A weekend to forget for Bob MacIntyre at USPGA Championship

After the most promising of starts at the USPGA Championship, Robert MacIntyre’s bid to contend in the second major of the year came up well short after a hugely disappointing weekend in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

Speaking after his level par first round on Thursday, the Oban man inadvertently predicted the troubles that would befall him at the weekend, saying: ‘Out there is absolutely brutal. If you’re not striking your ball the way you want to strike it and having the right shot shapes, you’re not going to do well. It’s as simple as that.’

There were no sign of the imminent weekend woes after a solid second round of 71 on Friday saw him maintain his record of making the cut in all nine majors in which he has played – a truly remarkable record. Going into Saturday within striking distance of the leaders, hope were high that he could significantly improve on his midway position just inside the top 30.

Unfortunately Bob’s earlier assessment of the toughness of the course proved horribly accurate as temperatures dropped, the wind got up and the left-hander’s hopes were blown off course on the front nine on Saturday. After going out in 42, any hope of contending was gone and Bob would eventually card a disappointing 80 to plummet down the leader board.

It was always going to be tough going on Sunday after the events of the previous day and a final round of 76 rounded off an extremely tough 48 hours in Tulsa. The tournament was eventually won, after a play-off, by America’s Justin Thomas, a full 22 shots ahead of Bob.

With a US Open, Scottish Open and the 150th Open Championship all coming up in quick succession, Bob and his team will be working hard to get his game into shape to allow him to build on his promising starts and play himself into contention in the big tournaments, as well as arrest his fall in the official World Golf Ranking where he now sits 84th, a long way from his career high position of 42nd just over a year ago.