Rory McIlroy entered the 2025 Scottish Open needing to regain the top-tier form he flashed earlier in the year when he won three tournaments, including the Masters, which secured his career grand slam. After hitting some midseason doldrums, McIlroy appears to have rebounded in grand fashion. Through 54 holes, the 2023 Scottish Open champion moved into a share of the lead after matching Saturday’s lowest-posted round with a 4-under 66. McIlroy now sits 11 under alongside Chris Gotterup after a windy Saturday in North Berwick, Scotland.
After back-to-back calm mornings, players were greeted with more traditional blustery conditions on Moving Day. Only a few were able to manage their way through 18 holes on a firm, fast golf course in the wind. McIlroy was chief among them, and as he’s done all week, he flexed on the back nine.
McIlroy is now 10 under in 27 holes on the back nine this week, adding three more birdies on Saturday afternoon to claw his way into the lead. He burned the edge on two more birdie putts and had a bunker shot bounce out of the cup on the 15th as his excellent round could’ve been really special with a couple more breaks going his way.
After his round, McIlroy spoke with CBS Sports’ Amanda Balionis and admitted he’s feeling more relaxed this week after taking some time off and being back closer to home. That’s been evident in his play this week, and on Sunday, he will look to recapture the feelings from two years ago when he triumphed at the Renaissance Club in thrilling fashion.
Gotterup, the 36-hole leader, had a tough start but seemed to gather himself midway through his front nine, delivering one of the shots of the day with a lip-out for an ace on the par-3 6th to get to 12 under.
That was the last birdie he made all round, however, as he penciled in 11 pars and one bogey on his way in to shooting an even-par 70. That wasn’t disastrous, but it allowed McIlroy and others to close the gap and stay in the hunt. After a lights out round with the putter on Friday, Gotterup lost strokes on the greens in the third round, missing some good looks at birdie that could’ve given him the lead alone.
The final round will feature groups of three off of split tees due to heavy fog expected in the morning and evening, meaning McIlroy and Gotterup will be joined by Wyndham Clark, who shot a terrific 66 of his own Saturday to move into contention while playing alongside Scottie Scheffler.
The leaders
1. Rory McIlroy, Chris Gotterup (-11): McIlroy will be hoping for similar conditions Sunday given the last time he won in Scotland, it was also in stiff winds. He feels a firm, fast course in strong winds will give him an advantage over the rest of the pack. A win would mark his fourth of the season, moving him back ahead of Scheffler for the most on the PGA Tour, announing his presence as fully back ahead of an Open he wants to win desperately at home. Gotterup, meanwhile, won’t be able to limp around with a bunch of pars again in the final round if he’s going to capture his second career win. He will need to find the putting stroke that got him into the lead on Friday if he’s going to stare down McIlroy (and Clark) in the final group.
Contenders
T3. Wyndham Clark, Jake Knapp, Marco Penge, Matt Fitzpatrick (-9)
T7. Ludvig Åberg, Harris English and six others (-7)
T15. Scottie Scheffler and five others (-6)
Clark and English posted the other 66s on Saturday as they showed their class in tough conditions. Clark got hot on the greens, pouring in 93 feet of putts while making seven birdies on his round; English did his damage in his usual steady manner with a bogey-free performance thanks to sensational ball-striking. Penge and Fitzpatrick were at 10 under when they stepped on the 18th tee only for both to miss the fairway unable to scramble their way to pars on the last. As such, they dropped back to 9 under and created a two-shot cushion for the leaders. They’ll be joined by Knapp in the penultimate group Sunday; he continues to play extremely solid golf and is showing his game travels across the pond.
Åberg holds the unfortunate distinction of having the most frustrating round of the day, as he had it to 11 under on the back nine but went bogey-triple-bogey from the 12th to the 14th to put a significant damper on his hopes of winning. Like Scheffler one behind him, Åberg will need to produce something special on Sunday to catch McIlroy at the top.
2025 Scottish Open updated odds, picks
Odds via BetMGM
- Rory McIlroy (6/5)
- Chris Gotterup (4-1)
- Matt Fitzpatrick (9-1)
- Jake Knapp (14-1)
- Marco Penge (14-1)
- Wyndham Clark (14-1)
- Ludvig Åberg (25-1)
- Scottie Scheffler (33-1)
It’s hard not to feel like this is Rory’s tournament to lose, as he’s gotten better every day and has been one of the few players to show the ability to score in both calm and windy conditions. Of the chasers, Knapp being in the penultimate group with Fitzpatrick and Penge could take some of the pressure off of him. If he can play freely, he’s got the game to go low, which is a necessity to catch McIlroy, who I don’t see shooting much worse than a 68. Åberg is the other guy who can put up birdies in bunches and also handled the tough conditions well — aside from that three-hole blow up. Unfortunately, you have to count all 18 and he might be too far back to make up the ground, but if anyone from that T7 group can shoot a 64 tomorrow to have a chance, Åberg is going to be the guy.
