Magic’s gone for Bob in Kenya
Final-round flop’s a setback for Scots star’s hopes of a return to Masters
ROBERT MacINTYRE failed to conjure up a victory at the Magical Kenya open as he damaged his chances of playing at a third successive Masters with a lifeless final round.
The Oban lefty managed just two birdies in a closing 70 to finish in a share of seventh at 13 under on the Muthaiga course.
Spaniard Jorge Campillo grabbed a fourth Tour win, and his first since beating Scots star David Drysdale over five extra holes at the 2019 Qatar Masters.
Campillo, 36, played alongside MacIntyre and set up his victory with three straight birdies from the sixth hole.
He shot a sizzling 66 to finish on 18 under, two shots ahead of closest challenger Masahiro Kawamura, who matched his closing round.
And Campillo savoured a “special” moment after he followed in the footsteps of fellow Spaniard Seve Ballesteros, a winner of this tournament in 1978.
He said: “It’s always nice to win a golf tournament, but if you have a name on the trophy with Seve then it’s more special for a Spaniard.”
MacIntyre went into the final day just a shot off the lead but was left behind in his bid to land a third Tour win.
He was in the trees off the third in taking a bogey and while grabbing a birdie at the fifth for a third of four days, there was little spark in MacIntyre’s game, making the turn at level and five adrift of Campillo.
He birdied the 10th, to be five-under for the event at the par-five, but simply left himself too much to do, and was not helped by eight closing pars.
A MacIntyre victory would have seen him jump 31 spots to world No. 63 and qualify for the WGC Dell Match-Play in Austin, Texas.
And a decent result in the Lone Star State may have seen the Scot move into the top 50 to book his place at Augusta.
Peebles’ Craig Howie (67) and Craigielaw’s Grant Forrest (65) shared 11th at 12-under.
Howie was gutted at missing out on a top-10 spot that would have qualified him for a place in this week’s first joint DP World/Sunshine Tour hosting of the SDC Championship at Eastern Cape in South Africa.
But Forrest, who had a bout of food poisoning at the start of the week, was delighted to grab a third top-13 result in his past three events.
Gleneagles’ Callum Hill, who also contracted food poisoning, posted a 66 to finish in a tie for 29th at 10-under.