Bob MacIntyre bemoans 'pathetic' tee-to-green play in frustrating Sawgrass start

Scottish No 1 facing fight to make cut in The Players after disappointing first-day 74

Bob MacIntyre branded his tee to green game as “pathetic” after setting out feeling confident in the first round of The Players Championship only to come off TPC Sawgrass feeling deeply frustrated.

The Oban man had talked earlier in the week about how pleased he’d been about his driving and iron play since becoming a new PGA Tour card holder this season and felt he was just waiting to get his putter working. That happened to a certain extent in the opening circuit of the 50th anniversary of this event but, lo and behold, it coincided with him having an off day with the other parts of his game.

Signing for a solitary birdie, MacIntyre had to settle for a two-over-par 74 and now faces a battle in the second circuit in his bid to be around for the weekend in an event that could be pivotal as far as his hopes of playing in next month’s Masters are concerned. “Yip,” he replied to being asked by The Scotsman if it was fair to say it had been a frustrating day. “I managed to find a bit of putting then you three-putt (costing him a double-bogey 6 at the seventh) and just can’t hit a fairway or a green when it matters. To be honest, it was absolutely pathetic tee to green today. I hit a bad tee shot down seven, take my medicine and pitch it out and knock it on to 20 feet and three putt it. It’s like ‘yeah, it’s a bad three-putt’, but I felt I putted decent overall. My iron play was dreadful, but I just need to move on to tomorrow.”

Bob MacIntyre in action during the first round of The Players Championship on the Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. Picture: Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images.

The 27-year-old made nine pars on the back nine but was struggling to see that as something positive, even though this is a golf course that can be very punishing indeed and demands full concentration from start to finish. “It’s probably the easiest you could play this golf course,” he insisted. “I couldn’t strike a match and it’s really frustrating when you start off the day feeling confident and everything is going well and you are thinking ‘right, let’s push into this golf tournament’ and now you are going into tomorrow just trying to make the cut. To be honest, I can’t take any positives from today other than I putted half-decent.”