Robert MacIntyre helped put Europe firmly in the driver’s seat at the Ryder Cup with a win in Friday foursomes.
Alongside Viktor Hovland, Robert MacIntyre beat world number one Scottie Scheffler and number three Russell Henley to make it 8.5 – 3.5 in Europe’s favor.
Scheffler put in his best performance of the tournament so far to pile the pressure on late, and the USA looked set to tie the match on the 17th green. But Hovland’s clutch putt in the face of a noisy crowd kept them 1 Up with a hole to go, and Scheffler hit a bad approach on 18 to effectively end the match.
MacIntyre and Hovland lost their Friday morning match against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay. As the crowd grew louder on the 17th hole, that match got away from them.
The European teammates hung tough on Saturday, however, and MacIntyre revealed how he was able to handle the crowd afterwards.
Robert MacIntyre said it was ‘difficult’ to handle the American crowd
MacIntyre faced the full might of the support at Bethpage Black on the 17th green. The massive crowd reached a fever pitch as he weighed up a long putt. He rolled it close enough for Hovland to silence them, then hit a tidy approach on the 18th to end the match.
The noise looked to affect the Scotsman on Friday morning. He backed off from his shot because of heckling on the 17th. But MacIntyre was ready on this occasion. He even blew a kiss to the crowd on the 17th green on Saturday.
MacIntyre was asked what it’s like to play in the environment. He answered: “Yeah, difficult, especially when you get on this side of the road. But you know, we’ve got guys like this to back you up, the guys in the changing room, the support staff, family, friends, and our fans, as well.
“Look, we are doing this for not just ourselves but for everyone who is here. But yeah, just delighted to do it with [Hovland].”
MacIntyre is a charismatic personality, and shushed an American fan at the BMW Championship when battling Scheffler for the win this year. He lost on that occasion, but it looks like he’s learning how to shut out the noise in New York.
Viktor Hovland calls clutch putt on 17th ‘pure instinct’
Hovland’s putt was the dagger. He hit a wayward tee shot on the par-three 17th, which left MacIntyre with a long putt. MacIntyre placed the ball just close enough to give Hovland an outside chance near the fringe.
Henley missed his birdie putt, then Hovland overcame the raucous crowd to put the nail in Scheffler’s hopes of a win. He said it was all instinct.
He explained: “That was big. Hit a terrible 8-iron there to spin it back down the hill and left Bob in a tough spot there. But was glad I was able to contribute on that hole and at least secure half a point and obviously getting the job done on 18 was incredible. It was a great match all day.”
Hovland continued: “That was pure instinct. I think I went black out there for a couple seconds. You understood how much it meant, and to make a putt and secure half a point and having a lead into 18, and yeah, it was so big.
“Obviously, there’s some blue on the board already so we wanted to have another point on there.”
It could well be the moment that won the tournament for Europe. If he missed, Scheffler and Henley could well have won the match with momentum behind them, and cut Europe’s lead to three.
Instead, Team USA ended Saturday morning down five, and with a mountain to climb.
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