With just three days until the 154th Open Championship at Royal Birkdale, the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick provided a dramatic warm-up. World No.1 Scottie Scheffler, six-time major champion Rory McIlroy and US Open winner Wyndham Clark were among the contenders, but it was South Korea's Tom Kim who claimed victory with a final-round 64 to finish on 17-under-par.
McIlroy's Frustration on the Course
McIlroy, the reigning Masters champion and world No.2, finished tied for seventh on 12-under-par, but his round included a moment of self-doubt. After hooking his approach to the 16th hole into the left rough, he exclaimed, "Oh my God, I'm so bad at golf!" and put his hands to his head. This outburst raised concerns given McIlroy's previous emphasis on managing negative thoughts. He had said, "I just think you have to try really hard to make positive thoughts just a little stronger and a little more powerful than the negative ones. We all get negative thoughts, but it's how you deal with those and how do you reframe and replace those with what you want to see and what you want to do."
McIlroy's Assessment of His Game
Despite the frustration, McIlroy remained optimistic. "I definitely hit it a little better today than I did in the third round," he said. "I noticed a few things with my iron shots and tried to work it on the range. At least I know what the problem is and it's just about fixing it." He added, "It's a matter of trying to sort of rectify it. Obviously, there was some good in there today but there was some bad, as well. So I'm going to need to work a little bit over the next couple of days to be ready for Thursday."
Tom Kim's Emotional Victory
Kim, 24, ended a three-year title drought with a bogey-free final round, finishing two shots ahead of Australia's Min Woo Lee. The victory earned him £1.2 million and a spot in next year's Masters. Overcome with emotion, Kim wiped away tears and said, "I can't really wrap my mind over it. It's really special and I'm just at a loss for words. Obviously I've had a tough couple of years. I got to taste a lot of that humble pie, and I got to really learn about myself and I'm still trying to grow, still trying to learn. Still got a long way to go. But this one I wanted to dedicate to the people that were in my corner the whole time and struggled with me and who celebrated with me."
Other Contenders
Home favourite Robert MacIntyre, the defending champion, briefly threatened to retain his title but finished fourth shots back in third place after a closing one-under-par 70. The Scottish Open served as a key preparation for The Open, with players adjusting to links golf conditions ahead of the major at Royal Birkdale.
