Rory McIlroy Is Motivated Again, Chris Gotterup Has Arrived, And Grace Kim's Movie-Like Finish At The Evian

Open Championship week is here, and while it's one of the greatest weeks in all of golf, it's also depressing to think that in a week's time, another year of major championship golf will be in the books and the nine-month wait for the Masters will begin.

Let's choose to be depressed next Monday, though, and begin a new week by looking back at what was truly a Sunday for the ages across Europe on both the men's and women's sides of things.

American Chris Gotterup got the best of Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open, and while it marked his second win on the PGA Tour of his young career, it was undoubtedly his moment of arrival on the biggest stage. As for McIlroy, coming up a couple of shots short on European soil had to have been disappointing, but there are far more positives to take away from the week than negatives from his perspective.

Just as McIlroy and Gotterup were getting their final rounds underway in Scotland, Grace Kim was living out a scene straight out of Hollywood to win the Evian Championship in France. In the span of about 45 minutes, she hit multiple career-defining shots to win the first major championship of her career.

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Grace Kim's Win At The Evian Was Pure Magic

The mission was as clear as it could for Grace Kim when she arrived at the 18th tee during Sunday's final round. Trailing by two shots, she needed to make an eagle on the Par 5 to give herself a chance of getting into a playoff. While the 18th hole was playing just over 450 yards during the final round, making a three in that scenario is far easier said than done.

But not so much for Kim.

With 188 yards to the flag, the Aussie hit the hybrid of her life with her golf ball rolling to the backstop before nearly going in and leaving her a tap-in for eagle. Jeeno Thitikul missed her birdie attempt to win the tournament, and to the playoff we went.

You might imagine that Kim's hybrid on the 18th hole to about a foot was the most memorable piece of the final stretch. It was only an appetizer.

Playing the 18th hole again for the first playoff hole, Kim hit her second shot into the penalty area guarding the green. The mission was clear-cut again: chip in for a birdie or likely lose the golf tournament. 

You can probably guess what happened next.

While it certainly felt like Kim had used up all of her magic with the eagle to get into the playoff and the chip-in birdie to extend it, she had one piece of wizardry left, and made a lengthy eagle putt on the second playoff hole to become a major champion.

Eagle, birdie, eagle to win a major championship is ridiculous, ridiculous stuff.

Chris Gotterup, Welcome To The Spotlight

Chris Gotterup may be the stereotypical modern-day golfer who murders the ball off of the tee - he's eighth on the PGA Tour in average driving distance - who can win just about anywhere if the short game and putter show up that given week.

And while that may be exactly what happened for Gotterup at the Scottish Open, a huge chunk of young players on Tour carry that same type of game, but the difference between the young American and others is that he found the winner's circle and did so with Rory McIlroy standing in his way, and on European soil, no less.

American Chris Gotterup Bests Rory McIlroy To Win Scottish Open In Impressive Style

McIlroy did not have his best stuff during Sunday's final round by any means, but that doesn't diminish the fact that Gotterup stared down a career grand slam winner on a links-ish style golf course and got the better of him.

Chris Gotterup has arrived after getting the best of Rory McIlroy at the Scottish Open. (Photo by Andrew Redington/Getty Images)

It wasn't a case of Gotterup ‘stealing’ a win, either; he settled into the final round after making bogey at the first and was the player applying pressure to McIlroy instead of the other way around. It was impossible to watch the final round of the Scottish Open and not come away extremely impressed with Gotterup's game and how he handled himself in a unique situation with quite a bit of glory up for grabs.

Rory McIlroy Back To Being His Old Self

It goes without saying that Rory McIlroy would have liked to come out on top on Sunday instead of finishing in a tie for second, but aside from the great stretch of golf he put together for four days in Scotland, his demeanor and attitude seemed to be back to a positive place.

McIlroy has been open about having to search for motivation after winning the Masters in April to complete the career grand slam. It was only natural that life would feel different, and the itch to practice and play wouldn't quite be the same after achieving a lifelong dream, but his attitude seems to be invigorated thanks to a couple of weeks off and some fresh, European air.

Rory McIlroy sounds like his old self ahead of The Open. Credit: Jon Durr-USA TODAY Sports

There would be something seriously wrong with McIlroy if he weren't fired up about competing in the Scottish Open the week before The Open is contested in his home country of Northern Ireland, but with how he's carried himself both inside the ropes and outside the ropes, his attitude remained in question.

It became clear during his Monday presser ahead of The Open that it is all systems go this week while sounding like a player ready for the grind for the first time in quite a while.

"Yeah, I'm certainly encouraged by how I've played the last two starts, especially last week in Scotland. I think the two weeks off after the Travelers, just to reset, to get over here, a bit of a change of scenery has been really nice," McIlroy said.

"When I was looking at the calendar for 2025, this was the tournament that was probably, I don't know, circled, even more so than the Masters for different reasons. It's lovely to be coming in here already with a major and everything else that's happened this year. I'm excited with where my game is."