​Rory McIlroy began the Scottish Open weekend tied for the lead, continuing his long-running success at the event. He has a track record here, including a victory in 2023, and he has spoken frankly about how his relationship with the Renaissance Club course has evolved over the years. “Definitely this course has grown on me as the years have went by,” he said. “When I first came here, you come to Scotland and you play so many great golf courses, and there are so many great options in this area. Sometimes we’re quick to dismiss a course because it’s new to us, or because the greens are a bit steeper or more sloped than we’re used to. But over the years, it has really grown on me, and I think it’s become a really good venue for this tournament.”
McIlroy opened with rounds of 65 and 66, grabbing a share of the 36-hole lead before a lengthy fog delay pushed the start of Saturday play late into the evening. When he finally took the course, the six-time major champion encountered some trouble, including a mishit tee shot on the par-3 fifth. He began his third round with three bogeys in seven holes before play was halted by the horn for the day. Returning Saturday, he managed to steady his game and signed for a 73, a score that appeared to knock him out of title contention.
Yet he returned to the range between rounds, found a quick fix, and climbed back up the leaderboard in the final round. He began the day with a four-under 31, then birdied Nos. 12 and 13 to move within one of the lead. Pars at 14 and 15 left him two shots back heading to the 16th tee, where he needed to surge. McIlroy split the fairway off the tee but pulled his 6-iron badly, sending the ball left into the heather. “Oh my God, I’m so bad at golf,” he exclaimed as the shot veered far off course.
He ultimately bogeyed the 16th and finished at 12 under for the tournament, five shots behind winner Tom Kim. In reflecting on his weekend, McIlroy joked about his self-critique despite his status as a six-time major champion with 45 professional wins. “In that moment, the shot I hit with that 6-iron was a very, very poor golf shot, so I was really bad at golf,” he laughed.
He attributed his late-round difficulty to the wind on the driving range, noting that his issue had a familiar feel from earlier this season at Quail Hollow’s Truist Championship. “I just need to hit some balls in a right-to-left wind,” he explained after the final round. “That usually helps me. It’s the same thing I tend to experience when I start hitting balls in a left-to-right wind, which has been a recurring theme for better or worse.”