McIlroy birdies last two holes to win Scottish Open

Rory McIlroy birdied the last two holes in blustery conditions on Sunday to win by one stroke at the Scottish Open in North Berwick, Scotland.

His final round of 2-under-par 66 marked his fourth straight round in the 60s at the final tune-up for next week’s Open Championship at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in England.

McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, capped an up-and-down round of six birdies and four bogeys with birdies at the par-3 17th and par-4 18th to finish at 15-under 265.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre carded a 64 on Sunday to get to 14-under, including a closing birdie that momentarily gave him the lead at The Renaissance Club.

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McIlroy drained a 4-foot birdie putt to move into a tie at No 17 and then smashed a 2-iron into the wind to within 10 feet to set up the winning birdie putt.

“Had to cut it and try to get it up into the wind a little bit and I just hit this 2-iron and it came off absolutely perfectly,” McIlroy said. “Probably the best shot I hit all year. It was exactly the way I wanted to play it.

“When you hit a shot like that, I felt like I deserved to hole that putt to finish it off.”

McIlroy, 34, played the back nine in 31 to collect his 24th PGA Tour title and first since the Dubai Classic in January.