What a rush it was to see Bob make his charge for the Claret Jug
Fanfare for Scots ace as he became a Major contender
BOB MacINTYRE wants to take a Major step in 2022.
Scotland’s brightest golfing star has stated that having a real chance on the back nine of a Sunday at one of the game’s big four events would represent the next significant advancement in his career.
MacIntyre is perhaps being a bit harsh on himself.
To folk who were at Royal St George’s last summer to see the Oban ace have a run at the 149th Open Championship, he has already ticked that box.
In the end, Sandwich belonged to Collin Morikawa. The young American took to the job like an old hand to win the Claret Jug.
It also belonged to the golf fans who were finally let loose in real numbers to get back.
Royal St George’s offered a big re-opening. The Euros had started with smaller crowds and built up towards the finale.
Wimbledon had been allowed to let spectators in to see the stars of their sport.
And, having had restricted galleries at the ASI Scottish Open the previous week, it felt like a full release of the Covid handbrake.
Within just an hour of the opening day, the decision to postpone the 2020 staging for 12 months was shown to be a shrewd move.
Morning sunshine glistened on to 32,000 people per day with a 75 per cent capacity limit put in place.
Never has standing in a long queue snaking around a sand dune for a coffee or a burger or hearing some halfwit shout “get in the hole” at 10am after one lager been so pleasurable.
Old and young, male and female, they gathered and the ones who had Scottish blood had plenty to get excited about with MacIntyre. He had some responsibility. For a start, he was the only Scot in the entire field. It didn’t add pressure, it just inspired him.
And, for a brief spell on Open Sunday, MacIntyre was bang there. Hairs were beginning to stand on Tartan arms as he forged into the hunt.
It was a slow burner. Two days previously he wasn’t so much walking down the 18th fairway as he was walking the Open tightrope.
MacIntyre stood on that last hole knowing he had to make a birdie three. He did just that with an ice-cool delivery.
He stood afterwards and said: “I’m like a rollercoaster when I’m on a course, my heart rate is going up and down.” It was easy to empathise.
That put the seal on two hours to remember because, just beforehand, Morikawa had started to thrill.
Record Sport was fortunate enough to be yards away as he produced a run around the Friday turn where the standard of his short-iron play became, frankly, silly.
With four holes to go, Morikawa was on pace to lower Branden Grace’s lowest score of 62 at an Open. He didn’t do it but still equalled the 36-hole Open record held by Nick Faldo and Henry Cotton and was on his way.
MacIntyre, though, did threaten to give him a scare at one point as into Saturday he was starting to charge up.
His 65 in the morning turned out to be the best round of the day and it was sealed by holing a magical 60-foot putt at the last for a sixth birdie of the day.
Starting Sunday, MacIntyre had the chance to beat his tiedsixth finish on debut at
Portrush two years previously. In the end, it was a jointseventh but it was some ride as he even made a run towards the leaders down the stretch.
He started to push. Too hard. One sudden lapse, one hooked drive into the scrub hopped over the out-ofbounds poles and stopped him in tracks.
His growing maturity saw him produce magic to save a bogey with a second-ball four but the Claret Jug was out of reach as quickly as it had come into sight. Morikawa was the man who would deservedly take it. He was sensational and had the class to see-off Louis Oosthuizen in the final-day shoot-out.
For MacIntyre, Sandwich proved again that he’s capable.