MacIntyre in line for European Tour card
October has been quite the month for Oban golfer Robert MacIntyre. With only the Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final left to play, the Scot now sits inside the top 15 in the rankings for the first time following an eye-catching couple of weeks at the tail end of his debut season on the European Challenge Tour.
MacIntyre claimed the runner-up spot at the Foshan Open in China, narrowly losing out to Victor Perez in a play-off. The 22-year-old started the weekend seven shots off the lead, but carded two bogey-free rounds of 64 and 65 to race up the leaderboard and put himself in contention.
A stunning holed-eagle putt from 80 feet on the 72nd hole initially gave MacIntyre a one stroke lead before Perez knocked down an equally impressive 40 foot birdie putt on the 18th to force a play-off. MacIntyre could not wrestle victory away from the Frenchman, who birdied the first extra hole to win.
The Glencruitten golfer is no
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stranger to play-offs, having finished second to Kim Koivu at the Vierumäki Finnish Challenge in August, when the Finn lifted his second title of the season. Despite not triumphing in either playoff, MacIntyre, who only turned professional at the end 2017, could complete his dramatic rise to the European Tour with a strong finish in Ras Al Khaimah this weekend.
The second place in China saw him leap from 34th to 13th place on the Road to Ras Al Khaimah, which builds on his recent run of results during his rookie Challenge Tour season
The 2017 Walker Cup player finished tied 47th at the Hainan Open a week earlier and began October with a share of fourth at the Monaghan Irish Challenge.
At the start of the month he occupied 42nd place in the rankings, but has rocketed into the top 15, and is now looking to hold on to that coveted spot with the prospect of graduating to the European Tour at the conclusion of the Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final.