MacIntyre ‘is Ryder Cup star of the future’

ROBERT MacINTYRE saw his final chance of making this year’s Ryder Cup team slip away after he missed the cut at Wentworth yesterday. But vice-captain Graeme McDowell believes it is ‘only a matter of time’ before the Scot plays in golf’s biggest team event. MacIntyre needed a top-two finish in the BMW PGA Championship to qualify automatically for Padraig Harrington’s European side, but missed the halfway cut after rounds of 74 and 69. However, McDowell — hoping to be skipper at Ireland’s Adare Manor in 2027 — was sufficiently impressed by what he saw from playing the first two rounds with MacIntyre (right) to think the lefthander is a certainty to make future teams. ‘He showed me that it’s only a matter of time until he plays in a Ryder Cup,’ said McDowell, who will be one of Harrington’s assistants at Whistling Straits in Wisconsin. ‘Robert makes a lot of birdies. He makes mistakes, like we all did when we were young. It is hard to have the full polished, finished article, but he is close. ‘We were talking about Ryder Cup captains and I said that there is a Ryder Cup in Ireland in 2027 that I had my beady eye on and I said to him, “Hopefully, I’ll be giving you a slap on the back and sending you on Sunday leading the team”. ‘It won’t be his first Ryder Cup in 2027. I think he’s a quality player. I love him. I think he’s got a great attitude. He’s super-talented. He’s just young and aggressive and that equals birdies and mistakes.’ MacIntyre was disappointed to head home early from Wentworth, where Kiradech Aphibarnrat followed up his opening 64 with a 68 to take a one-shot halfway lead over England’s Laurie Canter. He said: ‘I thought I played well again, bogey-free, and I don’t know how to get off this train I’m on right now. ‘I’m just getting battered right now and the frustration’s starting to build. ‘That could have been an easy six, seven-under-par. If I hole those medium-range putts, people are saying, that’s a decent score, you deserve that. ‘It’s a course that suits me perfectly and it’s starting to drive me mental now.’ Another man feeling the frustration at Wentworth yesterday was Lee Westwood, who confessed that the stress of trying to qualify for this year’s team could have a detrimental effect on the chances of Harrington’s men later this month. ‘I think there’s some of the guys who have turned up here, they don’t need this right now,’ said Westwood. ‘This is very draining and you want to be going into the Ryder Cup feeling fresh.’ Bernd Wiesberger delivered a gutsy 67 to give himself an outstanding chance of playing his way into the team — and if that happens, one of the big names will have to miss out. A top-50 finish will almost certainly see the Austrian — currently inside the top 20 — go past Rory McIlroy to be one of the four qualifiers from the Europe points list. That will see McIlroy move over to the world points list and knock Shane Lowry out of the team. A minimum top-eight finish could see Lowry, in turn, clamber past Westwood on that world list, which might explain the stress he is feeling given the Irishman shot a fine 66 to lie joint seventh — although Westwood showed he is up for the fight with a battling 68 of his own. If it is between Lowry and Westwood for the final automatic place, that would leave Harrington to name his three wildcards from one of those two — Sergio Garcia, Ian Poulter or Justin Rose.