In Pictures: Opening of the Island Games in Orkney
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Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Chris Gotterup earns second career win with victory at Scottish Open
July 14 - The biggest win of Chris Gotterup's career brought an emotional response. Gotterup shot a 4-under par 66 to outduel Northern Ireland's Rory McIlroy and win the Genesis Scottish Open on Sunday at North Berwick, Scotland. "This is awesome," Gotterup said, fighting back tears. "I'm not going to be able to keep it together." But he kept it together at key moments in the final round. Gotterup's 15-under 265 total was two strokes better than McIlroy and England's Marco Penge at The Renaissance Club. Gotterup won for the second time on the PGA Tour. Sunday's outcome guaranteed him a spot during the coming week in The Open Championship. Penge shot 66 in the final round and McIlroy posted 68. McIlroy, aiming to win the tournament for the second time in three years, led after back-to-back birdies on the fourth and fifth holes. But after a birdie on No. 8, he had pars across each of the last 10 holes. "Chris played a great round of golf," McIlroy said. "He was so solid. Made the bogey on 15 but bounced back with a really nice birdie on 16. Yeah, after he got a couple ahead, I just couldn't claw back." Denmark's Nicolai Hojgaard (64) and England's Matt Fitzpatrick (67) shared fourth place at 12 under. Gotterup used four birdies on a six-hole stretch ending at No. 12 to move to the top. He held a two-shot edge until his bogey on No. 15, where he hit his tee shot in the rough. But on the next hole, Gotterup rolled in a 10-foot birdie for a two-shot advantage again. He sensed it was a key situation. "This is it," he said of the moment, "and it went right in the center." Gotterup said he was most proud of how he held steady during the crucial stretches. "It's just so cool," he said. "I played really well this week, and I knew today was going to be tough. I hung in there like a champ and finished it off in style." Now with the opportunity to stay in Europe and play in The Open Championship, Gotterup will show up with new-found confidence. "I was a one-time champion," he said. "Two-time champ sounds a lot better. I know what I'm capable of and I know when I feel the way I did today, I can beat the best." McIlroy, the Masters champion, said he's in a good groove as he looks ahead to the coming week as he'll try to win a major for the second time this year. "It has been a great week," he said. "Missing the trophy, that's about it." Like Gotterup, Hojgaard also secured a spot in the Open Championship based on his work in Scotland. "I knew what was on the line," Hojgaard said. "I did the same thing in '23, actually. So I've done it before, and I kind of knew my game was in a good place." The best round of the day belonged to England's Justin Rose, who shot 63 and moved to sixth place at 11 under, which was one shot better than Austria's Sepp Straka (67). "That's maybe about as clean a round as I've played all year to be honest with you," Rose said. "People think about the Masters but there were a few bogeys in there whereas today was 7 birdies, virtually no long putts holed. It was just a very, very clean round of golf." World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler finished tied for eighth at 9 under after his second 67 of the tournament. Colombia's Nico Echavarria, who began on the back nine, hit a hole-in-one on the par-3 sixth hole, with the ball dribbling into the cup. He had a 67 for the round and was at 5 under for the tournament. "It's a tiny, tiny small part of the green where the pin is, and decided to go right at it," Echavarria said. "Good line by the caddie." Defending champion Robert MacIntyre of Scotland had a 71 for the second time in the tournament and finished at 2 over and tied for 65th. Because of weather concerns mostly related to fog, tee times were moved up and golfers were placed in threesomes. --Field Level Media
The Guardian
3 hours ago
- The Guardian
Chris Gotterup keeps nerve to hold off Rory McIlroy and win Scottish Open
East Lothian witnessed a David v Goliath story as Rory McIlroy was denied victory immediately before his return to Northern Ireland for the Open Championship. Chris Gotterup, who arrived at the Scottish Open as the 158th-ranked player in the world, saw off McIlroy for the biggest win of his career. McIlroy's thoughts have already turned towards Royal Portrush and the major that has carried even more significance for the 36-year-old since he completed a career grand slam at Augusta National in April. 'There is no frustration,' McIlroy said. 'I'm really happy with where everything is. Looking forward to getting to Portrush tonight, getting out on to the golf course early tomorrow and just turning my attention to that. I feel like I've gotten out of this week everything that I wanted.' Gotterup's took the title by two, at 15 under par. He closed with a 66 in McIlroy's company. McIlroy shared second with Marco Penge. 'I hung in there like a champ and finished it off in style,' Gotterup said. 'I was ready for the challenge, I knew I was playing well this week so I felt comfortable. I was a one-time winner on tour but two sounds much better. I know if I feel like I did today, I can beat the best.' McIlroy, seeking a second Scottish Open in three attempts, had entered round four in a share of the lead. Few expected Gotterup to put up much resistance but the 25-year-old was nerveless. McIlroy's inward half of level par proved problematic as Gotterup came home in two under. This was, however, McIlroy's finest tournament display since his Masters triumph. Gotterup had to withstand the extra pressure associated with being put on the clock for slow play during the closing stages of the tournament. By the 72nd tee, Gotterup was two clear. He will make his Open debut on Thursday. Nicolai Højgaard will join him in the Open after finishing fourth in Scotland. Sign up to The Recap The best of our sports journalism from the past seven days and a heads-up on the weekend's action after newsletter promotion At the Evian Championship in France, Lottie Woad came so close to becoming the first amateur since 1967 to win a women's major. The Englishwoman shot a final round of 64 to miss out on a playoff by one. Australia's Grace Kim saw off Jeeno Thitikul on the second sudden-death hole. So much talk, though, was of Woad; the 21-year-old had won in Ireland on the Ladies European Tour seven days earlier. She has now earned a card on the LPGA Tour, albeit it is unclear precisely when Woad will take up that option. 'I am going to take the next week and discuss with my family and coaches and then I'll make a decision after that,' Woad said. 'I have always wanted to play on the LPGA. Whenever that is, it's going to be really fun and I am looking forward to playing in all the events.'
Sky News
3 hours ago
- Sky News
Extreme weather becoming the norm in the UK, Met Office warns
Britain's climate is changing rapidly, with records regularly being smashed and extremes of heat and rainfall becoming the norm, the Met Office has warned. In an updated assessment of the UK's climate it says heatwaves and periods of flood or drought are becoming more frequent and more intense. The report shows the period between October 2023 and March 2024 was the wettest winter period in England and Wales in over 250 years. Spring 2024 was also the warmest on record. It says the increasing extremes are "typical of recent years". Mike Kendon, a Met Office climate scientist and lead author of the State of the UK Climate report, said: "Every year that goes by is another upward step on the warming trajectory our climate is on. "Observations show that our climate in the UK is now notably different to what it was just a few decades ago. "We are now seeing records being broken very frequently as we see temperature and rainfall extremes being the most affected by our changing climate." 2:17 The report compares the decade up to 2024 with long-term averages between 1961 and 1990. While the average temperature is increasing, the hottest summer days and coldest winter nights have warmed twice as fast. The climate is also becoming wetter - with the extra rain falling between October and March. Over the last decade, rainfall over the six-month winter period was 16% higher than the average between 1961 and 1990. Effects of UK climate change 'deeply concerning' Chief executive of the Royal Meteorological Society, Professor Liz Bentley, said the report "reinforces the clear and urgent signals of our changing climate". "While long-term averages are shifting, it is the extreme heat, intense rainfall and droughts that are having the most immediate and dramatic effects on people and nature," she said. "This report is not just a record of change, but a call to action." 1:56 Kathryn Brown, director of climate change at The Wildlife Trusts, said the effects of climate change on UK wildlife were already "deeply concerning". "From swifts dropping out of the sky during heatwaves to trees flowering much earlier than they have in the past," she said.
