5 of The Most Memorable Scottish Opens

The Scottish Open is a huge tournament, all the more so now as it is jointly sanctioned by the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour. Coming the week before The Open, it always boasts an incredibly strong field as the world’s best golfers tune up for the sport’s oldest major.

Last year, Robert MacIntyre completed an emotional triumph on home soil that was hard to beat, but here are five other memorable winners of Scotland's national title.

Phil Mickelson, 2013

Phil Mickelson won a thrilling sudden-death playoff against South Africa's Branden Grace to win at Castle Stuart near Inverness. The American left-hander survived an early wobble but three-putted the 18th, forcing the playoff with Grace, the pair finishing on 17 under par. Mickelson, 43, birdied the first playoff hole, a sublime chip leaving him a tap-in, a score Grace could not match. Swede Henrik Stenson's title attempt was ruined by three late bogeys. Stenson, with a final round of 73, tied with Denmark's JB Hansen for third place on 15 under par. Scotland's Martin Laird shot the best round of the day, a four-under-par 68, to finish tied-fifth with Northern Irishman Gareth Maybin and England's John Parry, all on 14 under. Hansen had an astonishing round, with a quadruple-bogey nine at the second hole followed by eight birdies and three bogeys.

Mickelson would go on to win The Open at Muirfield the following week.

Rory McIlroy, 2023

Rory McIlroy produced "one of the best shots I will hit in my career" to break Robert MacIntyre’s heart and snatch the Scottish Open title. The Northern Irishman sealed his first win in Scotland by a stroke after his sublime two-iron from 200 yards on the 18th set up a decisive birdie. MacIntyre had mastered the windswept Renaissance Club with a six-under 64 to set the target at 14 under. But McIlroy posted 68 with closing back-to-back birdies to deny the Scot. Having taken a one-shot advantage into the final day, McIlroy struggled to a two-over front nine featuring four bogeys. The lead changed hands several times before he roused himself for a dramatic triumph.

McIlroy gained strokes on 11 and 14, but admitted the best he was hoping for was a playoff when he stood on the par-three 17th needing a birdie from his final two holes to go level. "That was such a tough day, especially the back nine," said McIlroy.

Colin Montgomerie, 1999

The Scotsman won the European Tour’s Order of Merit a record eight times but his success at the 1999 Scottish Open may well have been his finest hour. Monty won at Loch Lomond, holding off the challenge of Spanish rookie Sergio Garcia with a glorious 64 that saw him turn a four-shot deficit into a three-stroke victory. Although he started and finished with bogeys, the Scot had a run of nine birdies in 12 holes in the middle of his round to finally achieve an individual victory on his native Scottish soil. 

"How could I possibly feel any better than I do right now?" he said after his final round before heading to Carnoustie for The Open. "I can only go into The Open with confidence and that's what many players can't say.” The next week, fellow Scot Paul Lawrie won at Carnoustie.

Lee Westwood, 1998

English golfer Lee Westwood won 25 times on the European Tour. He turned professional in 1993 and quickly established himself as a force to be reckoned with on the tour. Westwood won the Scottish Open in 1998, which was one of the most significant victories of his career at that time. The tournament was held at Loch Lomond Golf Club, and Westwood won by four strokes against a stacked field including Ian Woosnam and Eduardo Romero. The win marked his fifth European Tour victory at the time. Westwood's success was down to a wonderful display of driving and a week when he putted quite superbly.

Rickie Fowler, 2015

A late run of birdies from Rickie Fowler saw the American snatch a one-shot victory at Gullane. The then world No 9 slipped two strokes off the pace when he bogeyed the 14th after driving into a fairway bunker, but bounced back by playing the final four holes in three-under to finish one clear of compatriot Matt Kuchar and Raphael Jacquelin. 

It brought back memories of Fowler’s never-to-be-forgotten victory in the Players Championship at Swagrass in May of that year, where he played the final six holes in six under par before beating Kevin Kisner and Sergio Garcia in a playoff. 

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