Bob MacIntyre hoping putter gets 'hot' in final round in Cyprus Showdown

Bob MacIntyre is hoping his putter finally turns “hot” in the final round as he bids to land a maiden European Tour victory in the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown.

Bob Macintyre tees off on the 17th hole during the third round of the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown at Aphrodite Hills Resort in Paphos. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

It was job done for the 24-year-old from Oban for the second day running under a new format in golf as he carded a four-under-par 68 at the Paphos venue.

The scores among the 32 players to progress after 36 holes had been reset, meaning that everyone still standing started out on a level footing.

The battle in the third round was to finish among the top 16 and ties, with MacIntyre progressing thanks to a round that contained an eagle and four birdies.

The left-hander holed a 52-degree wedge from 124 yards for an eagle at the par-4 second and was sharing the lead after moving to five-under for the day after 10 holes.

Back-to-back bogeys at the 15th and 16th put him under a bit of pressure before he birdied the par-3 17th to give himself a bit of breathing space down the last.

The 2019 European Tour Rookie of the Year was disappointed not to finish with a birdie, but he was safely through nonetheless as the cut fell at three-under.

“My head was going at 17,” he admitted afterwards. “The par-3 (15th) bogey was a shocker by me, just the wrong club off the tee. I was trying to hit a hard 7-iron in instead of just controlling a 6. Again, pulled a wedge into 16, wrong side of the hole.

“You’ve just got to commit to the shots you hit, that’s all you can do. Just one shot at a time. Once you’ve made the two bogeys you can even get to four or five, so you’ve just got a job to do.”

The scores will be reset again for the final round, with the 19 players still standing including 2014 Ryder Cup match-winner Jamie Donaldson and Callum Shinkwin, who won last week’s Cyprus Showdown on the same course.

“It’s just a one-round shootout,” added MacIntyre. “The putter hasn’t been too hot yet so hopefully tomorrow is the day it warms up.”

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