Former Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley insists it is only a matter of time until Bob MacIntyre breaks his duck and wins a major championship.
MacIntyre will tee it up at The Masters this week in terrific form as he seeks to end Scotland’s 27-year wait for a men’s major winner.
Now firmly established as one of the game’s elite players and ranked inside the world’s top 10, the Oban left-hander is strongly fancied to contend for the Green Jacket.
MacIntyre is in a good place during practice at Augusta National
The Scot’s short game is a major strength and key around Augusta National
MacIntyre narrowly missed out on victory at last week’s Texas Open and also finished in fourth place at the recent Players Championship at Sawgrass.
Having finished as runner-up in last year’s US Open at Oakmont, he is knocking on the door when it comes to winning one of the game’s biggest prizes.
McGinley believes his competitive spirit along with his world-class talent will see MacIntyre, who tees off tomorrow evening at 6.44pm British time alongside world No 1 Scottie Scheffler and Gary Woodland, will win a major very soon.
‘He is trending towards doing something really big in the game,’ said the Irishman, who captained Team Europe to Ryder Cup victory at Gleneagles in 2014.
‘I think it’s a matter of time before he wins a major championship. He’s had a couple of top-10s now in the majors.
‘He’s getting closer and closer and becoming more regular at the top of these leaderboards.
‘It’s a matter of time before he bangs down the door or the door opens for him.
‘The thing that stands out for me, though, is his heart, his love of the battle. He’s not afraid. He’s comfortable in that position.
‘There was a reason why Luke Donald had him down the order on the Sunday at the Ryder Cup last year.
‘I’ve no doubt that if it came down to that very last game with him on the course (at the Ryder Cup), we would have fancied our chances with him coming through.
MacIntyre came close to winning last week’s Valero Texas Open at San Antonio
‘It speaks volumes for what his peers think about him under pressure and I think he’s trending towards winning one of these majors. I really do.’
This will be MacIntyre’s fourth appearance at The Masters. He finished tied for 12th on his debut in 2021, tied for 23rd in 2022, before missing the cut last year.
That means he has played only 10 competitive rounds at Augusta, with many of his peers being vastly more experienced around this course.
But Augusta is a course where left-handers have tended to do well, with Mike Weir, Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson winning six Green Jackets between them since 2003.
McGinley, who will be working at Augusta National as an analyst for Sky Sports, noted: ‘Left handers have had a lot of success around there.
‘Getting it around the corner on holes like 10 and 13 is a lot easier to do with a cut as a left handed and than it is with a draw.
‘There’s definitely a correlation between left-handers having more success around there than they do on any other golf course or any other venue.
‘I also think Bob is an excellent putter. Like I say, I think he is trending towards doing something really big in the game.’
