himself a short look to draw even with Macintyre. He canned it. On a brutal 18th, a par to force a playoff seemed like a great outcome, but Mcilroy had other ideas. The wind was really whipping now and it was straight in his face as he stepped up to his second shot from 200 out with 4 iron in hand. For reference, his 4 iron goes about 240 yards, so Mcilroy was accounting for about a 40 yard wind. Once again, proper Scottish golf.  But he figured that club wasn’t enough, and stepped back and pulled the 2 iron. What a call. Delivering his “best shot all year,” he stung a 2 iron, showing Macintyre anything you can do I can do better, and put it to 10 feet. Right as the putt dropped, you could see the weight fall from his shoulders as he leaned back and soaked in the win. There was Sunday heartbreak, but for the first time in a while Mcilroy was on the winning side. 

This was the more aggressive Rory we’ve been longing to see in the big moments, and boy did he deliver. With this win, he is now the first player ever with victories at the Scottish Open, Irish Open, and the Open championship to his name. For someone from that region, that has to mean the world to him. But it didn’t always look like it would fall his way. This had all the makings of another death by a thousand pars showing from Rory on Sunday, but this really did seem like he may be turning that corner. With that said all credit to Robert Macintyre for a sensational Sunday showing. A 64 in these conditions, the low round of the day to vault himself into contention at his own national open? Brilliant golf. Knowing he gave it all he had to give and being the leader at the time, it was so cool to see him walk off the 18th green in tears showing just how much this tournament means to him. It’s been a great year for national opens, with Nick Taylor’s incredible putt at the Canadian and Wyndham Clark’s emotional win at the U.S. Open, and while he came up short, Bobby Mac certainly added to the highlights with this showing. 

Boasting a very strong field, the Scottish open has been a fun preview for the more important Open championship that is played this week. Links golf is a different beast than traditional golf this side of the Atlantic, with the typical venue being of the Parkland variety.  The Gale force winds, browned out turf, with not a flat lie on the golf course is typical for the home of golf. It’s golf how it was originally meant to be played, and it is one of the most fun “swings” of the golf season. The Open this year will be at Royal Liverpool in Hoylake. It’s a typical links style venue that we’ve seen twice this century, with Tiger and Rory coming away as the champions. As a golf fan, I’m hopeful another player of that caliber rises to the top on Sunday. Keep an eye on how the short Par 3 17th with trouble everywhere and the gettable Par 5 finisher will play. In terms of predictions, there are 3 guys yet to win a major this year whose play has seemingly been above the rest so I’m looking at Scheffler, Hovland, and Mcilroy as prime candidates to get it done this week. It’s already time for the final major of the year, and the dreadful 8 month wait until the Masters in April looms. Let’s enjoy it while it’s here.