Hometown hero Robert MacIntyre wins his second PGA Tour event of the year in dramatic fashion after draining a 22-foot birdie putt to finish the tournament at 18-under.
The putt heard across Scotland 🗣️🗣️🗣️ pic.twitter.com/jgnNcaHsiH
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 14, 2024
The Scot, who won earlier this year at the RBC Canadian Open, went eagle-par-birdie on the final three holes to catch up to and beat long-time tour veteran Adam Scott. MacIntyre’s long-range putting ability was what truly won him the tournament, draining multiple putts greater than 40 feet.
After his victory, MacIntyre commented that he was looking forward to this tournament the whole year and that this was the one he wanted. Down the stretch, he kept telling himself to “take [his] chance”, meaning the opportunity that was in front of him to win a tournament on his home turf.
His best round of the tournament, which brought him into the fight, was during round number three. He put together a seven-under 63 composed of a bogey-free 30-front nine. He birdied the par-5 third and par-4 fourth before carding a two on the short par-4 fifth.
As is typical to many courses in the Scotland and Ireland area, the fairways are relatively large with challenging hilly greens. MacIntyre took advantage of this, starting with a 332-yard drive that used the contours of the course to roll to about 43 feet. With a little bit of luck on his side, MacIntyre rolled in the putt and moved to 12 under in the tournament.
His late fourth-round heater, filled with long putts, ended up winning him the tournament. Starting at the par-3 14th, MacIntyre, down three strokes, made an uphill left-to-right 41-footer. The crucial par-5 16th is where MacIntyre tied the lead after he put a 258-yard fairway wood to six feet for a much-needed eagle. On the 18th and tied for the lead, MacIntyre didn’t let the nerves of his hometown fans get to him, as he stuck a short iron to 22 feet in the middle of the green to give himself a putt to win the tournament.
The final putt was as dramatic as it could get: a slow trickler that looked like it would stop on the edge to send MacIntyre and Scott into a playoff. However, it did fall, and MacIntyre celebrated with a club flip and fist pump as the fans erupted.
In another emotional victory, MacIntyre talked about how much it means to win in Scotland.
"I’ve been brought up to fight for everything and… I just fought for it."
Another considerable moment from this past week was Rory McIlroy's first start since his heart-breaking finish at Pinehurst. He started out hot—four under through the first four holes of the tournament—before settling into a groove and finishing round one at T8. His second, third and fourth-round scores dwindled, but he stayed in the hunt the entire time. He finished T4 and four strokes back from the lead.
Although his U.S. Open loss must have stung, McIlroy was able to find peace and come back for another top-ten finish. This will be his fifth of the season, including his win at the Wells Fargo Championship, third at the Texas Open, fourth at the Canadian Open and dreaded second at Pinehurst. The importance of this: McIlroy is playing premier golf heading into the fourth and final major this upcoming week at the Royal Troon Golf Club known simply as The Open.