The ‘best thing’ possible has happened to Rory McIlroy just before The Open, according to Peter Finch

Add as preferred source on Google

Rory McIlroy will be keen to take his momentum from the Scottish Open into The Open Championship, which gets underway on Thursday.

McIlroy was among the high-profile names to have taken on last week’s Scottish Open, in a bid to fully prepare for The Open Championship.

He finished T2 at The Renaissance Club as Chris Gotterup clinched the title, finishing two shots ahead of the Northern Irishman and Marco Penge.

The 29-time PGA Tour winner carded rounds of 68, 65, 66 and 68 as he ended on 13-under in North Berwick.

Wayne Riley says there is ‘so much pressure’ on McIlroy this week, with the five-time major champion playing on home soil at Royal Portrush.

Peter Finch thinks the best thing possible has happened to Rory McIlroy before The Open Championship

Peter Finch has, however, shared a much more positive outlook on the 36-year-old ahead of his latest event.

Asked if his T2 finish in Scotland was good for McIlroy heading into The Open, Finch said on The Rough Cut Golf Podcast: “It was the best thing that could have happened for him. He played well.

READ MORE: Brandel Chamblee gives his honest opinion on Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy which he ‘hates to say’

“The greens didn’t look great at Renaissance, they did look a little bit bobbly. From what people have been saying here on the ground at The Open, they were not great either.

“So I think considering what he has been like since The Masters, it was such a big step in the right direction.

“The biggest thing with Rory, as always, is if he can control his emotions and not get swept away on the magical carpet ride which is Royal Portrush and home crowds.

“He has got an amazing chance, it’s just if he gets off that first tee without hitting it out of bounds is step one!

“Imagine how much emotion was invested on that tee shot back in 2019, imagine the pride that he was feeling and then all of a sudden to turn it into utter horror by hitting an iron out of bounds.

“He will remember it, of course he will. But if he hits it out of bounds again we are going to have another missed cut!”

Rory McIlroy key PGA Tour stats ahead of The Open Championship

McIlroy really is a player in form as the Northern Irishman heads into the final major championship of the season.

He’s already chasing a fourth PGA Tour win, and as mentioned finished tied for second at last week’s Scottish Open.

READ MORE: Rory McIlroy explains what he’s ‘always surprised’ by whenever he plays at Royal Portrush ahead of The Open Championship

And he certainly has the stats to back up those displays, having impressed in various key areas on the course in 2025.

But playing in front of his home fans is a different matter, and it will be intriguing to see how he deals with that pressure.

As Finch alluded to, he seemingly failed to deal with that pressure in 2019, narrowly missing the cut at Royal Portrush.

He did recover from a first round nightmare with a second round 65, but that damage had already been done with his Thursday 79 as he missed the cut by one shot.