Tom Kim ends three-year drought with Scottish Open victory

Tom Kim closed with a bogey-free 6-under 64 at The Renaissance Club and turned a three-year wait into a two-shot victory at the 2026 Genesis Scottish Open. He finished at 17-under-par 263, beating Min Woo Lee for solo second and claiming the first DP World Tour title of his career.

The win carried more than one kind of relief. Kim’s fourth PGA Tour victory was his first since 2023, ending a winless stretch that had tested both form and confidence. It also delivered his maiden Rolex Series success in a tournament that is co-sanctioned by the PGA Tour and DP World Tour and sits directly before The Open Championship.

Kim’s finish reshaped his season in one afternoon. He climbed from 118th to 32nd in FedEx Cup points and secured invitations to the 2027 Masters Tournament and the 2027 PGA Championship, the sort of late-summer jump that can change the rest of a player’s year. After the round, Kim was in tears of joy and relief, a release that matched the length of the drought he had just broken.

The emotional weight extended beyond the scorecard. Tiger Woods was the first person to text Kim after the win, a message that underlined how far the 22-year-old had come back from a difficult spell and how closely the result was watched inside the game.

Rory McIlroy provided the other half of the day’s split screen. He had shared the lead early in the tournament and finished strongly, but still said he has an issue to solve before The Open, with his approach play and iron play the point of concern. The timing matters because the Scottish Open is the last major tune-up before golf’s oldest championship, and McIlroy’s final-round push left him with positive signs but not a finished answer.

That contrast gave the week its shape. Kim arrived with momentum he had been unable to find for nearly three years and left with a trophy, a rankings surge and majors security. McIlroy arrived looking sharp enough to contend and left knowing that one part of his game still needs tightening before the next big test.

The Genesis Scottish Open has recently become a marker for players peaking at the right time, with Xander Schauffele winning in 2022, McIlroy in 2023 and Bob MacIntyre in 2024. Kim’s breakthrough fit that pattern, but his path was different: not a tune-up win, but a return to the winner’s circle after a long drought.