Back in 2023, World No. 2 Rory McIlroy had his first taste of victory on Scottish soil. It came after a daring approach shot into a stiff wind on the final hole, one he later called the best shot he hit all year.

Scotland’s Bob MacIntyre dropped a 64 in the final round and was all set to win his home open. That’s when the Irishman came in and ruined his party.

“It came off absolutely perfectly,” McIlroy said in a post shared by DP World Tour on X.

“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.”

On the final hole, McIlroy had 201 yards to the flag. The wind was pumping into him. It was the perfect opportunity to hit his best shot of the year.

McIlroy took out the 2-iron and hit it low into the wind. The crowd stood still as the Irishman crouched to see where his shot would land.

It landed 10 feet from the pin, and McIlroy walked toward it with a huge smile on his face.

"To play that back nine in four under par to win the tournament, really proud of how I stuck in there. Hit some amazing shots down the stretch and managed to finish it off with a really nice putt there,” McIlroy added.

McIlroy made the birdie putt and gave MacIntyre no chance of a playoff, as shown in the post. With back-to-back birdies, the six-time major winner registered a 2-under 68 in the final round.

Finishing at 15-under for the tournament, McIlroy won the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open.

McIlroy’s birdie finish stole the spotlight, but MacIntyre’s reaction afterward showed just how much the title meant to him.

MacIntyre's close call at the 2023 Genesis Scottish Open

MacIntyre thought he had won his home open when he hit arguably the shot of his life on the final hole. Walking off the final green, tears rolled down his face.

“I’ll never forget it. I had to take a minute coming off 18,” MacIntyre said, as per the PGA Tour.

“If not The Open, the Scottish Open will be up there with the event I want to play for the rest of my life. It’s one I’ve dreamed of winning since I watched at home, and I thought today, coming down once I birdied 18, I thought, this might be the one. But it’s not to be just now.”

MacIntyre hit his approach shot from the rough, about 210 yards out, to 4 feet on the final hole. He took the clubhouse lead at 14-under after making the putt.

However, McIlroy’s heroics left him short, and he ended up as the runner-up. The following year, MacIntyre had unfinished business at his home open.

This time, MacIntyre shot 18-under to win by a stroke over Australia’s Adam Scott, becoming just the second Scotsman to win the country's national open.

What are your thoughts on McIlroy’s “best” shot of 2023? Share them in the comments.

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Written by

Avishek Sarkar

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav