Weekly PGA Recap: MacIntyre Catches Fire

This article is part of our Weekly PGA Recap series.

Imagine wanting something more than anything else in the world and coming so close only to have it ripped away from you at the last possible moment?

That's what happened to Robert MacIntyre a year ago at the Genesis Scottish Open, his national championship.

Rory McIlroy hit a shot for the ages on the 18th hole, so remarkable that it was commemorated with a plaque at Renaissance Club.

A year later, MacIntyre is in line for his own plaque.

The 27-year-old Scotsman hit a 248-yard shot from the thick stuff to six feet on the par-5 16th to set up an eagle putt, then birdied the 18th to win by one shot over a gallant Adam Scott. 

It was a startling finish that was a year in the making. MacIntyre birdied 18 last year. He and the Scottish gallery figured they were looking at no worse than a playoff. But then they had their hearts ripped out by McIlroy and his 2-iron from 202 yards that set up a decisive birdie.

MacIntyre's incredible shot was not without controversy. He had actually hit a terrible tee ball into trouble on 18. On a practice swing where he was simply preparing to hack it out into the fairway, he accidentally stepped on a sprinkler head. After discussions with a rules official, he was given a free drop and it altered the course of the tournament.

"I think I lost my voice after the scream on that hole," MacIntyre said. "I thought I was short. Look, I've put a lot of work into this. I've changed a lot within the team and I've just worked hard. I wanted The Scottish Open. The crowd has been unbelievable. Look, I got a bit of luck on 16 that you need a bit of luck to win golf tournaments. I couldn't believe when I heard a spring under my foot where my spike is at and I'm like no way. It was covered, and I thought, I got lucky; it was meant to be."

MacIntyre has now won twice in the past month, having captured the Canadian Open at the start of June, and instantly will become a strong consideration this week at the Open Championship, which will also be played in his homeland at Royal Troon. He already has two top-10s in his Open career, and now he is playing the best golf of his life.

The only issue will be getting ready. The win in Canada was so big for him that he blew off a signature event the next week – the Memorial – to return home to Scotland to celebrate.

Now, MacIntyre has to make sure the party ends by the time he tees off on Thursday at Troon. It won't be easy.

"It's incredible," he said. "I mean, next week is a new week but I tell you, I'm going to celebrate this with my family, friends, and everyone here. I'm going to celebrate this one hard. We'll pitch up to The Open when we pitch up to The Open."

MONDAY BACKSPIN

Adam Scott
The 43-year-old Scott had what would've been his first victory in more than four years ripped away by the Scottish tidal wave that was Bobby Mac and his 3-3-3 finish. Scott last won on Tour at the 2020 Genesis Invitational. In fact, that's been his last win on any world tour. Scott is set for his 93rd straight major championship this week. Not many think he has a chance to win, but his stock surely rose after his play at Renaissance Club.

Romain Langasque
The 29-year-old Frenchman will head into his third Open with strong momentum. He finished solo third at the Scottish, and was T9 at the BMW International the week before. Langasque has not played in a major this year. But he made the cut at both Opens in 2023, including a T33 at Royal Liverpool.

Rory McIlroy
In his first appearance since the disastrous finish at the U.S. Open, McIlroy played very well, showing his golf game is ready for next week. He tied for fourth. As for his psyche, that's still TBD.

McIlroy ranked second in both Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Around-the-Green, which is a great omen for the Open. He was only 63rd in SG: Putting, but that might not hurt him if the rest of his game is in order.

"I haven't played links golf since Hoylake last year, so it was good to get back on a links course for the first time," McIlroy said. "Got to play in a little bit of wind today. It's still not much but a little more than we had. Yeah, just getting acclimatized to the shots that you need, and maybe I don't think the speeds of the greens are going to be too dissimilar next week, as well. So just trying to adjust to that.

"Overall, I feel like my game is in really good shape heading into the final major of the year."

Ludvig Aberg
Aberg became a bit unglued and a bit exposed on the back nine on Sunday. After leading or being close to the lead all week, he stumbled on the back nine into a tie for fourth. Most concerning has to be his chipping heading into the Open Championship. Aberg flubbed a chip on the par-5 16th and wound up doubling the hole, ending his chances to win. He shot 73, his worst round of the week. That was the sixth time in his past seven made cuts that his worst round was the final round. That's a concern.

Collin Morikawa
Morikawa had another close-but-no-cigar week that at least kept him in great form heading into the Open. He tied for fourth.

Sahith Theegala
Theegala had been slumping into the summer. But he tied for fourth, giving him his first top-10 since April at the RBC Heritage, where he was runner-up. Theegala has a short game that, when on, is good enough to navigate links golf.

Sungjae Im
Im's great run of high finishes continued this week with a tie for fourth. But he has been terrible in the majors this year (three MCs) and his Open Championship history has been almost as bad.

Wyndham Clark
After fast start to 2024, Clark has slowed precipitously. And he's been terrible in the majors. But he offered hope with a great Sunday in Scotland, shooting an 8-under 62 to climb the leaderboard into a tie for 10th.

Victor Perez
Perez has been having a decent year as a rookie on the PGA Tour and it continued this week with a tie for 10th.

Matteo Manassero
The Italian burst upon the scene as a 16-year-old in 2009 and won low amateur at the Open Championship. But his career never took off. Now 31, he recently qualified for just his seventh Open and first in five years. Manassero will head to Royal Troon on the heels of a tie for 15th at Renaissance Club.

Brian Harman
A year after becoming Champion Golfer of the Year, Harman enters his Open Championship title defense on a positive note. He shot four rounds in the 60s and notched a top-25 with a tie for 21st. Over the past few years, he has figured out links golf and it would not surprise if he had another good week at Royal Troon.

Tommy Fleetwood
Fleetwood was one of the favorites coming into the week, and then more so after opening at 5-under 65. But he never got much going and ended up tied for 34th. Still, he'll be on a lot of people's short lists at Royal Troon.

Davis Thompson
The red-hot Georgian coming off a win at the John Deere opened and closed with 5-under 65s but nonetheless ended up tied for 45th. He's entering his first Open and making the cut on a links course would have to be considered a successful week.

Viktor Hovland
Hovland did shoot four rounds under par but got to only 7-under for the week and tied for 45th. He's been great in three previous Opens. But he will be challenged by Royal Troon's heavy emphasis on scrambling.

Justin Thomas
Thomas opened with a sizzling 62 to become the first-round leader. It was a shock since he has traditionally not played well in the Scottish Open (or the British Open). In the end, he couldn't break 70 again and tumbled all the way into a tie for 62nd. 

Christiaan Bezuidenhout
Bezuidenhout has been having his best season and had to be looking forward to the Open Championship. So it has to be concerning that he withdrew early in the final round with an undisclosed injury after a double-triple opening. No word yet on whether this will affect his position in the Open.

OPEN CHAMPIONSHIP

The final three berths at Troon were available to the highest finishers not already exempt. Richard Mansell, Aaron Rai and Alex Noren are going to Troon.

Aaron Rai
The former Scottish Open winner has been rewarded for his great summer run. He tied for fourth to return to the Open for the first time since 2022. He tied for 19th there in 2021. Rai has been playing great of late, including a top-20 at the U.S. Open, a runner-up at the Rocket Mortgage and a T7 at the John Deere. He will move into the top-50 OWGR for the first time in his career.

Richard Mansell
Shooting a 9-under 61 to move into a tie for 10th seems like a fun way to get into a major golf tournament. The 29-year-old Englishman will be returning to the Open for the third time after zooming up the leaderboard. He qualified for the U.S. Open last month but missed the cut. He made the cut at the Open Championship in 2021 and '22.

Alex Noren
Noren was one of the highest-ranked players to not qualify for the Masters. He got into the PGA and tied for 12th. Now, he'll be in the Open, where he has finished top-25 in six of his 11 starts, including last year. Noren used a tie for 10th in Scotland to qualify.

MISSED CUTS

Jordan Spieth, Hideki Matsuyama, Sepp Straka, Will Zalatoris, Rickie Fowler, Matthieu Pavon. We don't want to overemphasize what happens the week before a major. We won't downgrade a guy based on one week in most cases. All of these guys were at minimum predicted to make the cut in our Open Championship Power Rankings, and that still stands.

ISCO Championship

The alternate-field event in Kentucky (formerly the Barbasol) went to a five-man sudden-death playoff. Zac Blair, Pierceson Coody, Harry Hall, Rico Hoey and Matt NeSmith all tied at 22-under at the end of regulation. Blair and Hoey were out after the first extra hole. The other three went to the third playoff hole, where Hall chipped in from 45 feet for the winning birdie. The 26-year-old Englishman had been 135th in the point standings and now moved to 80th – still outside the playoffs, but he doesn't have to worry about his card for the next two years. As for that chip-in, Hall entered the week ranked 16th on Tour in SG: Around-the-Green. It came in handy.