VIRGINIA WATER, Surrey — Scotsman Robert MacIntyre passed his golf ball into the hand of a child as he approached the tee box on the 16th hole at Wentworth during the second round of the BMW PGA Championship, the DP World Tour’s flagship event.
“I was getting to the point where it was either give the ball away to someone or the ball was getting sent into a tree,” the 29-year-old, who is part of Europe’s 12-man Ryder Cup team, said after he finished 2 under par.
He got the smashing of his ball into a tree out of the way on the 13th hole. Giving his ball away near the 16th did seem to help as he would go on to birdie the hole to dip under par heading into the final two holes.
“I was a kid one day asking for a golf ball when someone was walking off,” MacIntyre said after making the cut on the number. “It’s nice. You get potentially a fan for life, and who knows, that person could go on and do something in the game of golf, and it can be from someone giving something to them.
“That’s what I want to do, I want to give back. Look, I go absolutely mental on the golf course. I accept that, I accept everything that comes with it. I get people don’t like it, but look, on the outside, I’m a very chilled guy and I’d like to think I’m thoughtful and pretty cheery when I’m away from this place.”
It was not his only flash of frustration on Friday: MacIntyre pulled up short of the green at the 17th and threw his club into the grass. Many of his reactions mirrored those of Tyrrell Hatton, his Ryder Cup teammate, who is known for openly showing his feelings on the golf course. For two days, MacIntyre has been cursing at the slow-running greens of Wentworth’s West Course, but he still believes he is “driving the ball absolutely beautifully” heading into Bethpage and the Ryder Cup later this month.
Whatever happens this weekend, MacIntyre, dressed in all black on Friday and playing alongside Hatton and New Zealander Ryan Fox, already has his eyes on a golden prize. On Sunday night, he will join his Ryder Cup teammates as they fly out to the United States, preparing to reclaim the trophy they won in Rome two years ago.
He was a Ryder Cup rookie who came of age in Italy under the guidance of Justin Rose, whom returning captain Luke Donald paired him with. In 2024, MacIntyre won twice on the PGA Tour in the space of six weeks — the RBC Canadian Open and then the Genesis Scottish Open in his homeland. In June, he finished second at the US Open at Oakmont Country Club, ending his round just two shots off winner J. J. Spaun.
“Wow.”
Bobby Mac is all of us right now. pic.twitter.com/dUMWpH365o
— U.S. Open (@usopengolf) June 16, 2025
To ready himself not just for the Ryder Cup but for the year ahead, next week MacIntyre will be using his days off in the U.S. to play at Aronimink in Pennsylvania, which will host next year’s PGA Championship, and Shinnecock Hills, which is where the US Open will be played in 2026, as well as playing at Pine Valley, one of the finest courses in the world.
Those who know him point to that long yet glorious weekend at Marco Simone on the outskirts of Rome as a major turning point in his career.
“He was a fantastic player before Rome, but he’s been able to win a number of times on both tours in the last two years,” said Jon Rahm. “He’s obviously a much more accomplished player. He’s a very high-level player. I still have a hard time keeping up in a conversation with him.”
“Bob would have been the U.S. Open champion. The margins are so small,” Tommy Fleetwood, who made the cut with a birdie on 18, said. “But the fact he’s there and competing shows he’s one of the best players in the world. You look at where he is now, such an asset to the European Team in the Ryder Cup and such a great person to have on the golf course and the team room.”
He was outside of the world’s top 50 when he made the team on points two years ago. Now he’s the No. 9 player in the world, according to the Official World Golf Ranking, and again earned his place automatically onto captain Luke Donald’s team.
“Bob has turned himself into one of the best players in the world, a really gritty competitor,” Rory McIlroy said.
Robert MacIntyre was a DP World Tour player when he made the 2023 Ryder Cup team. Now he’s a two-time winner on the PGA Tour. (Patrick Smith / Getty Images)
This weekend is almost in the way for MacIntyre, who is ready to take on his second Ryder Cup. The European team had dinner together on Tuesday. But has Donald given him any idea of what his job might be this time around?
“Win points,” MacIntyre said. “I don’t give a damn what or how. If I have to sit out every game, I’ll sit out every game. If have to play every game, I’ll play every game. But it’s just, get to that points tally and we win the Ryder Cup, and that’s all that matters.”
MacIntyre says his team is lucky he made the cut this weekend. Had he not, he would have maybe headed back to Scotland for a game of shinty — a highly physical contact sport he grew up playing and describes as his “first love,” ahead of golf.
“It’s field hockey with no rules. That’s probably as easy as I could describe it,” he said. “I don’t know if you’ve ever seen hurling, the Irish sport? It’s a cross between hurling and field hockey. It just keeps me sane. … When I go on the shinty pitch, I’m treated just as Bob. I don’t get treated any differently, and when I go to training, it’s fair game. We’re all hard in tackles, just back to normal life.
“I play shinty when I’m not playing golf. Golf’s my job, shinty is my hobby.”
A couple of weeks ago, he was in Oban, the port town on the west coast of Scotland, where he grew up. It is known as the “gateway to the Isles” for its proximity and travel connections to the Hebrides. He played 45 minutes in a game of shinty. The name of his team is “Oban Celtic.” Those two words are always showing on the yardage book that sticks out of his back pocket. The sport he loves is always with him on the golf course and will be in New York, even if he can’t play it there.
“I don’t enjoy individual sport as much as I enjoy team sport. It’s far more enjoyable, team sport. You’re out there (playing golf), it’s just me and Mike (Burrows, his caddie), and you’re doing a job. Whereas team sport feels like you’ve got more responsibility, more people to back you up, and I just love it.”
The Ryder Cup is perfect then.
“Rome was different. It was my first time. I was a bit unknown,” he reflected. “I didn’t know what I was going into, but I know what I’m going into this time, and I’ve spent two years in America, so I’m ready to go.”
(Top photo: Richard Heathcote / Getty Images)
