Justin Rose guided Robert MacIntyre through his debut at the Ryder Cup in Rome back in 2023.
The super-experienced Rose and the fiercely competitive MacIntyre took 1.5 points from the two matches they played together in the Ryder Cup at Marco Simone.
However, since then the Scot has won twice on the PGA Tour and he is more than comfortable when competing with the elite players of the game.
MacIntyre agonisingly lost out to Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship at Caves Valley last month.
However, two years ago he probably wouldn’t even have got into that position after three rounds to begin with.
Ahead of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, Rose spoke at length about the upcoming Ryder Cup in New York.
And attention turned to his 2023 partnership with MacIntyre.
Justin Rose makes prediction about Robert MacIntyre at the Ryder Cup
Rose is quite clearly a huge admirer of MacIntyre’s game, and why wouldn’t he be?
The Scot has produced in big moments over the past two years, and his 2023 Ryder Cup partner has explained how much his game has progressed.
When speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Rose suggested MacIntyre is a ‘totally different player’ now.
He said: “I think Bob is a totally different player coming into this. I think he’s one of the players we’ll look to and lean on to take it to the American team. I think he’s playing really, really well. What I love about Bob is that when it gets tough, he seems to get better. We saw that at the U.S. Open again this year. He had a great week all week but suddenly got himself into contention with about three or four holes to go, through his good play and through bogeys elsewhere. Suddenly I thought the quality of golf shots he hit on 16, 17, 18, for example, were world class.
“He seems to have that ability for the big occasions. That’s what we know about him, and or what was known, going into Rome. But in Rome, he stepped up when needed, absolutely. He grew in confidence and he grew in comfort as that week went on.
“I think as we’ve seen, he’s become — I think statistically, he’s become a better golfer as well. He looks to me like he drives the ball really well now and his short game, and especially his putting, seems spot on.
“Driving and putting match play is always a hard combination because you’re always in the hole. Because you’re playing against a good putter, it’s always challenging in match play.“
Why Justin Rose and Robert MacIntyre may not pair together at Bethpage
Both players get on very well with one another.
And the truth of the matter is that Rose and MacIntyre could well partner up once again at Bethpage.
However, Luke Donald may opt for the tried and tested method of pairing the Englishman with the least experienced player on the team, in this case Danish rookie, Rasmus Hjogaard.
Hjogaard may struggle with the raucous atmosphere at Bethpage.
It will be a cauldron of noise with the notoriously vociferous New York crowd cheering on the home team.
Rose and Hjogaard is a pairing that would make sense on paper. However, at the same time, don’t be surprised to see the Englishman and the Scot form a strong Ryder Cup partnership once again.
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