Rory McIlroy shot his lowest round of the week at the Scottish Open as his closing 64 saw him sign off in style ahead of next week’s Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, while South Korea’s Tom Kim won by two shots.
After Saturday’s wether-delayed third round dragged into this morning, McIlroy eventually signed for a 73 to leave him some way off the pace heading into Sunday’s fourth round at North Berwick.
But a lightning-fast start saw the Holywood star blitz the first seven holes in five-under-par to get within a shot of the lead – before a clumsy three-putt bogey on the par-three ninth slowed his roll somewhat.
The two-time Masters champion found three more birdies on his inward nine – although he dropped a shot on the 16th – to eventually come home in 33 strokes for a round of six-under-par.
That was good enough to see him finish his week 12-under-par overall which left him hovering around fifth place with the leaders still to finish.
McIlroy moves to Royal Birkdale looking to surpass Nick Faldo’s modern European record of six major championship wins.
Career Grand Slam holder McIlroy has won the Open Championship once before, in 2014 at Royal Liverpool.
Kim shot a final-round six-under-par 64 without a bogey and emerged from a crowded field to win the tournament.
He finished at 17-under for a two-shot victory over Australia’s Min Woo Lee, who posted a final-round 67 at The Renaissance Club.
Kim’s fourth PGA Tour victory marked his first since the 2023 Shriners Children’s Open. The Korean (below) notched three birdies on each nine to break free from the pack.
Lee used a third-round 66 to share the lead with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick going to the final 18 holes. Kim, Chris Gotterup and Michael Thorbjornsen stood one shot back.
Several golfers had a full day because of the third round’s fog-related suspension, which meant some contenders played more than 27 holes on Sunday.
Johnny Keefer (67 in the final round), MacIntyre (69), Fitzpatrick (69) and Japan’s Keita Nakajima (67) shared third place at 13 under.
Thorbjornsen closed with a 69 and joined McIlroy at 12 under.
Defending champion Chris Gotterup had a difficult stretch, shooting 71 in the final round and finishing tied for 11th at 10 under.
He was only one shot off the lead when the day began, though like many others he had plenty of work remaining in the third round.