Latest news with #Oban
Daily Record
3 hours ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Gritty Bob MacIntyre can be Ryder Cup 'street fighter' as golf guru delivers message to US
Scots star won't be stressed by the New York taunts says ex-pro Golf guru Mark Roe reckons street fighter Bob MacIntyre can fight fire-with-fire at The Ryder Cup. And fellow ex-pro and presenter and Rob Lee joked the Oban ace should put his shinty stick in the bag in case it gets tasty at Bethpage. MacIntyre is bound for New York with his place in Luke Donald's European team all-but secured by the Top 10 finish at The Open which backed-up his runner-up showing at last month's US Open. The Scottish star is second in the qualification points list behind Rory McIlroy and destined for the date against the United States. Donald's stars expect to be given a tough time by the rowdy New York crowds who will be pumped up to back their host team, but Roe, who is now a short-game coach and TV commentator, said: 'He won't be intimidated, McIntyre. "He's got a grit about him. He's got that street fighter mentality and he'll give as good as he gets. I mean, I wouldn't be taunting him too much because he's got a little bit of fire inside him and I like that.' Speaking on the Sky Sports Gold Podcast, Lee smiled: 'If I was Bob, I would take my 14 clubs and my shinty stick and put that in the bag in case things get really rough on Long Island! That's what I would do! McIntyre won't care. Tough as old boots.' MacIntyre's Portrush push where he finished tied-seventh has put him in prime position to retyrn to the team after a winning debut in Rome. The 28-year-old will return to the United States for the Wyndham Championship next week before taking his place in the Fed-Ex play-offs, with his ranking of 15th meaning he's also set for the Final of that in Atlanta. MacIntyre stayed World No.14 after Portrush and, with another huge Major result on the CV, he says he's streets ahead of the golfer he was even a year ago. He's ready to go for the rest of the season with The Ryder Cup in sight and, speaking after his final round at The Open, he said: 'My job is to qualify by automatic so that Luke can do what he wants with the picks. "I feel like the last two Majors have put a massive dent in that and it's just keep going, play golf, do what you do. Good golf takes care of The Ryder Cup. 'I can't be far away now. There's going to be, for me, three or four tournaments I play from now until the finish and, if I do my job well, I should be in that team. I'll have about five, six days off, then I'll fly to the States for the Wyndham. That should be me secure for East Lake now, so it'll be the three play-offs and then get ready for a bit of carnage!'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Scottie Scheffler eases to four-shot win in The Open
It was never in doubt really. When the world No 1 extended his healthy overnight lead to five shots after just two holes of the final round, the fat lady was packing up her microphone, flinging her crumpled song-sheet into the bin and heading off to find another gig. Garry Harvey, the Scot who chisels the champion's name onto golf's most cherished clump of silverware, was probably on a Stena Line ferry back across the water by the time Scheffler got through the fifth. Job done. Even the rare stumble of a double-bogey on the eighth – he had to give the rest something to cling to, didn't he? – was no great cause for concern. Normal service was swiftly resumed. In typical Scheffler fashion, he bounced back with purposeful aplomb and birdied the very next hole. You half expected the R&A high heid yins to wheel a trestle table out to the ninth green and do the prize giving ceremony there. In the end, the unflappable, relentless 29-year-old signed off with a three-under 68 - his fourth sub-70 round of the week – for a 17-under aggregate of 267 and won by four shots from his American compatriot, Harris English. To be truthful, the margin of victory felt like it should've been greater, such was Scheffler's majesty and his magnificent front-running. At one stage early on in the final round, he had extended his advantage to a whopping eight shots. In fact, he was so far ahead of the rest, he may as well have been playing in the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. As Scheffler ambled off into the distance at the top of the leaderboard, the golf writers were eagerly leafing through the record books and wondering if he would beat the 13-shot winning record set by Old Tom Morris at Prestwick way back in 1862. From just 24 major starts as a professional, Scheffler has four major titles on his cv. With two Masters green jackets, a US PGA crown and now The Open, he's already three-quarters of the way to the career grand slam. It's a remarkable career. In the eyes of Xander Schauffele, the defending Open champion who shared seventh with Rory McIlroy and Oban's Robert MacIntyre, Scheffler is the king of all he surveys. 'I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger (Woods) come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,' said Schauffele of a man who has racked up 14 wins in his last 38 events. The praise and plaudits may be tumbling forth, but Scheffler himself is not a fan of comparisons with the 15-time major winner Woods. 'I still think they're a bit silly,' said the new champion, who is only the second world No 1 after Woods to win The Open. 'Tiger won, what, 15 majors? This is my fourth. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf. He was inspirational for me growing up. But I don't focus on that kind of stuff." In his pre-championship press conference earlier in the week, Scheffler delved deep into the pointlessness of golf in the grand scheme of life. 'Why do I want to win The Open Championship so badly?,' he said during an existential examination. 'I don't know because, if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes.' Surely this was awesome for more than 120 seconds? 'At the end of the day, there's more to life than playing golf,' said Scheffler whose faith and his family remain his driving forces. 'I'm pretty excited to go home and celebrate this one. But we're going to start all over in Memphis (his next event), and we're all back to even-par. The show goes on.' Take Scheffler out of the equation and this would've been a thrilling Open Sunday show as the rest jockeyed for position on a bunched up leaderboard. The charging Bryson DeChambeau certainly generated a buzz with a terrific seven-under 64 to barge into a tie for 10th. As salvage operations go, this was up there with the raising of the Mary Rose. After the wreck of his first round 78 on Thursday, it looked like the American would sink without trace. By Sunday afternoon, the former US Open champion was shipshape and Bristol fashion. Hats off to him. The 31-year-old basically gave Scheffler a 10-shot head-start after that opening day of toil and trouble. DeChambeau was 16-under for his next 54-holes, the second lowest three-round tally in Open history. It would've done well at a LIV event, eh? McIlroy, six shots behind Scheffler heading into the closing round, had spent the evening before watching 'Oppenheimer', the film about the fellow who oversaw the development of the nuclear bomb. He was probably thinking that an atomic strike was the only way to stop Scheffler. McIlroy, urged on by a huge home support, couldn't conjure the fireworks the galleries craved and his 69, which featured a deflating double-bogey on the 10th, left him seven shots behind the winner. 'I know I wasn't the fan favourite today,' said Scheffler with a smile as he snuffed out hopes of a McIlroy fairytale with another ruthless display. English, who was also second to Scheffler in this year's PGA Championship, closed with a 66 to take another runners-up spot while Chris Gotterup, fresh from his Scottish Open win a week earlier, completed a brilliant Open debut with a 67 and finished third. Wyndham Clark's 65 vaulted him into a share of fourth with Matthew Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li. Like everybody else, though, they were footnotes in the Scheffler success story. 'Scottie's in a league of his own right now,' said the aforementioned DeChambeau. 'I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good, so he's figured out a lot of stuff since then.' He certainly has.
The National
2 days ago
- Sport
- The National
Scottie Scheffler eases to four-shot win in The Open
Whatever you want to call it, Scottie Scheffler produced it here at Royal Portrush to win the 153rd Open in a quite emphatic fashion. It was never in doubt really. When the world No 1 extended his healthy overnight lead to five shots after just two holes of the final round, the fat lady was packing up her microphone, flinging her crumpled song-sheet into the bin and heading off to find another gig. Garry Harvey, the Scot who chisels the champion's name onto golf's most cherished clump of silverware, was probably on a Stena Line ferry back across the water by the time Scheffler got through the fifth. Job done. Even the rare stumble of a double-bogey on the eighth – he had to give the rest something to cling to, didn't he? – was no great cause for concern. Normal service was swiftly resumed. In typical Scheffler fashion, he bounced back with purposeful aplomb and birdied the very next hole. You half expected the R&A high heid yins to wheel a trestle table out to the ninth green and do the prize giving ceremony there. In the end, the unflappable, relentless 29-year-old signed off with a three-under 68 - his fourth sub-70 round of the week – for a 17-under aggregate of 267 and won by four shots from his American compatriot, Harris English. To be truthful, the margin of victory felt like it should've been greater, such was Scheffler's majesty and his magnificent front-running. At one stage early on in the final round, he had extended his advantage to a whopping eight shots. In fact, he was so far ahead of the rest, he may as well have been playing in the 154th Open at Royal Birkdale. As Scheffler ambled off into the distance at the top of the leaderboard, the golf writers were eagerly leafing through the record books and wondering if he would beat the 13-shot winning record set by Old Tom Morris at Prestwick way back in 1862. From just 24 major starts as a professional, Scheffler has four major titles on his cv. With two Masters green jackets, a US PGA crown and now The Open, he's already three-quarters of the way to the career grand slam. It's a remarkable career. In the eyes of Xander Schauffele, the defending Open champion who shared seventh with Rory McIlroy and Oban's Robert MacIntyre, Scheffler is the king of all he surveys. 'I don't think we thought the golfing world would see someone as dominant as Tiger (Woods) come through so soon, and here's Scottie sort of taking that throne of dominance,' said Schauffele of a man who has racked up 14 wins in his last 38 events. The praise and plaudits may be tumbling forth, but Scheffler himself is not a fan of comparisons with the 15-time major winner Woods. 'I still think they're a bit silly,' said the new champion, who is only the second world No 1 after Woods to win The Open. 'Tiger won, what, 15 majors? This is my fourth. I think Tiger stands alone in the game of golf. He was inspirational for me growing up. But I don't focus on that kind of stuff." In his pre-championship press conference earlier in the week, Scheffler delved deep into the pointlessness of golf in the grand scheme of life. 'Why do I want to win The Open Championship so badly?,' he said during an existential examination. 'I don't know because, if I win, it's going to be awesome for two minutes.' Surely this was awesome for more than 120 seconds? 'At the end of the day, there's more to life than playing golf,' said Scheffler whose faith and his family remain his driving forces. 'I'm pretty excited to go home and celebrate this one. But we're going to start all over in Memphis (his next event), and we're all back to even-par. The show goes on.' Take Scheffler out of the equation and this would've been a thrilling Open Sunday show as the rest jockeyed for position on a bunched up leaderboard. The charging Bryson DeChambeau certainly generated a buzz with a terrific seven-under 64 to barge into a tie for 10th. As salvage operations go, this was up there with the raising of the Mary Rose. After the wreck of his first round 78 on Thursday, it looked like the American would sink without trace. By Sunday afternoon, the former US Open champion was shipshape and Bristol fashion. Hats off to him. The 31-year-old basically gave Scheffler a 10-shot head-start after that opening day of toil and trouble. DeChambeau was 16-under for his next 54-holes, the second lowest three-round tally in Open history. It would've done well at a LIV event, eh? McIlroy, six shots behind Scheffler heading into the closing round, had spent the evening before watching 'Oppenheimer', the film about the fellow who oversaw the development of the nuclear bomb. He was probably thinking that an atomic strike was the only way to stop Scheffler. McIlroy, urged on by a huge home support, couldn't conjure the fireworks the galleries craved and his 69, which featured a deflating double-bogey on the 10th, left him seven shots behind the winner. 'I know I wasn't the fan favourite today,' said Scheffler with a smile as he snuffed out hopes of a McIlroy fairytale with another ruthless display. English, who was also second to Scheffler in this year's PGA Championship, closed with a 66 to take another runners-up spot while Chris Gotterup, fresh from his Scottish Open win a week earlier, completed a brilliant Open debut with a 67 and finished third. Wyndham Clark's 65 vaulted him into a share of fourth with Matthew Fitzpatrick and Haotong Li. Like everybody else, though, they were footnotes in the Scheffler success story. 'Scottie's in a league of his own right now,' said the aforementioned DeChambeau. 'I played with him a lot in college, and he was not that good, so he's figured out a lot of stuff since then.' He certainly has.
Daily Record
2 days ago
- Sport
- Daily Record
Bob MacIntyre harshly marks his top 10 finish at The Open and shows the world his insatiable desire to win
The Scottish star says the frustration he feels despite another huge result in a big one provides more concrete evidence he's on the way Bob MacIntyre believes it's a matter of time before he wins a Major. And the Scottish star says the frustration he feels despite another huge result in a big one provides more concrete evidence he's on the way. MacIntyre produced a barnstorming Sunday back-nine at The Open to rocket up the standings and grab a fifth Top 10 finish at a Major. The Oban ace backed up his stunning runner-up show at last month's US Open with another sterling Royal Portrush performance which has surely sealed his Ryder Cup spot. It was another quality display after Oakmont and MacIntyre: 'I know I've got the game. I feel like it's a matter of time, if I just keep piecing it all together. 'This place is statistically a golf course that I should have been sharper. There's certain holes this week that were vital and I played them poorly. 'Top 10, but to contend, I just wasn't sharp enough and then, the tough holes, that's where the dropped shots came and ultimately cost me a real chance. 'I'm finishing top 10 in a major and being frustrated with certain parts of my game. Things are good and I've just got to wait my turn. 'After US Open, it was important for me to come back here and, obviously coming from last week I changed my preparation to feel more comfortable in what I was doing. This week I've done everything exactly the same as I would do in the States. I felt comfortable. 'I obviously want to win, but Top 10 in the world, very close to it. There's a lot of massive things, FedEx. I just want to improve every year on what I've done.' MacIntyre's performance has surely booked his seat onto the European flight for Bethpage and he admitted: 'I think it has now. I thought after the US Open it might be done. I've got four more tournaments or three more before the deadline, but I want to qualify automatically. Three more goes and we'll, hopefully, do that. 'Again, I was coming out here trying to win the tournament, but I knew I was too far back [starting Sunday]. It was just jockey for position, pick up whatever you can.' MacIntyre was just a debutant when he finished tied-sixth at Portrush six years ago and he's maturing towards the finished article. He continued: 'I'm a far better equipped golfer. I feel like in another week and I piece these things together, one shot, two shots, four shots, they're massive in these tournaments. "For me, looking now, it's been a great performance, a good result. But it's another kind of reassurance that I'm in the right place.' MacIntyre knew he had to stay calm through the irritation of his final-day front nine to ensure the power-packed finale and said: 'Yeah, I was frustrated early on. The bogey on four was stupid. Sloppy, being too aggressive. Obviously I didn't birdie five and then I just had to keep saying to myself: Just stay patient, there's a good finish there if you can stay calm and just pick up the shots where you can and hope that the putter warms up and putts start going in. Thankfully that's what happened. Obviously chipped in one.' It was another example of his ability to push on at the right times as he continued: 'Was it Valhalla last year? I think I eagled the last and finished Top 10, so that was my big learning. 'I remember somewhere before that I was in with a chance, threw the kitchen sink at it, disaster, and then the next week was there and it was staying patient. Nothing was happening, stay patient, stay patient, eagle the last, Top 10. 'I go away from it because I'm human and I lose the plot every now and again and I come back to it, but it is so difficult for me to stay patient, stay calm. I was getting annoyed out there early on through five, six holes. But it was just wait on your run. It will come. 'It might not come this week, but then go into next week and it's just let it happen. It's easy enough to force it, and when you force it, errors come.' MacIntyre was roared up the last by the Portrush public and said: 'This is my favourite Open venue. To be brutally honest, I love the course, love the place. Not far from home as the crow flies. Shame it's not here every year! But no, it's been unbelievable. The support has been brilliant. Again, the course is in unbelievable shape.' MacIntyre has played lots this term, but the juices are flowing and he said: 'When I'm driving it this well, you feel like you can absolutely demolish golf courses when you've got it, when you can shape it, you've got control of it. 'You feel as though it's just around the corner, a win is around the corner. It's difficult to win, but you feel it when you've got the driver going the way it is. That's why I keep going. But then I run out of energy at some point. 'But no, after the Playoffs there will be a little break, Wentworth, we'll piece together the plan for Bethpage.'
Scotsman
2 days ago
- Sport
- Scotsman
'I feel like it's a matter of time' - Bob MacIntyre on latest eye-catching major performance
Scot backs up runner-up finish in US Open with a top ten at Royal Portrush Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... It wasn't to be on this occasion in terms of achieving his ultimate goal in the game, but, nonetheless, it's official. Bob MacIntyre is now a bona fide major contender and can't wait for the game's biggest events to come around again in 2026. Runner-up in last month's US Open at Oakmont, the Oban man backed up that brilliant effort by tying for seventh in the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush. In 19 major appearances, he has now recorded five top-ten finishes. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Bob MacIntyre acknowledges the crowd on the 18th green at the end of the final round in The 153rd Open Championship at Royal Portrush |for HSBC 'Yeah, I know I've got the game,' said MacIntyre of taking another big step in his bid to make the ultimate breakthrough in the game by producing eye-catching back-to-back performances in the events that measure careers. 'I feel like it's a matter of time, if I just keep piecing it all together.' It had been a 'frustrating' final round for the 28-year-old as he stood at level par for the day on the 12th tee, having offset birdies at the second and seventh with bogeys at the fourth and tenth. His patience was well and truly rewarded, though, over the closing stretch, which yielded four birdies, including a chip at the 14th, and also a run of five straight 3s. 'This place is statistically a golf course that I should have been sharper. My wedge play was really poor this week and some dropped shots ultimately cost me a real chance,' he said in assessing his seventh-place finish. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad That was just outside where he ended up on his major debut here in 2019 but, asked to compare then and now, he declared: 'I'm a far better-equipped golfer. It's been a great performance, a good result. It's another kind of reassurance that I'm in the right place.' His place in Europe's team for a Ryder Cup defence at Bethpage Black in September has been well and truly nailed down. 'Yeah, I think it has now,' said the 2023 rookie in Rome. 'I thought after the US Open it might be done. I've got three or four more tournaments before the deadline, but I want to qualify automatically and we'll hopefully do that.' Those tournaments are the three FedEx Cup Play-Offs, starting with the FedEx St Jude Championship in three weeks' time then the BMW Championship and season-ending Tour Championship. He'll then turn his attention to the DP World Tour before and after the Ryder Cup. Bob MacIntyre of Scotland reacts to leaving a birdie putt agonisingly short at the 18th in the final round |'I feel like the schedule that I've been playing for the last three months has been absolutely hectic. I feel I've hardly had a break. But that's part of the job. Keep going. When you're playing well, just keep going,' said with a smile. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad On the back of his emergence as a global star over the past year and a bit in particular, MacIntyre was cheered every step of the way at a venue he openly admits is his 'favourite links course in the world'.
