ROBERT MACINTYRE left it to the last minute to qualify for the Ryder Cup in 2023.
He’s hoping to avoid a similar rush to the finish line this year and has gone a long way to doing just that with one of his best finishes to an event this season.
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Bob MacIntyre carded a final round 71 at the Charles Schwab Challenge in TexasCredit: Getty
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He had a costly mistake on the last holeCredit: Getty
That’s in spite of him making a costly mistake on the final green.
The Scots golf ace, 28, has focused more on the lucrative PGA Tour this year as opposed to the DP World Tour.
He did the same last season and it took a while for the tactic pay off.
It wasn’t until his emotional win at the Canadian Open – with his dad acting as his emergency caddie – that he began to find his feet in 2024.
With last year not being a Ryder Cup year, there was a bit more leeway in terms of picking up points for MacIntyre.
But this season no such slack will be cut, with a stacked list of Europe’s elite all doing their best to ensure they make it to Bethpage Black in September.
MacIntyre posted on social media last week that his results were “s*** right now” but he didn’t wait long to turn things around.
At the Charles Schwab Challenge at the weekend, MacIntyre finished in a tie for sixth – equalling his best result of the season so far.
But it could have been even better for the lefty from Oban.
That’s because he missed a par putt on the final hole that saw him drop from T-4 to T-6.
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MacIntyre had a seven-footer to cement his place in the top five at Colonial Country Club but it skimmed the cup and the Scot threw away his ball in disgust.
In spite of that misjudgement, MacIntyre finished 12th in the putting stats at the tournament and gained 5.17 strokes with the flat stick.
But the shock error did hit MacIntyre in the pocket.
His prize money dropped from potentially $427,500 (£316,586) to $299,725 (£221,911).
That’s an eye-watering drop of just under £100,000 all-told – £94,675 to be exact.
Fellow Team Europe Ryder Cup hopeful Tommy Fleetwood finished T-4 alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler.
Winner Ben Griffin pocketed $1.7million for his efforts and the points he achieved also rocketed him to 13th on Team USA’s Ryder Cup list, displacing the likes of Tony Finau and Daniel Berger, both of whom have played in the tournament before.
On MacIntyre’s debut appearance in Rome two years ago he didn’t lose a match, winning 2.5 points from his three outings.
He starred alongside Justin Rose at Marco Simone, whom Fleetwood leapfrogged in the standings this week with his performance.
The top six in Team Europe’s Ryder Cup points list will automatically qualify for the trip to New York.
After that, it’s up to Luke Donald to select his six captain’s picks to make up the final 12.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy leads the standings with Shane Lowry in second and Rasmus Hojgaard in third (his brother, Nicolai, was a debutante in Rome and is further down the list this year in 28th).
Tyrrell Hatton is currently in fourth with Sepp Straka a place behind in fifth. Fleetwood occupies sixth spot.
The top six ranked players following the Betfred British Masters (August 24 2025) will qualify for Team Europe.
MacIntyre has a way to go before reaching the automatic spots but will fancy his chances of defending the Scottish Open title in July and he played well the last time The Open Championship was held at this year’s venue, Royal Portrush.
Captain Donald is almost certain to pick two men who are behind MacIntyre in the standings however, regardless of his own performances.
Jon Rahm is one of Team Europe’s most valuable assets and despite his move to LIV Golf, only injury or a dramatic loss of form would see him miss out. He is currently ranked 24th.
Viktor Hovland has had an inconsistent season so far but he too is core member of Team Europe and was one of the top performers in Rome last time out. He occupies 14th spot in the Euro rankings at the moment.
Realistically that leaves just four spots for captain’s picks.
A lot will change between now and August but as things stand, in contention for those picks at the moment are: Rose, who is all but a lock; Ludvig Aberg (also a lock); Matt Wallace; Thomas Detry; Niklas Norgaard; and MacIntyre.
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Other names to watch out for are Thorbjorn Olesen and Aaron Rai.
MacIntyre is in action again this week coming at the Memorial Tournament, held at Muirfield Village in Ohio.
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