Robert MacIntyre was livid with his performance following Sunday’s concluding round at the DP World Tour Championship, harshly confessing his putting was “abysmal” despite posting a 68.
MacIntyre concluded the tournament in a tie for eighth place after recording 14-under par, finishing four shots behind leaders Matt Fitzpatrick and Rory McIlroy. Following a dramatic playoff between the Ryder Cup partners, Fitzpatrick claimed victory, while McIlroy secured the Race to Dubai crown.
Though it represented a solid conclusion for MacIntyre, who has risen to No. 7 in the global rankings following an outstanding season, he was devastated by his short game struggles.
Having captured the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on home soil in Scotland and placing runner-up at the U.S. Open, MacIntyre now holds himself to elevated expectations.
Upon completing Sunday’s round, MacIntyre showed no interest in accentuating the positive and slammed his own showing. “I didn’t putt good enough today,” MacIntyre told The Scotsman.
“Yesterday I hit it terribly, went on the range, phoned Simon [Shanks, his coach] and got it back. Today I had my chances to get right in about it, but I just putted like a d—, to be honest.”
With the 2025 campaign concluding, MacIntyre will compete in his season finale at the Tiger Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge next month. Even after reaching No. 7 in the rankings and experiencing a breakthrough year, MacIntyre won’t accept anything less than excellence.
“This is the level I expect myself to be playing at,” he added. “Look, I wasn’t well last week and felt like what I got out of it was brilliant. It was almost the maximum I could get out of it. This week, it was a good opportunity.
“I felt like I played nicely for probably 36-40 holes but, other than that, it was a struggle. Yeah, it shows my attitude is good when I am over the shot and I am committed to the shot. There is no thinking about the last shot. But, look, I let my anger out like everyone does and it might just show a bit more.”
MacIntyre eventually found some silver linings in his display, but swiftly returned to criticizing his putting performance. “I fought well, especially in the middle of the round,” MacIntyre added.
“But, from yesterday’s performance and Friday’s performance, going into today was like ‘what’s coming?’ But I thought I played really well today – just putted abysmal. I had so many chances and not just from your 50-50 range.
“From your good five to six feet, including one at the last. Just disappointing with the way I putted.”
While MacIntyre battled to find bright spots, Fitzpatrick was absolutely thrilled after transforming his season and securing triumph.
