Robert MacIntyre admitted he wanted to smash up his golf clubs after Scottie Scheffler reeled in the Scot to claim his fifth PGA Tour win of the season at the BMW Championship.
Scheffler trailed the European Ryder Cup hopeful by four shots heading into the final round of the second leg of the PGA Tour’s playoffs at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland.
The undisputed World No.1 edged in front of MacIntyre on the seventh hole but then gave his 29-year-old playing partner a glimmer of hope with a few uncharacteristic mistakes that led to two bogeys.
Scheffler went to the 71st hole with a one-shot lead but closed the door emphatically, chipping in from 55 feet to spark wild scenes and leave MacIntyre visibly stunned.
“He’s hit a great shot, nothing you can do with that,” MacIntyre told reporters of Scheffler’s genius.
MacIntyre explained that he didn’t expect to start as poorly as he did.
“I wasn’t even expecting to be over par, to be honest,” he said. “I was really expecting to go out there, foot down, and perform the way I have the last couple days.”
He battled right until the very end and even believed there was a chance at the 15th.
“I wasn’t nice to myself up until that point,” he said.
“Scottie has missed a putt, and then I’m like, right, if you were given one shot back going up 15 at the start of the week, would you have taken it? 100 per cent I would have taken it.
“Yes, I had the lead, but it doesn’t matter until the final putt on the 18th green and the 72nd hole. I still had a chance.
“When he’s pitched that in on 17 and then he’s hit the perfect tee shot on 18, it’s pretty much game over just then. You’re playing for second place at that point.”
MacIntyre said he did not feel extra pressure because of Scheffler’s relentlessness down the stretch.
The Scot was particularly poor off the tee, whilst Scheffler found 10 of 14 fairways.
“I can’t control what he does,” MacIntyre said. “Look, he doesn’t hole out, he doesn’t get up-and-down on 17, he holes it.
“If he doesn’t get up-and-down there, my ball didn’t fly two yards long, it may have been a different story.
“But look, he’s the better player on the day. I’m just really p—– off right now.”
Asked for what improvements he would like to make going forward, MacIntyre said: “I mean, right now, not a clue.
“Right now I want to go and smash up my golf clubs, to be honest with you.”
MacIntyre was also involved in a few tense exchanges with spectators this week.
He was frequently goaded and, decided to make his feelings clear in round three after one person outside the ropes told him he had ‘pushed’ his putt.
MacIntyre was heckled throughout the final round, too.
Asked if he did a ‘good job’ controlling his emotions, MacIntyre said: “I’m not going to comment.”
Despite the disappointment, the Scot is now a shoo-in to make his second appearance in the Ryder Cup for Team Europe.
MacIntyre finished runner-up at the US Open in June and also tied for seventh at The Open.
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