Joint leader MacIntyre’s true grit in Hamburg
ROBERT MacINTYRE dug deep to stay at the top of the leaderboard but found himself joined there by home favourite Bernd Ritthammer heading into today’s final round of the Porsche European Open.
The Scot shot a flawless 65 on Friday to start the third round with a four-shot advantage at 11 under par, but he saw that lead evaporate at the turn as he carded two bogeys, while playing partner Ritthammer rolled in two birdies.
The Nuremberg native and MacIntyre bogeyed the 10th to drop to eight under before Ritthammer showed nerves of steel to hit back and birdie the 11th and 12th to surge two shots ahead.
However, the German let MacIntyre and Ryder Cup star Paul Casey back in to the mix following successive bogeys at the 14th and 15th.
However, the final pairing regathered their composure to birdie the last and move one shot ahead of world No17 Casey at Green Eagle Golf Courses.
‘Things didn’t go my way today,’ admitted MacIntyre. ‘I fought well until the end.
‘It doesn’t matter where I am on the leaderboard, bottom or top, every point counts. I showed my fight and to birdie the last was huge to get a tie for the lead.
‘It’s just about the belief. I’m going to go out there tomorrow and play my best golf. If it’s enough, it’s enough. If it’s not, it’s not.
‘We are always going to learn and today was a huge learning experience.’
Casey, who led after the first round in Hamburg, rolled in five birdies but blotted his card with two bogeys to sit in solo third, while Spaniard Pablo Larrazabal and Austria’s Matthias Schwab are one further back on seven under.
GREAT Britain and Ireland take a 7-5 lead into day two of the Walker Cup at Royal Liverpool. The home side came out on top in the afternoon singles 5-3 after the morning foursomes ended 2-2. There are 12 points up for grabs to conclude the event today.