Tom Kim ends three-year wait for victory with Genesis Scottish Open triumph

The South Korean produced a superb final round at the Genesis Scottish Open to claim his first victory in three years, overcoming a difficult period of form and confidence to secure a memorable win at the Renaissance Club.

Kim carded a flawless six-under-par 64 on the final day to finish on 17 under, becoming the only player in the field to complete the closing round without dropping a shot.

He entered the final round one stroke behind the leaders but quickly moved into contention, taking advantage of the two front-nine par fives to pick up three birdies before the turn. Further gains on the 10th and 12th holes extended his advantage, leaving him with a three-shot lead heading into the closing stages.

Min Woo Lee provided the biggest challenge, reducing the gap to one shot with a birdie on the reachable par-four 14th. However, Kim responded in style on the 16th, hitting a brilliant approach from more than 200 yards to within six feet before converting the birdie putt.

“Second on 16 might be one of the best shots I’ve hit in my career so far. It’s definitely up there,” Kim said afterwards.

The 24-year-old held his nerve over the closing holes to finish two shots clear of Lee, with home favourite Robert MacIntyre and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick ending the tournament tied for third on 13 under alongside American Johnny Keefer and Japan’s Keita Nakajima.

Kim’s victory brought an emotional reaction from the South Korean, who admitted the past few years had been challenging after his rapid rise on the PGA Tour.

“I can’t really wrap my mind over it,” said Kim. “It’s really special and I’m just at a loss for words.”

“Obviously I’ve had a tough couple 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.”

After breaking through at the highest level at just 20 years old and winning three PGA Tour titles within 14 months, Kim’s progress stalled. His world ranking dropped from a career-high 11th to outside the top 150, but recent signs of a resurgence were highlighted by his third-place finish at the US Open before his Scottish Open success.

Kim revealed he had received support from 15-time major champion Tiger Woods during the difficult spell and said Woods was among the first people to congratulate him after the victory.

“Obviously on TGL being on Tiger’s team, I’ve been able to ask him questions on certain things. He’s been really helpful a lot of the time,” Kim explained.

“This was my first win in three years, and the first person that texted me was Tiger Woods. Shows you the person he is and how much he cares.”

Along with the £1.2m winner’s prize, Kim’s victory also secured his place at next year’s Masters at Augusta National.

MacIntyre falls short despite home support

MacIntyre began the final round sharing the lead after a weather-disrupted third round, with hopes of securing a second Scottish Open title after his 2024 success.

The Scot received huge backing from the home crowd but struggled to build momentum after an early birdie. Four bogeys across his next nine holes damaged his chances of challenging for the title, although he recovered with an eagle on the 12th and two closing birdies to finish with a 69.

Reflecting on his final round, MacIntyre admitted it was a frustrating afternoon.

“I’ll be blatantly honest – brutal,” said MacIntyre. “Terrible start. Well, good start, birdie the first and then too many mistakes, far too many mistakes.”

“I was going ballistic after 10 holes, so to actually get it back under par was a good effort. I didn’t really hole putts this week, it felt like my usual putting just wasn’t there, but overall a decent week.”

Despite missing out on the title, MacIntyre remained positive about his recent performances.

“I’ve got to look at the positives. The last two weeks have been positive that I’ve played, so good signs.”

McIlroy identifies issues ahead of The Open

Rory McIlroy finished tied for seventh after a difficult week at the Renaissance Club, with the Northern Irishman unable to recover from a disappointing third round.

The world number two matched Kim’s final-round score of 64, the lowest round of the day, but his earlier struggles left him too far behind to mount a serious title challenge.

McIlroy started brightly, making five birdies in his opening seven holes to move into contention, but three further birdies were offset by two bogeys as he finished on 12 under, five shots behind Kim.

The four-time major winner admitted there were areas of his game that needed attention ahead of his challenge for a second Open Championship title at Royal Birkdale.

“Obviously there was some good in there today, but there was some bad as well,” McIlroy said.

“So I’m going to need to work a little bit over the next couple of days to be ready for Thursday.”

“I noticed a few things in my game and my iron shots, especially this morning coming out for the back end on the third round, and I went and tried to work it on the range between rounds.”

“At least I know what the problem is and it’s just about fixing it.”

The result also confirmed Open Championship places for Keefer, Thorbjornsen and Victor Perez. Keefer and Thorbjornsen earned their debuts at the tournament next week, while Perez claimed the final qualifying spot at Royal Birkdale.