Jornal Do Brasilia - South Korea's Tom Kim wins Scottish Open to end three-year title drought

The 24-year-old, who had tumbled down the world rankings, showed his quality with a superb final round of 64 to finish on 17 under par at North Berwick.

Australia's Min Woo Lee was the runner-up as local hero Robert MacIntyre faltered in pursuit of a second Scottish Open title, ending four shots adrift alongside England's Matt Fitzpatrick.

MacIntyre, Lee and Fitzpatrick had shared the lead after the fog-disrupted third round was completed earlier on Sunday.

But it was Kim, the only player to avoid a bogey in the fourth round, who pounced from one shot back.

As well as a winner's prize of £1.2 million ($1.6 million), Kim's victory also secured his place at next year's US Masters.

"I can't really wrap my mind over it," said an emotional Kim. "It's really special and I'm just at a loss for words.

"Obviously I've had a tough couple years. I got to taste a lot of that humble pie and I got to really learn about myself and I'm still trying to grow, still trying to learn.

"Still got a long way to go. But this one I wanted to dedicate to the people that were in my corner the whole time and struggled with me and who celebrated with me."

Rory McIlroy's third-round 73 left the world number two with too large a deficit to make up, even though he equalled Kim's closing six-under 64, the lowest score of the day.

The Northern Irishman defended his US Masters title in April.

And his performances over the past few days on a links or coastal course in Scotland should encourage McIlroy ahead of the similar conditions he can expect to encounter during next week's British Open at Royal Birkdale, near Liverpool.

P. da Silva--JDB