Rory McIlroy had a solid outing in his final tournament before the Open Championship in Portrush but was left unimpressed with one element in North Berwick’s Scottish Open
Rory McIlroy had a damning assessment of the greens in North Berwick after missing a putt at the Scottish Open. The Northern Irish golfer earned a runners-up finish on Sunday but could not stop himself lamenting the conditions he was playing in during his round.
“The greens are so s***,” came the call as his putt went wide at the Renaissance Club. But the moment wasn’t to stop an overall good performance, with the Open awaiting in Portrush in a matter of days.
McIlroy missed out on the win by two strokes to American Chris Gotterup. The 36-year-old entered the final day tied for the lead but could not convert it to the win as the likes of Mike Penge, who finished tied second, and Matt Fitzpatrick both shared the lead during the course of the final day.
Gotterup earned one of the final spots at the Open, along with Nicolai Hojgaard after finishing fourth with Fitzpatrick.
Despite failing to convert a win, McIlroy was happy with his performance in Scotland. And the Masters champion was heading immediately to Portrush as he goes in search of another major.
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“It’s been a great week,” said McIlroy. “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.
“It has been a great week. Missing the trophy, that’s about it.
“No frustration. I’m really happy with where everything is. Looking forward to getting to Portrush tonight and getting out on to the golf course early tomorrow and just turning my attention to that.
“But I feel like I’ve gotten out of this week everything that I wanted. I feel like my game got a little better each and every day. Everything is in a really good spot.”
Gotterup, 25, meanwhile was very pleased with his performance and was happy to compete with McIlroy throughout the day. “Amazing. It’s all hitting me. It’s just so cool,” said
“I played really well this week. I knew today was going to be tough and I hung in there like a champ and finished it off in style.
“I felt pretty good, shockingly, on the first tee today, I felt comfortable. I knew I was playing well this week and I felt like I was ready for the challenge.
“That’s why I practise and that’s why I play, to play against the best. It was a pleasure to be out there with [McIlroy] and obviously all the support that he gets is amazing, but it was nice to kind of ruin that a little bit.”