Bob’s hopes blown off course in Abu Dhabi

As starts to the new season go, it certainly wasn’t the one Robert MacIntyre had hoped for.

A nightmare 80 on Friday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship meant the Oban star missed the cut and now has to dust himself down and reset for the Dubai Desert Classic which begins today (Thursday January 27).

Everything started promisingly on day one last Thursday. An opening 69, which included five birdies, left Bob inside the top 20 going into Friday’s round.

With high winds forecast, the players knew scoring would be tough on day two, but no-one would have predicted Bob carding a front nine of 41 - all the more remarkable considering it included an eagle at the seventh hole.

With winds of up to 40 mph causing havoc for the entire field - only a handful of players broke par all day - the Oban left-hander needed a par at the last to give himself any chance of making the weekend. However, those hopes disappeared after his third shot found water and he ran up a double-bogey seven.

Bob has no time to dwell on last week’s disappointment and will be hoping the good memories of last season’s third place finish in Dubai will see him teeing it up for all four rounds this week.