Rory McIlroy couldn’t hide his disdain for the conditions at the Scottish Open.
“The greens are so s–t,” McIlroy said Sunday on a hot mic as he missed a putt wide during his final round at The Renaissance Club in North Berwick, Scotland.
Nonetheless, the Northern Irishman said he was pleased with his play at the event, which resulted in a second-place finish with a 2-under 68 in his final round, as American Chris Gotterup placed first at 15-under overall.
Warning: Explicit language
“I’m really happy with where my game is — the way I played over the weekend, the shots that I hit, how I controlled my ball flight,” McIlroy said. “It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s about it.”
McIlroy was in position to make a charge to take home another Scottish Open after winning the event two years ago but failed to make a birdie after the eighth hole, allowing Gotterup the two-stroke win.
McIlroy, 36, wasn’t the only golfer who complained about the greens on Sunday, as world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler showed frustration after missing a putt on hole 13 in the final round.
When Scheffler’s birdie putt stayed left of the hole, the American, who went on to tie for eighth, raised his arms and appeared to yell out some choice words.
There were no qualms from Gotterup, though, who captured the title by finishing with a 4-under 66.
“Chris played a great round of golf. He was so solid,” McIlroy said. “Made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on 16. After he got a couple ahead, I just couldn’t claw back.”
Gotterup, an Easton, Md., native who played his college golf at Rutgers (2017-21) and Oklahoma (2021-22), moved into the top 50 in the world for the first time with the win.
“I definitely was the villain out there today,” Gotterup said. “I felt like I was ready and prepared mentally today. And that’s kind of what I’ve been talking about over the last couple of weeks, that I’ve kind of gotten into the mix a little bit and just faded away a little bit. And today, my goal was to hang in there tough and I felt like I did that really well.”
The attention of the golf world next turns to Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland, which plays host to The Open Championship this week.
The final major of the season begins on Thursday and runs through Sunday.