(*65*) summing up was fairly easy. “It’s magical,” mentioned Robert MacIntyre. And no, he wasn’t speaking about the tremendous 65 that propelled him up the leaderboard on day three of the Players Championship.
He might’ve been, thoughts you. It was a terrific effort. MacIntyre, after all, was speaking about the myriad delights of changing into a dad for the first time.
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Over the previous six weeks, the Oban lefty has been doing a lot of coochy-cooing with child son Findlay.
His seven-under spherical over the Stadium Course yesterday, in the meantime, had followers of the Scot coochy-cooing too.
This was his lowest spherical in the PGA Tour’s flagship occasion by 4 pictures as the world No 8, who completed ninth on this showpiece a 12 months in the past, made a telling advance up the leaderboard and moved onto a seven-under mixture
In the right here, there and in all places birl of a touring golfer, the juggle {of professional} and private life ain’t simple.
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“Shannon (his partner) is doing a great job back home,” mentioned MacIntyre, who was house and hosed simply as in a single day chief, Ludvig Aberg, was in the early levels of his third spherical.
“She’s getting sleepless nights with the wee man, but I have to come out here to do my job.
“It’s more difficult than ever being away. I’m a home boy. I love being home in Scotland.
“When he’s old enough and he’s able to travel, then they’ll be travelling (with him on tour). It’s difficult just now but it’s magical.”
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As for the {golfing} magic? Well, after two level-par rounds to begin with, MacIntyre conjured the form of fascinating spectacle that might’ve been accompanied by a smiling Debbie McGee.
In whole, the Ryder Cup participant reeled off 9 birdies, three of which arrived on the closing 4 holes.
MacIntyre holed a raking putt of just about 40-feet on the fifteenth, two-putted from 60-feet on the sixteenth and flighted a fantastic tee-shot into four-feet on the perilous seventeenth for a trio of good points.
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“I’ve been playing well all week, and driving it beautifully, but I wasn’t taking advantage of the scoring holes when I had a wedge in my hand,” mentioned the 29-year-old, who started his 2026 marketing campaign with a share of fourth in the Sony Open and has had a couple of sturdy top-25s since.
“But I took advantage today.” (*65*) prospect of a Sunday surge will hold viewers again right here in Scotland tuned in. Wee Findlay can be up regardless, little question.
Elsewhere in the early levels of day three, Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, posted a 72 for a -one-over whole whereas Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1, fired a 67 to get to four-under.
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Still in with a probability? “Not unless it starts blowing like 30 miles an hour,” he mentioned with a wry chuckle.
Did you recognize it’s solely 551 days till the begin of the 2027 Ryder Cup? Of course you probably did.
Ever since Luke Donald was confirmed as European captain for a third time the different week, you’ve been chalking off mentioned days like a prisoner on the partitions of his cell.
Poor previous Keegan Bradley, in the meantime, in all probability required some form of padded cell after his personal captaincy resulted in a 15-13 defeat to Donald’s Euro stars at Bethpage Park final autumn.
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Since then, after all, Bradley has returned to the bread and butter of being a PGA Tour participant. At the Players Championship, he opened with a 77, rallied with a spirited 66 and made positive he’d be round for the closing 36-holes.
He’s nonetheless wrestling with Ryder Cup reflections, although. “I’m still heartbroken from the Ryder Cup, so I am trying my best to separate myself and move on but it’s hard,” admitted Bradley with the form of dewy-eyed lament you’d get from somebody who’s been jilted at the altar.
Back in ye day, the Ryder Cup captaincy gave the impression to be fairly straight ahead. “Boys, let me tell you something,” mentioned Ben Hogan to his US troops forward of the 1967 tussle in Houston.
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“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to do this job. I’m going to pair straight hitters with straight hitters and crooked hitters with crooked hitters, so you won’t find yourselves in unfamiliar places.”
These days, it’s a bit extra sophisticated than that. Well, so it’s portrayed. While Donald was showered with acclaim, Bradley was pelted with criticism. (*65*) wounds stay.
“Unless you’re a captain of the Ryder Cup team, you just have no idea what goes into it and the emotional toll that it takes on you,” he mentioned.
And you thought faitherhood was powerful, eh?
