WiretoWire: Robert MacIntyre wins in home country

A year after suffering a gripping defeat to Rory McIlroy, who carded back-to-back closing birdies to win the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre made amends with a storybook finish at his home open. MacIntyre played his final five holes in 4-under in Sunday’s final round at The Renaissance Club, including a winning 22-foot birdie putt at the par-4 18th to finish at 18-under 262, one stroke clear of Adam Scott, who was looking for his first PGA TOUR title since 2020. MacIntyre has shown strong form in recent months, including his first TOUR title at last month’s RBC Canadian Open, and he carried the momentum to his homeland with rounds of 67-65-63-67 this week on the Scottish coast.

MacIntyre was the beneficiary of some good fortune late Sunday after his tee shot at the par-5 16th landed in thick grass right of the fairway; he stepped on a sprinkler head while making practice swings and received a free drop en route to unleashing a 247-yard approach to 6 feet and converting the eagle. Call it home-field advantage. He followed with a par-birdie finish to outlast Scott and the field, becoming the event’s first Scottish winner since Colin Montgomerie in 1999. “I’m from a working-class background,” MacIntyre said afterward. “I've got two older sisters my parents foster. We've got a foster boy just now that's been with us for six, seven years. I was given a great opportunity by my whole family.” Those opportunities have led to a Scotsman winning the Genesis Scottish Open, with raucous celebrations in MacIntyre’s hometown of Oban sure to follow.

Harry Hall wins ISCO Championship in five-man playoff

England’s Harry Hall extracted a measure of revenge from his home country’s loss in the UEFA Euro final earlier Sunday, winning the ISCO Championship with a chip-in birdie on the third playoff hole at Keene Trace Golf Club. Five players finished at 22-under 266 in the Bluegrass State, requiring overtime to determine a champion. Zac Blair and Rico Hoey were eliminated with bogeys on the first playoff hole, the par-4 18th, and were eliminated. The three remaining players – Hall, Matt NeSmith and Pierceson Coody – all made par on the second extra hole, again No. 18, to require a trip to the par-3 ninth hole, where Hall, the second-year TOUR member, chipped in from just right of the green, good for the win after NeSmith and Coody failed to hole birdie chip shots from behind the green. Hall moved from No. 135 to No. 79 on the season-long FedExCup standings, and with a baby on the way (Hall and wife Jordan are expecting their first child next week), it’s happy times in the Hall household.

The 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon

Royal Troon is set to host golf’s oldest major championship for the 10th time. Set in the Scottish seaside town of Troon, roughly 30 miles southwest of Glasgow, the course features a classic out-and-back links design and iconic features like the par-3 eighth’s “Postage Stamp” green.

After becoming the first player to win six TOUR titles before July since Arnold Palmer in 1962, world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler eyes his seventh TOUR title of 2024. Palmer won his seventh title of the season at The Open at Royal Troon. For world No. 2 Rory McIlroy, who’s coming off a heartbreak runner-up finish at the U.S. Open (and a solid T4 in his title defense at the Genesis Scottish Open), it’s the final chance of the year to snap a major championship winless drought that spans a decade. Fifteen-time major champion Tiger Woods is also in the field and arrived at Troon on Sunday, marking Woods’ first year competing in all four majors since his 2021 car crash. Woods made the cut at this year’s Masters but missed the cut at the ensuing PGA Championship and U.S. Open. No player has won two majors in a season since 2018. This year’s major winners who could snap that streak are Scheffler (Masters Tournament), Xander Schauffele (PGA Championship) and Bryson DeChambeau (U.S. Open).

Modified Stableford in the mountains

The TOUR’s only Modified Stableford event, the Barracuda Championship, is played additionally to The Open Championship and welcomes PGA TOUR and DP World Tour pros. This is the fifth year that Old Greenwood at Tahoe Mountain Club will play host to the Barracuda Championship. At over 6,000 feet above sea level, the course features rolling hills, scores of bunkers and large greens. Past-winners have run the gamut from veteran breakthroughs like Chris Stroud in 2017 to stars announcing their TOUR arrivals like Collin Morikawa in 2019 or 21-year-old Akshay Bhatia in 2023 who prevailed in a playoff. With only three weeks of competition until the FedExCup Playoffs, players in the field will be vying for critical points.

Video of the week

Mic check

“My reaction when that ball dropped on 18 said it all. I’ve almost lost my voice now. It’s the one I wanted and the one I got.” — Robert MacIntyre after winning in his home country at the Genesis Scottish Open.

By the numbers

8 – The ISCO Championship set a record for the lowest recorded cut (in relation to par) in PGA TOUR history at 8-under.

4 – Monday qualifier Timmy Crawford carded a par-4 ace from 365 yards during the third round of The Ascendant presented by Blue.

3 – Via their finishes at the Genesis Scottish Open, three players – Aaron Rai, Richard Mansell and Alex Noren – earned spots in The Open Championship field.

1 – Ernie Els won his first major on PGA TOUR Champions at the Kaulig Companies Championship.

Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10

The Comcast Business TOUR TOP 10 highlights and rewards the extraordinary level of play required to earn a spot in the TOP 10 at the conclusion of the FedExCup Regular Season as determined by the FedExCup standings. The competition recognizes and awards the most elite in golf.