2025 Scottish Open leaderboard: Rory McIlroy masters wind, climbs into tie for 54-hole lead after Round 3

McIlroy was one of the few to tame a difficult Renaissance Club on Saturday

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. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 2:21 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy shoots a Saturday 66, posts clubhouse lead at 11 under

Rory McIlroy is tied for the lead at 11 under after a scintillating back nine at the Renaissance Club helped him climb to the top of the leaderboard. McIlroy made three birdies and saw another three opportunities narrowly miss on his back nine, as he continues to do most of his damage on that side. The 2023 Scottish Open champion is 10 under on the back side this week, accounting for all but one of his shots under par through 54 holes. 

McIlroy will now wait to see if Chris Gotterup can get a birdie coming in to break their tie at the top, but he is almost assured a spot in the final group on Sunday where he can put plenty of pressure on the youngster to keep up with the crowd unquestionably on his side. 

We haven't seen this level of play from McIlroy since his Masters triumph to complete the grand slam, as he struggled to find his "why" after summiting the mountain. However, the Open at Royal Portrush was ample enough motivation to get back to work and find his best. It certainly seems like he's finding that form at the Renaissance Club this week in the final tuneup for the Open, and he'd love to add a fourth win on the season before making the short trip home to Northern Ireland. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 2:14 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Ludvig Åberg ejects with a bogey-triple-bogey stretch to fall back to -6

Åberg looked like he would be one of the main contenders this weekend, as he was 3 under on his round and just one back of the lead when he stepped on the 12th tee. A bogey on the par 3 dropped him back to 10 under, but that was just the beginning of a disastrous stretch that likely ended his chances at winning the Scottish Open. 

On the 13th, he flew his approach long and left, bounding down out of play to the cliffs below. He was forced to take a drop and chip for bogey, and was unable to get up-and-down resulting in a triple. He backed that up with another bogey on the 14th, falling to 6 under, five back of the current lead held by Rory McIlroy and Chris Gotterup. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 2:05 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy moves to -11, tied for the lead after a Chris Gotterup bogey

Rory McIlroy is putting together a strong third round performance as he's 4 under thru 17 and is now tied with Chris Gotterup after he made a bogey on the 14th to fall back to even par for his day. 

McIlroy has three birdies and no bogeys on his back nine so far -- and burned the edge for another on the 17th -- climbing the leaderboard to now sit in solo second, applying some serious pressure to Gotterup. McIlroy knows his way to the winner's circle at the Renaissance Club, having won here in 2023, and he seems to be finding his A-game at just the right time ahead of a homecoming Open at Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 12:56 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Wyndham Clark bogeys the 18th, posts 66 to tie low round of the day

Clark matched Harris English for the low round of Saturday with a 4-under 66, even as he closed with a disappointing bogey on the 18th. That got him to 9 under, which is currently three back of the leader Chris Gotterup and in a tie for fifth (alongside Rory McIlroy). Clark had a fantastic day on the greens, making 93 feet worth of putts, and rode that hot putter up 16 spots on the leaderboard to get him into contention going into a Sunday for the first time in awhile. 

With the winds up on Saturday, it seems like that 66 has a decent chance of holding as the low round of the day, although Ludvig Åberg and Jake Knapp are both 3 under early on their back nine and will be looking to push it a shot or two deeper as they come in. In any case, Clark should stay in the top 10 by the end of the round as he looks for just his second top 10 finish on the season. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 12:09 pm ET · Robby Kalland]

Chris Gotterup lips out for a hole-in-one on the 6th, extends lead back to two

After getting back to 11 under with a birdie on the 5th, Chris Gotterup carried that momentum to the 6th tee and hit a perfect wedge into the short par-3 that took a look at the cup before making a hard lip-out to the left. 

While he got robbed of an ace, he'll gladly take his tap-in birdie to extend his lead back to two shots over the field and move to 12 under for the first time. After a rough start to his day, he's settled in and looks poised to not only hang around all day on the leaderboard, but potentially shoot another quality round and maintain or extend his lead. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 11:44 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Ludvig Åberg, Wyndham Clark join the lead at 10 under

Chris Gotterup now has company at the top of the leaderboard at the Scottish Open, as Ludvig Åberg made two quick birdies in his first five holes to reach 10 under, while Wyndham Clark is working on the round of the day at 5 under thru 13 holes to also reach double figures under par and join the co-lead. Clark opened his round with a bogey but has seven birdies already, as he's been one of the few to handle breezy conditions and put low scores on the board.

Those two are in the ascendency while Gotterup is battling a bit early in his round. The 36-hole leader bogeyed the second and had to scramble to save par on the par-4 third hole, as it's been a scratchy start as he looks for the biggest win of his young career. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 11:28 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Rory McIlroy, Ludvig Åberg make early birdies; Chris Gotterup drops a shot to condense the leaderboard

The lead is now just one, as 36-hole leader Chris Gotterup is off to a tough start to his third round, bogeying the second and in a spot of bother on the third with the potential to fall further. With Gotterup slipping to -10, four players are now just one behind including Ludvig Åberg and Wyndham Clark, with Rory McIlroy part of the group at -8, two off the lead. 

We've seen that the conditions on Saturday are tricky with winds picking up at the Renaissance Club, and we've yet to see anyone go lower than a 3-under 67 in the clubhouse. Clark is -4 thru 12, but it's clear anything in the 66 or 67 range is going to be a fantastic score on Saturday. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 10:19 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Scottie Scheffler off to a slow start on Saturday

The world No. 1 needed to find some early birdies in the third round if he wanted to make a move on the leaders, but instead Scheffler has gone the wrong direction, going 1 over thru 7 holes to fall to 4 under overall, seven off Chris Gotterup's lead. Scheffler's missed a few short putts already on Saturday and you can see the frustration building as he's let some birdie opportunities go by and can't get much of anything positive going to start his third round. Perhaps he can find something on the back side, but it doesn't look at the moment like he will be a significant factor for the win tomorrow. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 9:36 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Viktor Hovland making an early move up the leaderboard

Hovland was in the mix after Thursday, but a 2-over 72 in the second round dropped him off the pace heading into the weekend. Hovland began the day at 2 under and had lots of work to do to get into position for a strong finish, much less to give himself a chance to contend on Sunday with nine shots between him and the leader. In tough morning conditions, Hovland has done good work on his first 12 holes of the day, going 3 under so far, and moving to 5 under for the tournament, good for T22 currently.

Given his struggles last year and earlier this season, he'll be encouraged by his bounce back after a tough Friday. If he can back that up with another solid performance tomorrow, that can give him a bit more momentum going into the Open Championship as he continues his quest for that first major title. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 8:29 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Windy (and in some areas, foggy) conditions limiting the early scoring on Saturday

We're used to seeing low scores at the Scottish Open, but the Renaissance Club is showing some teeth early on Saturday thanks to the windiest conditions of the week so far. On top of the winds picking up, they've also flipped from earlier in the week, presenting new challenges to the players and making the course play quite different. The fog is rolling in off the water, with the holes on the edges of the course fully veiled in fog while more inland it's bright and sunny, making for a pretty dramatic difference in visuals. 

The result has been a more challenge test for those going out early, as the low round of the day is a 3-under 67, belonging to Ugo Coussad. Among the best rounds on the course are Viktor Hovland and Justin Rose, who are 2 under each while playing together on the front nine. There's the obvious caveat that these are players who struggled more earlier in the week, so scoring could improve once the leaders get on the course, but it's hard to imagine as many rounds in the low 60s being out there as we saw on Friday. 

[Jul 12, 2025 at 7:55 am ET · Robby Kalland]

Justin Thomas produces a highlight on the par-3 17th amid continued struggles

Despite having a game that would seem to fit links golf, with the ability to flight shots and a creative approach to the game, Justin Thomas has never found success across the pond. His struggles continued this week at the Scottish Open, as he had to grind late on Friday just to make the cut on the number, and he could not make a positive move in the first group out on Saturday morning. Thomas shot a 1-over 71 to fall back to even par for the tournament, but did finish his round solidly with a back nine 33, including the early shot of the day on the par-3 17th that nearly earned he and his caddie a car. 

Thomas' shot offers a look at what's possible later for the leaders on the 17th if they can throw a tee shot high enough up the ridge and let it gather steam down to the hole. For Thomas, perhaps that swing can provide a bit of a confidence boost for navigating the terrain in Scotland.