For the second straight season, the Scottish Open delivered what may be the best finish of the year. This time it was the home favorite, Scotsman Robert MacIntrye, putting out on the 18th to clinch it while Adam Scott looked on from scoring hoping for a playoff. Last year, it was Big Shot Bob in Scott’s spot as Rory McIlroy blistered that 2-iron and putted out to win it.

Much like last year, MacIntyre stormed to the finish to make the day all the more fun and dramatic during an afternoon viewing window back in the United States. Even though he went out in the final group, Bobby Mac was not center stage for much of the day. Rather the lead rotated around, most prominently among Ludvig Åberg and Adam Scott. But a bomb of a birdie putt went in at the 14th, and he played the final three holes in 3-under thanks to an eagle coming largely via an all-time lucky, eyebrow-raising free drop. (More on that controversy to follow.) But he still had to hit the next shot after he took his relief, stuffing a 6-iron from 247 yards to six feet.

Then, on the 72nd hole, he trickled in a 16-foot putt, triumphing over the pressure of trying to win his home open for the second straight year.

It was magnificent viewing on its own, even before the context that this particular winner is on record as wanting to win this event more than any non-major out there. “It’s the one I wanted and it’s the one I got,” MacIntyre said after the round. “It’s just, I’ve watched it as a kid growing up, and it meant a lot. It was really the only one that I could go and watch. Yeah, it’s just, I can’t believe it’s happened.” It was the first time a Scot has won their home open in 25 years.

In a moment when pro golf is awash in money that rarely imbues stakes, and oversaturated with events to the point of monotony, the Scottish Open offers an element that cannot be fabricated with an increased purse or a bucket of courier cup points: passion. It has the added significance of being a national open with a little bit of history, and native players who crave winning it. It’s also a unique style of golf, and has seemingly operated as a model of co-sanctioned strategic allying so far. As the WGCs started to fall flat and eventually die, it was apparent they featured a collection of elite players competing for a lot of guaranteed money, but any meaning beyond that eventually grew negligible. While there may be grumbles about the Scottish Open venue not rotating and wails about the very late local start time, the fact is that it matters to the country, the people in the area, and those attending. Mix in the performances of some global stars and a home favorite the last two years, and you’re left with a bit of magic and variety, a combination that pops off the page when compared to an otherwise monotonous circuit.

This piece originally appeared in the Fried Egg Golf newsletter. Subscribe for free and receive golf news and insight every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.