Bob MacIntyre birdied the 18th hole at The Renaissance Club to claim an emotional home victory and win the Scottish Open.
The home favourite produced a stunning finish 12 months ago at the same venue only to see Rory McIlroy take the title but he would not be denied again in front of his adoring fans.
It needed another big finish as MacIntyre trailed by three on the back nine, but he holed a long putt on the 14th, eagled the 16th after a remarkable approach from the rough to six feet, and holed from 22 feet on the last to spark wild celebrations.
His closing 67 saw him finish at 18 under, one shot clear of Adam Scott and two ahead of Romain Langasque.
MacIntyre had been saying all week that Scotland’s national open was the “one I want” following his 2023 heartbreak when he birdied the last only to see McIlroy birdie 17 and then produce some magic of his own to deny him at the death.
Since then MacIntyre has been part of a winning European Ryder Cup team and claimed his first – and now second – win on the PGA Tour to go with his two previous victories on the DP World Tour.
He could now go as high as 16th on the world ranking, but the title of first Scottish winner of this event since Colin Montgomerie 25 years ago is clearly the achievement he treasures most.
“It’s the one I wanted and it’s the one I got”
Speaking after lifting the coveted trophy, MacIntyre said: “It’s unbelievable. My reaction when the ball dropped on 18 said it all. I’ve almost lost my voice now. It’s the one I wanted and it’s the one I got. I’ve watched it as a kid growing up, and it meant a lot. It was really the only one that I could go and watch. I can’t believe it’s happened. Just going to go celebrate tonight.
“I said to my caddie Mike when we walked off of 10, “16 or 17 could win this’, because no one was getting away. No one was making a move. Obviously the bogey on 10 was disappointing, but I got lucky at 16 and took the one chance I got on 18, and it’s just my week. I’ve put a lot of work into this. I’ve changed a lot within the team and I’ve just worked hard. I wanted the Scottish Open. I just kept saying to myself, ‘just take a chance, take a chance’. I took it. I can’t believe it.
He concluded: “Next week is a new week but I tell you, I’m going to celebrate this with my family, friends, and everyone here. I’m going to celebrate this one hard. We’ll pitch up to The Open when we pitch up to The Open.
Joining MacIntyre at Royal Troon will be English pair Aaron Rai and Richard Mansell and Swede Alex Noren after they finished as the three leading players not already exempt for the season’s final Major Championship. Rai finished at 14 under alongside McIlroy, overnight leader Ludvig Åberg, South Korea’s Sungjae Im and American pair Collin Morikawa and Sahith Theegala.
For the final leaderboard from the Genesis Scottish Open click here.
