Ring-rusty MacIntyre still has enough craft to stay in contention

The low hum of commuting cars queued up both ways on the nearby A446 and the occasional squawk of ducks was the audible backdrop instead of cheering crowds to Robert MacIntyre’s return to action in the UK.

The European Tour had hoped the British Masters at the Belfry could be a test event for the return of fans to the fairways.

But with so many foreign players and caddies present, the government wanted an abundance of caution, in that ubiquitous phrase of the lockdown.

MacIntyre, with former world No 1 Martin Kaymer and rising Danish star Rasmus Hojgaard as partners, started at the short par-four 10th.

No player wants to start a round with double Ryder Cup qualifying points on the line attempting to drive over water to a tight green at a short par four, so no one was taking it on.

MacIntyre parred there, then hit to four feet at the 11th and holed it for birdie.

But the three-weeks-off rustiness started to show fairly quickly after that. There were a couple of missed chances, a messy six at the long 15th (his sixth) which included a leftward drive into the trees, a free drop, a clatter among the branches and to one observer “five poor shots in a six”.

At 18, where a new back tee had Kaymer’s jovial Scottish caddie Craig Connolly growling, MacIntyre groaned loudly as his second shot went under the tree where Team Europe celebrated so wildly at the Ryder Cups of yore.

It was a groan of disappointment rather than despair.

He thought he’d a hit a pearler, but misjudged the wind and it went long. A beautifully judged chip to a foot and a half saved par.

One the back nine, it was pars all over and one birdie at the fourth.

A birdie putt from the front edge after being bunkered off the tee burned the hole edge, but it was a one-under 71 for the day.

“I really didn’t play great,” MacIntyre said afterwards. “I putted great, didn’t drive it great, felt like there were a few slack irons.

“The score is still there to get, delighted to walk off there one under par.”

One aspect of MacIntyre’s US sojourn was he found he couldn’t stop the ball on the firm greens there. That has resulted in a new set of irons, which have a better “dispersion of distance”, he said. There’s a lot of science that goes into this unseen.

The purpose of this week’s return, however, is to be ready for next week’s US PGA Championship at Kiawah Island.

“A tough track is what I’m here for,” he said. “You hit a bad shot you get punished, hit a good shot you get rewarded.

“I’m a bit ring rusty but the game’s not too bad, there’s a couple of things to sharpen up, there’s a couple of thing visually to see better, but on the way.”

Robert MacIntyre was not at his best but shot a 71.