Luke Donald hails 'grit of Bob MacIntyre' in Europe's Ryder Cup win

Luke Donald hailed the “grit of Bob MacIntyre” as he reflected on the Scot being the only rookie on either team to be unbeaten in Europe’s win in the 44th Ryder Cup in Rome.

Bob MacIntyre is greeted by Europe's captain Luke Donald on the first tee ahead of his singles win over US Open champion Wyndham Clark. Picture: Andreas Solaro/AFP via Getty Images.

The Oban man had been ranked 24th of the 24 players on either side for the clash at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club by one American media outlet. But, after picking up one-and-a-half points alongside Justin Rose in two fourball matches over the first two days, he then beat US Open champion Wyndham Clark in the singles.

Joining Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton as the only players to be undefeated in the contest, it was a dream debut for the 27-year-old as he became the first Scot to play in the biennial event since Stephen Gallacher’s home appearance at Gleneagles in 2014.

“I was happy that Bob qualified on his own,” Donald, speaking at the team’s plush hotel in the Italian capital, told The Scotsman. “He earned it. He proved what I thought he had – great grit. He struggled on Friday, Rosey carried him a little bit. He was disappointed in himself, he really felt like he wanted to play better.

“But he grew every day. On Saturday afternoon, he started to get going, he holed some putts, his belief started to grow. Obviously he played great on Sunday. I didn't see a lot of him because I was sort of all over the place. But I told him, ‘it's not an easy place to be, in 12, the anchor match’, and at one point it looked like it might come down to Bob and he kept playing, he kept persevering, got to two up, down to one, got another back and then I think that just shows the grit of Bob McIntyre.”

It was partly due to how he took left-hander MacIntyre under his wing that Rose, who was making his sixth appearance against the Americans, won the Nicklaus-Jacklin Award presented by Aon. “I had a few conversations with him, just pay attention because your time will come probably soon,” said Donald of his fellow Englishman. “Hopefully not too soon, because he wants to keep playing. But Justin is very measured. Very good thinker, good planner. I think he’ll make a wonderful captain.

“His role was really important. I sat down with him to say I want you to play with Bob. That was the gameplan. We want to do well for the team but we also want to do well for ourselves as well. And that was a tough thing with Bob. I'm sure that was something that Justin thought about.

“Once I talked him through the whole plan, like taking Bob under his wings or whatever, you might be playing with him and playing with him a couple of times. He really embraced that. His experience was invaluable to Bob and it helped Bob grow throughout the week. Without that, you know, we might not be sitting here as winners. So, again, everyone plays a role and plays a part. And Justin was very important.”

Throughout the week, MacIntyre was mentored by Nicolas Colsaerts, who was a rookie on a winning team at Medinah in 2012. “I think Bob did really well. The first day, it was his first game in a Ryder Cup and it is such a different environment,” said the Belgian, one of Donald’s vice-captains “But we believed in him. He made some small contributions in his first match and then on the Saturday in his second match he felt a lot more comfortable. He was getting up to speed and, come Sunday, I couldn’t be any happier for him.

“It’s difficult because people have been saying he was a controversial last qualifier and that can be tough to handle. But we are all so proud of him. It’s hard if you play and you don’t win or you don’t make the contribution that you maybe expect to make. But he’s ended his first Ryder Cup with two-and-a-half points from three matches. I only got one point in my career and people think I’m a Ryder Cup legend! So Robert can be extremely proud of himself and Scotland should be extremely proud of him also.”

MacIntyre is joining two of his team-mates, Tommy Fleetwood and Matt Fitzpatrick, in this week’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship and the trio will receive warm welcomes at Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews. “It takes a couple of weeks to get back to normal because it is such a massive high that you experience,” observed Colsaerts. “But we know how good Bob can be and this can definitely be a springboard for him for the next few years. Can he play in future Ryder Cups? Of course he could. Now he’s had one, he knows what it’s like to make the team and knows what it is like to be in the team room environment. So, yes, he can be involved the next time or in the future.”