Copyright scotsman
A bitterly disappointed Bob MacIntyre admitted he should have “handled it better” as an idiot in the crowd shouting in the middle of his backswing led to the Scot suffering a first Ryder Cup defeat on the opening morning of the 45th edition in New York. Having fought back from three down with seven holes to play to be all square against Xander Schauffele and Patrick Cantlay in the foursomes, MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland were bidding to make it another clean sweep for the Europeans in the first session after Luke Donald’s team had stormed into a 3-0 lead on the Black Course at Bethpage State Park. Hitting first at the par-17th and hoping to put some extra pressure on the American pairing, MacIntyre had to suddenly stop in mid-swing as someone close to the front in the grandstand behind the tee yelled out in an idiotic act. A State Trooper standing on the tee instantly moved in as other people in the stand pointed out the culprit, though no action was taken there and then due to the match hanging in the balance and MacIntyre needing to compose himself as both captains and all the other players looked on before the arrival at the Long Island venue shortly afterwards of US President Donald Trump. Unfortunately, the 29-year-old then came up short in a bunker with his tee shot, leading the Europeans to lose the hole to a par before also losing the last to end up two down at the finish after having victory in their sights. It is unknown what the fan at the tee shouted but, as he made his way up the 17th, another spectator yelled: “Good shot MacIntyre, you choker!” “I mean, you’ve got to expect it out here,” said MacIntyre, who’d been unbeaten in his three games as a rookie in the 16.5-11.5 win in Rome two years ago afterwards. “It’s what happens when the bar opens at 9.30am and we get round to there. Disappointing, but I should have done better and handled it better and hit a better shot. “It was literally in my golf swing, so I stopped because it was loud enough. I’d been speaking to Si (Simon Shanks, his coach) all week about prepare, commit, accept. I’d prepared well, I was fully committed, but the minute there was a bit of doubt, I mean, it took my whole mind away from the shot, it was that loud. Then when I went back in, the wind had picked up, I should have switched club. “It was one of those ones. You switch club, you get even more abuse. But, look, it’s part of the game, it’s part of this year’s Ryder Cup, I suppose. But the boys done brilliantly before us, 3-1 win, so if we keep winning the sessions, we’re in a good spot.” While it could have been easy for him to blame the person who shouted, MacIntyre insisted it was down to him more than anyone. “Me and Mike [Burrow, his caddie] had a discussion in the locker room, trying to dissect it, like we do every week. Just got to hit the shot that’s demanded rather than the shot that’s comfortable. I hit a lovely wedge shot into 13 and 9-iron into 16. Beautiful shots, uncomfortable because I was having to hit too much club, take a lot off it to take the spin off it. I just wish I’d done that on 17, but that’s the game we play, isn’t it?” On a morning when the Europeans created history by becoming the first side to win the top three matches on US soil - Scottie Scheffler suffered another heavy defeat in the alternate shot format after being on the end of a record 9&7 hammering in Rome - MacIntyre and Hovland had done brilliantly to dig themselves out of a hole after their team-mates had well and truly quietened the home crowd. With Jamie Murray, Andy’s brother, among a small army of Scots cheering them on, a brilliant second shot from MacIntyre at the 12th sparked a fightback, with Hovland converting that birdie opportunity from around eight feet then knocking in another birdie putt at the next from slightly further away. When Cantlay then missed a six-footer for a par at the 15th - Air Force One had flown overhead as they were on the tee there - the chance had opened up for Europe to repeat the 4-0 win in the opening session at Marco Simone Golf Club in 2023, but it wasn’t to be. “Look, it was a decent game,” admitted MacIntyre, who was clearly disappointed to lose his unbeaten record in the event but, nonetheless, was in good spirits as he chatted with some of his friends from Oban who have travelled over this week. “We gave them two holes in the first eleven and then we fought back. Viktor holed beautiful putts and then, yeah, I felt like I cost us a match on the 17th. I just hit a poor iron shot that, at this level, you get absolutely crucified for.” Though he holed a good par putt for a half at the third, that was the left-hander’s only success on the greens and, after speaking to this correspondent and a Scottish colleague, he was about to do some work on his flatstick with putting coach Mike Kanski. “I struggle at times on this sort of surface,” he admitted. “It’s the same surfaces as the likes of Torrey Pines, Pebble Beach and that. It’s not great, but we’re going to go out there, hopefully tomorrow at some point, yeah hole putts. The biggest thing is putting. For me, once you get the momentum, it doesn’t matter where you are on the golf course, you know you can play. “At the start of the round today, I was hitting nice pitches and recovery shots, nice chips. Obviously, I holed that nice putt on three, but other than that, I just felt like it was very flat. “Foursomes is difficult that way, you can go a long time without having a certain length of putt. So, no, we’ve got to stay positive. It’s not just me that’s playing here, it’s a team. We’ve got to keep the spirits high, not just for me, but for everyone.”
