What Luke Donald had to say about Bob MacIntyre as Ryder Cup points battle starts
‘To win an event that was like his major – the Genesis Scottish Open – was really good to see’
In the immediate aftermath of last year’s Ryder Cup in Rome, European captain Luke Donald spoke positively about Bob MacIntyre’s debut in the biennial event and rightly so. The Oban man, after all, was unbeaten in three matches, including an important last-day singles win over Wyndham Clark, the US Open champion at the time.
It was no secret, though, that MacIntyre, who’d be the first to admit it, was carried by Justin Rose in their first fourball outing together at Marco Simone Golf Club on the outskirts of the Italian capital and also leaned heavily on his more experienced playing partner when they were sent out again in the same format on the second day.
In short, you got the feeling that MacIntyre probably came away from that match with something to prove to Donald following the Englishmen’s fully-deserved re-appointment for next year’s clash at Bethpage Black in New York in terms of being the finished article, but not any more.
Not after landing a brilliant breakthrough win on the PGA Tour in the RBC Canadian Open in June then adding the Genesis Scottish Open a few weeks later, becoming the first home player to land the title since Colin Montgomerie in 1999. And not after joining the likes of Rory McIlrkooy, Ludvig Aberg, Viktor Hovland and Shane Lowry in being among the 30 players to qualify for this week’s PGA Tour season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.
“I’d hope that the experience he got from the Ryder Cup and handling the pressure of a Ryder Cup, which he obviously did, has really helped him,” said Donald, speaking to a small media group at The Belfry ahead of this week’s Betfred British Masters, which marks the start of the 2025 European qualification process, of MacIntyre. “He didn’t feel as comfortable as he wanted on the greens more than anything in Rome, but he kept persevering and grinding and I think having Justin by his side really helped.
“I think he was able to draw off some of those experiences and high-pressure situations in Canada and in Scotland. To win an event that was like his major was really good to see. Him getting his card and playing on the PGA Tour, he had his struggles, but it probably helped his game playing against some of those guys and playing on different courses meant he maybe had to change his approach a little bit. I think playing in different places in general is good for your game and now he is playing at East Lake this week.”
Having seen not only MacIntyre but also Sepp Straka and Nicolai Hojgaard make his team in Italy after playing in the Hero Cup in Italy earlier in the year, Donald is delighted that particular exercise is being repeated in the build up to Europe’s trophy defence across the pond next September.
Called the Team Cup on this occasion, it will again be held at Abu Dhabi Golf Club in January, when Francesco Molinari will once again captain a Continent of Europe side, winners the last time, while Rose will be at the helm of a Great Britain & Ireland team, both in playing capacities as Donald oversees the proceedings.
The teams will comprise the leading four available Continental European and GB&I members from the final 2024 Race to Dubai Rankings, with the five remaining players on each side being selected by the respective captains in consultation with Donald.
“Yeah, I would love for him to come over,” added Donald of MacIntyre, who currently sits fourth in the season-long DP World Tour standings but, like both Straka and Seamus Power for the 2023 encounter, would face a mammoth journey from Hawaii to the Middle East if he took up his spot in the PGA Tour’s winners’ event, the Sentry Championship in Maui the week before the Team Cup.
“With the Hero Dubai Classic on a great golf course at Emirates Golf Club the next week, having a two-week stretch in the Middle East isn’t out of the question for some of these guys, but he [MacIntyre] will obviously be going to Maui, so we’ll have to see how much he loves the travel over from there.”
Tyrrell Hatton, who signed for LIV Golf after being a member of the triumphant team in Rome, is playing in the Betfred British Masters, which is being hosted for the second year running by Nick Faldo. The Englishman, who teed up in the Hero Dubai Desert Classic in January before his switch to LIV, needs to play in four DP World Tour events in total before the end of the season to retain his all-important membership for the Ryder Cup and Donald is delighted to see his compatriot at the Sutton Coldfield venue this week.
“Look, I am excited to have as many players as I can to choose from and to be eligible and I am glad that Tyrrell is playing this week,” he said, having admitted that a move to a single qualifying points list for next year’s match had been about simplifying the process, which, on this occasion, will see six players qualify automatically and six receive wildcards.
“He’s obviously done everything he needed to do as per the DP World Tour policy and I hope he can be one of the guys I can look for next year as someone that is eligible.”
Donald, who is set to pay two separate visits to Bethpage Black over the coming couple of months, was asked if he had any concerns about Hatton’s fellow LIV Golf player, Jon Rahm, being able to fulfil the membership requirement, with the Spaniard’s wife just about to give birth and him having talked about that being a potential problem in terms of playing those four events.
Stressing that he’d not be making any exceptions, Donald said: “I've had many conversations with Jon.He absolutely knows what the deal is. Nothing has changed from last year. I think he knew when he signed for LIV what the policies were on the DP World Tour. You have to play your four. Per all the policies, he can pay the fines or he can appeal like some of the guys have, and that gives him the opportunity to do that.
“He knows that. It's really up to him to do that, and I hope very much that he wants to do that and become eligible. He certainly mentioned at the PGA Championship (in May) that he was willing to do whatever it took to commit to me and the team. Again, I hope that happens.”
Comments
Want to join the conversation? Please or to comment on this article.