I’d still love Robert to lead us out at the next Ryder Cup
G-Mac tells R-Mac he wants him front of the line
GRAEME McDOWELL has told Robert MacIntyre he’d love him to lead out his European team on a Ryder Cup Sunday.
Padraig Harrington’s vice-captain offered solid support to the shattered Scot after his hopes of making this month’s match against United States at Whistling Straits were effectively ended.
MacIntyre needed to finish in the top two at the BMW PGA Championship to seal an automatic place. However, playing under the watchful eye of McDowell for the opening two days, the Oban ace missed the cut by a solitary shot and admitted golf is driving him mad at the moment.
With Harrington eyeing more senior figures for his wildcard picks, MacIntyre now will not make it to Wisconsin.
McDowell, though, is absolutely adamant the Tartan star will be part of the Ryder action shortly.
And, with his own fires burning to skipper the team for matches at Adare Manor in Ireland in 2027, G-Mac told R-Mac he’d want him front of the line.
He said: “We were talking about captains and I said that there is a Ryder Cup in Ireland in 2027 that I had my beady eye on.
“I said to him: Hopefully I’ll be giving you a slap on the back and sending you out on Sunday leading the team.
“It won’t be his first Ryder Cup in 2027. He’s a quality player. I love him. I think he’s got a great attitude and he’s super-talented.
“He’s just young and aggressive and that equals birdies and it also equals mistakes.
“Robert showed me that it’s only a matter of time until he plays in a Ryder Cup for sure and he knows that.
“I think he has a lot of belief in himself. He’s a very grounded individual and a great lad. He impresses me.
“He makes mistakes, like we all did when we were young. It is very hard to have a fully polished, finished article, but he is very close.”
MacIntyre made a bold run to keep the dream alive with a secondround 69, but the damage was done on day one with his two-over score.
The Scot realised it wouldn’t be enough quickly after his Friday finale which concluded with a frustrated slamming of his club into his own bag after finding sand twice on his last hole.
MacIntyre admitted: “I’m disappointed, I thought I played really well again, bogey free, and I don’t know how to get off this train I’m on right now.
“I feel like I’m doing all right. I’m just getting battered right now and the frustrations are really starting to build.
“The 18th is something we’ve been working on, trying not to let one shot affect the next.
“Although there was anger there, hitting the bag and everything, I’ve got it out and over the next shot I know I have to get up and down to give myself a chance. I thought it might go in the hole.
“That could have been an easy six, seven under par. It’s a course that suits me absolutely perfectly and it’s starting to drive me mental now.
“I’m going to go away from here and think about what to do. I feel I’m in the right place physically and mentally, but it’s starting to get to me.
“It’s nothing to do with the physical thing or the swing.
“You just need a little spark and I’ve just not got any sparks this last four or five weeks.” Calum Hill was also sickened by a torturous Thursday which meant his outstanding Friday fightback of 67 wasn’t enough to make the weekend or keep his slim Ryder Cup hopes intact. He said: “It’s frustration. It’s because golf is generally pretty easy, but I just keep those odd days when I’m useless, which is a bit annoying. “My three-wood’s a dog, I can’t get it in play. It ends up a reload. The golf ’s not bad, but the c**p is c**p. I’d rather just be good all the time.” MacIntyre and Hill may be out of the equation, but there’s still much for McDowell and Harrington to sort out with the European team. The vice-captain still has two days at Wentworth to complete after showing some old sparkle to cruise into the weekend. McDowell said: “It’s nice to be in.
“I’ve just had a couple of months off with some tears in my shoulder and forearm.
“I didn’t want to shut it down, but I was missing the FedEx, I’m exempt for next year and I wanted to get myself healthy again.
“It’s hard to sit down, but, in a way, I needed a physical reset and a mental one as well.
“It’s been one of the tougher 15 months I’ve had in a long time, so it was a good time for me to sit back and appreciate where I am in the sport and what I want to achieve going forward.”
McDowell will also have one eye fixed on the Ryder Cup selection process and said: “I’m not sure I’d have wanted as many variables if I was the captain.
“So many question marks cropping up two weeks before the match.
“Obviously it is fantastic for Wentworth and for the BMW PGA Championship.
“I’d liked to have had eight or nine of my guys locked in by now and let the picks get after it this week, but hey it’s exciting stuff.”