But he keeps up Augusta bid as on-fire Bernd Romes free
ROBERT MACINTYRE inched closer to a dream Augusta debut despite his tilt for a first European Tour title being derailed in Rome.
The Scot entered the final day at the Italian Open two off the top only to finish five behind Bernd Wiesberger, the first threetime Tour winner this season.
But MacIntyre’s fourth place still saw him leap five places to seventh in the Race to Dubai – the season-long competition to be crowned European No.1.
And he was last night projected to jump from 99th to 86th in the world rankings with the top 50 at the end of the year handed an invite to the Masters come April.
The rookie’s level-par 71, which saw him share fourth with Austrian Matthias Schwab (66) and Englishman Andrew Johnston (68) on 11-under 273, only told part of the story.
MacIntyre could not believe his lack of luck at the fourth when his approach almost flew straight in the hole.
So close was it to finding the cup that the 23-year-old had to repair the hole after a tuft of grass emerged around the edge.
“Too many lip outs today... This was the worst of them all,” the Oban ace tweeted along with a video of the near miss.
Three bogeys after rolling in for birdie left him with too much ground to make up albeit gains at the 15th and 16th meant he left Italy with almost a quarter of a million pounds.
His highest finish in a Rolex Series event, MacIntyre remains the man to beat in the race to be the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year. Wiesberger once again BY BERNIE McGUIRE could not be caught, carding a bogey-free 65 to overturn a threeshot deficit and beat overnight leader Matt Fitzpatrick by one.
Wiesberger missed the last seven months of the 2018 season with a wrist injury but now tops the Race to Dubai rankings and has a flying start in his quest to make a Ryder Cup debut.
The 34-year-old, who has also won the Scottish Open and Made in Denmark this year, said: “I’ve had a lot of good golf and a lot of progress after coming back from the last year.
“I’ve won three times this year and it’s been the same every time. I’ve just really enjoyed my time and I’m positive to be back out there because I know how tough it was when I had to withdraw from these great events.”
As for Fitzpatrick, he had to settle for a fifth runners-up finish this year after leaving himself a 35-footer for a birdie at the last that would have forced a play-off.
The 25-year-old, whose card featured a double-bogey seven after going out of bounds off the tee on the ninth, said: “It was a bit c**p. To lose by one is obviously very disappointing.
“I’ve played well when I’ve been up there on a Sunday, just other people keep grinding and I keep coming up from behind.”
American Kurt Kitayama (71) finished third on 12-under 272 while Scot Stephen Gallacher was tied 25th after a closing 70 left him on four under.
Justin Rose saved face after his horror 78 on Saturday, posting the day’s lowest round as a 64 left him tied 15th on seven under.