Smylie Kaufman has shared what he believes Robert MacIntyre arguably does better than most players after his dramatic win at the Scottish Open at the weekend.
Robert MacIntyre would have been the pick of many to shine at The Renaissance Club after the Scot was beaten by one shot by Rory McIlroy in the Scottish Open last year.
MacIntyre was able to go one better this time around, making a brilliant birdie of his own on the last to beat Adam Scott by one. The 27-year-old actually went into the final three holes level par of the day, before eagling the 16th and making three up the last to secure his second win of the season.
It has definitely been a turbulent season for MacIntyre, with the Ryder Cup star missing nine cuts already. But he has now also won the Canadian Open and the Scottish Open heading into the final major of the year.
What Robert MacIntyre does better than most after Scottish Open win
So he may have slightly mixed feelings about the year so far. And speaking on The Smylie Show, Smylie Kaufman admitted that there is not one standout aspect of MacIntyre’s game – apart from the way he capitalises when he is performing well.
“It seems that Robert is feast or famine a bit, and when I’ve watched him play, it’s definitely good. It’s nothing great considering all the other players that I watch in week-in, week-out. I think he does a lot of stuff really well, but it’s nothing that just catches my eye if that makes sense to you. There’s nothing that just is like a huge strength in his game,” he said.
“He’s just a player that when he’s playing well, he’s able to take advantage of weeks in which everything feels well, he’s a guy that misses plenty of cuts, he seems to take advantage of his good weeks better than most players, which I don’t know if that’s more about playing weekends, or more about once you get to Saturday, okay finally the pressure’s off for making the cut, and is able to go out and play with some confidence.”
Scot will be gaining more and more belief
MacIntyre’s performance at the Ryder Cup in Rome last year almost mirrors how he has played for much of this season, with the Scot clearly appearing to be nervous in the early stages alongside Justin Rose.
However, he really appeared to grow into the competition and went on to finish unbeaten as Europe regained the trophy.
He seemed to really struggle after moving to the PGA Tour this season, appearing to find the adjustment much more challenging than others have potentially found it. But he will surely be growing in confidence that he can compete with the very best on a regular basis.
And given his age, there is no reason why he cannot improve considerably in the years to come.
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