Bob MacIntyre has ticked every Ryder Cup box - and latest one was big

If the penultimate event is anything to go by, this week’s final circuit in the battle for six automatic spots in Luke Donald’s European team for the Ryder Cup in Rome next month could potentially be the most-gripping contest in golf this year.

Bob MacIntyre strenghted his position in one of the automatic spots for the Ryder Cup by bouncing back from a quadruple-bogey 7 in the second round of the D+D Real Czech Masters at Albatross Golf Resort in Prague. Picture: Octavio Passos/Getty Images.

Heading into the Omega European Masters, which starts at Crans-sur-Sierre in Switzerland on Thursday, we now know that four of those berths for the match against the US at Marco Simone Golf Club have been secured by Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton.

McIlroy and Rahm, the world No 2 and No 3 respectively, were the first to tie down those coveted spots through a European Points list that has been running since the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth last September while man-of-the-moment Hovland – the Norwegian is the newly-crowned FedEx Cup champion after winning the BMW Championship and Tour Championship back-to-back – and Hatton have done likewise off a World Points list.

Which leaves two spots – one from each list – up for grabs in the Alps and, though inclined to say it in a whispered tone because you can never take anything for granted in sport, it is looking very promising indeed for Bob MacIntyre as he bids to become the first Scot to taste Ryder Cup action since Stephen Gallacher at Gleneagles in 2014.

The Oban man, who won the Italian Open on the Ryder Cup course last September before breathing new life into his bid to make Donald’s side when finishing second to McIlroy in the Genesis Scottish Open in July, is in pole position to finish third on the European Points list, with that particular battle having been whittled down to just six players following the D+D Real Czech Masters in Prague. German Yannik Paul, Pole Adrian Meronk, Frenchman Victor Perez, Dane Rasmus Hojgaard and Spaniard Adrian Otaegui are the others still in the the mix with 72 holes to go, but MacIntyre is the man to catch and what a performance the Scottish No 1 produced last week as he eventually ended up strengthening his position in the standings.

The 26-year-old knew exactly what was on the line as he found himself paired with Donald in the opening two rounds and it was all going to plan – he’d opened with a bogey-free five-under 66 and was three-under-par for his second circuit – before running up a quadruple-bogey 7 at the 16th hole at Albatross Golf Resort. Talk about being hit by a haymaker as he found himself heading into the weekend trailing all of his main Ryder Cup rivals and, make no mistake, a negative reaction to that untimely setback could have been very costly indeed because the competition for spots on this particular European team is very intense, which will be delighting Donald and his trusty band of vice captains.

But, from the moment he came from four down at the halfway point in the 2015 Scottish Amateur Championship final at Muirfield to win by two holes, MacIntyre showed he’s got fire in his belly on a golf course and, boy, was it impressive as he bounced back with a brace of bogey-free 66s to end up in a tie for fourth behind young Englishman Todd Clements on Sunday. Helped by a closing birdie, he leads Paul by 126 points, has a 208-point cushion over Meronk, while Perez and Hojgaard trail him by 258 points and 297 points respectively. With 393 points to make up, the task facing Otaegui is even greater in Switzerland, where the winner will get 415 points, runner-up 278 points and third 157 points.

That means if Paul wins this weekend, he’ll knock MacIntyre out of that automatic spot no matter how he fares and, as acknowledged by the man himself, the left-hander is heading to a venue where he’s missed the cut in two previous appearances. Even if that happened, though, it’s now almost unimaginable that MacIntyre wouldn’t merit one of Donald’s six picks, which will be announced next Monday, as he has surely ticked every box and, significantly, that includes showing he can fit into a team environment in the inaugural Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi – an event set up specifically with this year’s Ryder Cup in mind – back in January.

As for the spot still up for grabs off the World Points list, it’s now down to a two-way fight. Tommy Fleetwood is currently occupying it, but Matt Fitzpatrick is playing in Switzerland, so he’s still in with a chance of leapfrogging his compatriot. Either way, they are both certainties for Rome and I reckon Sepp Straka, Justin Rose and Shane Lowry will be joining them, though the latter could probably do with a strong performance this week to not only hand himself a timely confidence boost but also shut down any noise around his potential inclusion. If you add in MacIntyre, that would take it to ten and, though it certainly won’t be an easy task because all those still in contention and others, too, over the past year have delivered conclusive proof that the future of European golf is very bright indeed as it enters a new era as far as the Ryder Cup is concerned, Donald will be licking his lips about this week.

Though not entirely sure what one it will be and Nicolai, having replaced his sibling, produced the best statistics in that Hero Cup contest, I think one of the Hojgaard twins will be blooded on the outskirts of the Italian capital, where Meronk’s win in this year’s Italian Open and a brilliant year or so overall should be in his favour, though Swede Ludvig Aberg is definitely a live contender after catching the eye week after week since the former world amateur No 1 turned professional June.

Fasten your seatbelt, folks, as it’s going to be an exciting last lap.