MacIntyre has minerals says Tour mate and will deliver big-time at Ryder Cup

11:32, 20 Jun 2025Updated 11:43, 20 Jun 2025

Bob MacIntyre

Brandel Chamblee reckons Bob MacIntyre’s drone move was moment was the knew the Scottish star was set to join the elite.

The Oban hero has rocketed up the world standings and taken another huge step in is career after a brilliant runner-up finish at the US Open.

MacIntyre was denied at the death at Oakmont when victor JJ Spaun holed a monster putt on the final green of the tournament to snatch the title. The Tartan star’s response to the heartbreak was to applaud and that, in itself, brought him a new army of fans with Chamblee, an ex-Tour pro and now respected TV broadcaster, blown away at the levels of sporstmanship shown.

But Chamblee has pointed back to an incident during MacIntyre’s run towards a maiden PGA Tour win in Canada 12 months ago as the time when he could see for himself that the kid was destined for glory. MacIntyre took issue with an on-course drone buzzing above his head as he took shots in his final round and ordered its removal before going to lift the trophy.

On the performance and applause at Oakmont, Chamblee said: “What a moment that was. What a phenomenal round of golf, almost good enough to win a US Open and to see him react that way. Look, the average Tour pro three putts more often from 32 feet than they make it, so your odds are more likely that you are going to three putt from 32 feet than you are going to make it. 64 feet is twice that. So Robert, you’re sitting there, you’re thinking: He’s probably got a 10 per cent chance of three putting this, Maybe more. I’ve got a chance, I’m still in this. Then he makes it and his initial reaction is to applaud him. That’s the height of sportsmanship right there. Can’t say enough great things about Robert McIntyre.

“He got up on 17 and, not unlike JJ Spaun, and hit a fabulous tee shot. I think I heard him say, be right, or be the right club. And I thought, golly. And then he striped it on 18 as well, so I can’t say enough nice things about him. I was a fan before. I’m a bigger fan now. I’ll never watch him again without thinking about that [applauding] moment.”

Speaking on the Sky Sports golf podcast, Chamblee then gave his Canada recollection and added: “There was a moment last year when he was contending in the Canadian Open, and he eventually won it, where I was so impressed with his ability in the moment because the drones were bothering him. You remember this? Look, drones are a thing and everybody likes them, I like them and they’re great, but for him to have the clear-headedness to back away and say: I’m not hitting this shot until you move that drone, I thought that just spoke volumes about his belief. And look, it’s a trend, i’s so easy just to say, everybody’s doing this, I’m going to look bad if I persist and say I’m not hitting this shot. No, he didn’t. He didn’t do it in a mean way at all, he moved the drone, and he hit it, and he went on to win. And then he won the Scottish Open. Those were great moments.

Bob MacIntyre

MacIntyre’s fellow pro Matt Wallace also poured praise onto the Scot during the show and said: “Yeah, he’s got minerals. He’s not afraid to win as we’ve seen. I think the win in Canada really gave him a belief. When you get that win amongst the crowd that you’re against, you can go: Well, I’ve done it. I can win anywhere now. And so that was just another notch in his career that he’s going to get into.

“He’s a phenomenal, phenomenal ball-striker, underrated ball-striker, probably. Stats will show some things, but from a pure ball-striking perspective, he gets club on ball out of the middle very, very often. We’ve got the same putting coach. I know it’s been part of his weakness where he’s trying to improve on that a lot and the guy’s ballsy. It’s always nice to be able to do that in the moment and he wasn’t shying away. He produced at the end.”

MacIntyre’s display has rocketed him up the Ryder Cup points standings and he looks set to play for Europe against United States in September at Bethpage having made a winning debut in Rome. Wallace has a bold prediction on New York as regards the Scot as he said: “Just on the Ryder Cup, I watched them in the last one with Rosie [Justin Rose] in Rome and Bobby was kind of a little bit shaky, which is obvious. Rosie really helped him along. Trust me, Bobby McIntyre will deliver at this Ryder Cup because he isn’t afraid of anyone now.”