Rory McIlroy was denied a second Genesis Scottish Open title by an inspired Chris Gotterup in the final round at the Renaissance Club, losing out to the American by two strokes.
Tied for the lead overnight at 11 under, McIlroy edged clear with back-to-back birdies at four and five, but Gotterup – after an opening bogey – kept pace with birdies at three, seven and eight – the last of which, alongside one too for McIlroy, pushed the pair two clear of the chasing pack.
McIlroy’s title push then stalled with a stretch of 10-straight pars to close out his round, while Gotterup seized the initiative and nudged two ahead with further strokes gained at 10 and 12.
A bogey at 15 threatened a late wobble from the world No 158, only for him to respond with a birdie at the par-five next as he closed out a stunning victory, while McIlroy finished tied-second with Marco Penge.
Rory McIlroy missed out on a second Scottish Open title in the space of two years after failing to make a birdie in his final 10 holes
English hopefuls Penge and Matt Fitzpatrick both briefly held shares of the lead but ultimately couldn’t keep pace with the charging Gotterup down the back nine, while countryman Justin Rose carded the round of the day, his seven-under 63 taking him to 11 under and a sixth-placed finish.
Nicolai Højgaard, along with Gotterup, earned one of the final spots for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Portrush with a closing 64 that secured him a share of fourth, alongside Fitzpatrick, at 12 under.
Rounding off the top 10, Sepp Straka finished seventh on 10 under, while Ryder Cup team-mate from Rome two years ago, Ludvig Åberg, carded two eagles in a mixed final round of 68.
The Swede finished tied-eighth at nine under alongside defending Open champion Xander Schauffele and Scottie Scheffler, whose putter continued to desert him in his final round of 67 that promised more.
Viktor Hovland double-bogeyed the 17th to drop out of the top 10 and into a tie for 11th on eight under with Wyndham Clark who, in the final grouping alongside Gotterup and McIlroy, returned a disappointing one-over 71.
Nicolas Echavarria hit a sensational hole in one on the stadium hole at the Scottish Open
What’s next?
Sky Sports is once again the exclusive home of The Open, with live coverage from all seven days of tournament week from July 14-20 and round-the-clock coverage of the final men’s major of the year.
There are seven hours of live coverage on the Monday and Tuesday practice days at Royal Portrush before a bumper nine hours of live programming on Wednesday, starting at 9am each morning.
Wall-to-wall coverage of The Open then begins at 6.30am on Thursday July 17 on Sky Sports Golf, with live action available for all four tournament days and a host of extra feeds also available on Sky Sports+. Not got Sky? Stream The Open and more with no contract.
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