Rory McIlroy flexes clutch gene to earn 24th PGA Tour win at Scottish Open

Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images

After months of falling short, Rory McIlroy won his first PGA Tour event in 2023 as an incredible finish saw him victorious at the Scottish Open.

It’s about time the Home of Golf blessed the now 24-time PGA Tour winner, Rory McIlroy.

The wait is over, as McIlroy has finally earned a victory this season on the PGA Tour. The Northern Irishman went birdie-birdie on the final two holes at the Scottish Open to win for the first time in Scotland.

Those two birdies came at the most clutch time in the tournament. He needed at least one to go into a playoff with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre. The 26-year-old Scot fired off an incredible final-round 64 to hold the clubhouse lead by one while he waited for McIlroy to finish.

“This is right up there with the best of them. Especially after missing the short birdie putt on 16,” McIlroy said to CBS Sports’ Amanda Renner.

“I thought if I could birdie one of the last two and get into a playoff, that would be a bonus… The two iron shots that I hit — the 5-iron into 17 and the 2-iron into the last are probably two of the best shots I’ve hit all year.”

McIlroy’s weak point this season has been with the flat stick.

“Then to finish them off with the putts as well — it feels absolutely amazing,” McIlroy said. “I’ve had a few close calls recently, so to get over the line and to get this bit of confidence going into next week and the rest of the season is huge.”

He has struggled in weeks past to get the job done because he couldn’t buy a putt. McIlroy finished solo second at the U.S. Open because his putter failed him down the stretch. In his last five events, McIlroy finished T9 or better in all of them.

Thankfully, that was not the case this weekend.