Lefty MacIntyre is able to take great confidence from taking down phenom Champ
Scottish rookie professional Robert MacIntyre thumped the latest American golden boy, Cameron Champ, in his amateur days.
Now the left-hander from Oban has set his sights on making his own mark in the pro ranks after securing a dream European Tour card for next season.
MacIntyre joined Grant Forrest, Liam Johnston and David Law in graduating from the Challenge Tour in the UAE last weekend, sealing the best-ever season for Scottish players on the second-tier circuit.
The new young blood will rub shoulders with the cream of European golf, including fellow Scots Russell Knox, Stephen Gallacher, Scott Jamieson, David Drysdale, Richie Ramsay and Paul Lawrie.
MacIntyre, the Scottish Amateur champion in 2015, is relishing the opportunity and is drawing extra confidence from his GB&I Walker Cup victory over Champ 14 months ago.
The Glencruitten player defeated big-hitting Champ 6&4 in the Saturday afternoon singles at the Los Angeles Country Club, then halved their match the following day – with MacIntyre one of the shining lights for the visitors in an overall 19-7 defeat.
Champ, 23, has since strolled through Web.com qualifying to reach the PGA Tour and made a sudden impact with his debut victory at the Sanderson
Farms Championship last month.
MacIntyre said: “From playing with Cameron, you could see that when he is at his best, he is just going to be unstoppable.
“He cruised through the Web.com and now it looks like he is going to cruise on the PGA Tour.
“Even that brings confidence to your own game, seeing guys like that who I have played against – and beaten – round a course that they knew better than us.
“For sure, it gives you a shot in the arm, seeing what he has done already. It’s kind of the same steps I’m trying to take.
“I didn’t win on the Challenge Tour, but finished second twice, so I’m just going to push on and see how far I can go.”
MacIntyre, who is coached by Kingsfield-based David Burns, begins his 2019 campaign in Hong Kong at the end of this month. Given he was winning on the lower tier MENA Tour in Kuwait in just his second pro start in October, 2017, it has been a spectacular rise.
“It is a dream come true,” the 22-year-old admitted.
“Everyone sets out as a professional golfer to try to reach the top of the game and this is the first step to achieving that.
“To secure my European Tour card in my first year as a pro is even more special.
“At the start of the year, my goal was just to keep my card on the Challenge Tour.
“Once I had achieved that, I kept resetting goals and just kept on going.
“I missed four cuts at the start of the season, so it’s not all been smooth riding.
“I also missed the first event in Kenya in March, which was big money, through illness.
“It was backs against the wall before I started, but I kept fighting.”
The Scots contingent on the European Tour could be set to be further boosted with the likes of Connor Syme and three-time winner, Marc Warren, currently in action at the six-round Q School.