After coming desperately close to a famous victory on home soil last year, Robert MacIntyre moved to the glorious cusp of redemption with a seven-under-par round of 63 at the Genesis Scottish Open.
It was Rory McIlroy who brilliantly — and agonisingly — denied the local hero then, with a birdie at the 72nd hole, but the defending champion could only cling to contention here on a damp afternoon at the Renaissance Club that belonged indisputably to MacIntyre, who will start two shots behind Ludvig Aberg in the final group.
The 27-year-old claimed his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Canadian Open last month but has made no secret that failing to ever win this event would haunt him in retirement. That threat is still miles off on the North Sea horizon, but MacIntyre played with spectacular urgency in a round featuring seven birdies and an eagle to afford himself another golden chance to end the 25-year wait for a Scottish champion since Colin Montgomerie lifted this trophy.
“You can’t hide from it,” MacIntyre said. “No one can else play 18 holes for you. It’s on me. I’ve just got to go and enjoy myself tonight, have a nice dinner with the family, and come out tomorrow with the same attitude and be ready for anything.
“The Scottish Open on my résumé is the one I want. That’s not going to change tomorrow, but I’ve just got to go and play golf and let it happen. I can’t force it. There are so many good players chasing me down and golf will be golf. I’ll try my best.”
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It will still require a seismic effort to deny Aberg, who rallied impressively after consecutive bogeys on the back nine with three birdies in his last six holes to post a round of 65, and the remarkable composure the 24-year-old Swede has demonstrated ever since turning professional a year ago assures that he is unlikely to be daunted by a raucous partisan crowd.
“It was not the most stress-free golf but it was a good score. I’m pleased with the way I hung in there,” Aberg said. “It looks like I’m playing with Bob as well. It will be a cool pairing.”
Adam Scott is three back on 14 under, while Collin Morikawa, Sahith Theegala, Im Sung-Jae and Antoine Rozner are all one shot further adrift. McIlroy is on 12 under but was left to rue a sloppy finish to his round — a constant theme of his return this week — after missing three consecutive birdie putts from about eight feet before a bogey at the last left him five shots to recover.
“The birdies dried up,” McIlroy said. “[I need something] similar to what Bob did today. You get off to a good start, and you sort of try to ride that momentum. I didn’t get off to quite as fast of a start on the front nine today, but that’s what I’m going to need tomorrow. I need to be at least three under through five to get myself right up there.”
MacIntyre bravely laid bare his struggles with homesickness after joining the PGA Tour earlier this year, but he has since emerged from that slump emphatically, finishing eighth at the US PGA Championship before his emotional victory at the Canadian Open with his father, Dougie, on the bag. MacIntyre revealed earlier this week that he will base himself back home in Oban once his rent in Florida expires in August, and his round here in sodden conditions was a blood-pumping reminder that there is no place quite like home.
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Roared on by a hardy home crowd, whose spirits remained immune to the rain, MacIntyre began his charge with a birdie at the par-five 3rd. A wonderful approach beckoned another at the 4th before he drove the green at the short 5th. MacIntyre’s 43ft eagle putt there prompted roars that reverberated loudly around this corner of the East Lothian coastline and, after he rolled in another birdie at the 7th, the excitement began to harden into belief.
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MacIntyre was tied for the lead and he rode that momentum into the back nine as another putt dropped from 18ft at the 10th. The 11th hole is ostensibly the second toughest on the course — a brutish 468-yard par four — but it was navigated with ease for a second consecutive birdie. A three-putt bogey from the fringe at the 12th grated but MacIntyre retrieved it with another fantastic effort at the 15th and the generous par-five 16th coughed up another birdie. Another three-putt at the tricky last left MacIntyre a little irked, but it may not just be England that are celebrating come Sunday evening.
“It’s brilliant,” MacIntyre said. “To come home and have the home support, I said from the start, I just want to be in with a chance going into Sunday and I’ve given myself that.”
Leaderboard
-17 L Aberg (Swe) 64, 64, 65.
-15 R MacIntyre (Sco) 67, 65, 63.
-14 A Scott (Aus) 67, 65, 64.
-13 C Morikawa (US) 65, 66, 66; S Theegala (US) 66, 65, 66; Im Sung-Jae (S Kor) 63, 67, 67. A Rozner (Fr) 65, 64, 68.
-12 E van Rooyen (RSA) 67, 67, 64; R McIlroy (N Ire) 65, 66, 67; M Manassero (It) 67, 63, 68.
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Genesis Scottish Open
Final round
The Renaissance Club, North Berwick
TV Sky Sports Golf, from 3pm
