The summing up was quite simple. “It’s magical,” said Robert MacIntyre. And no, he wasn’t talking about the super 65 that propelled him up the leaderboard on day three of the Players Championship.
He could’ve been, mind you. It was a terrific effort. MacIntyre, of course, was talking about the myriad delights of becoming a dad for the first time.
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Over the past six weeks, the Oban lefty has been doing a lot of coochy-cooing with baby son Findlay.
His seven-under round over the Stadium Course yesterday, meanwhile, had followers of the Scot coochy-cooing too.
This was his lowest round in the PGA Tour’s flagship event by four shots as the world No 8, who finished ninth in this showpiece a year ago, made a telling advance up the leaderboard and moved onto a seven-under aggregate
In the here, there and everywhere birl of a touring golfer, the juggle of professional and personal life ain’t easy.
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“Shannon (his partner) is doing a great job back home,” said MacIntyre, who was home and hosed just as overnight leader, Ludvig Aberg, was in the early stages of his third round.
“She’s getting sleepless nights with the wee man, but I have to come out here to do my job.
“It’s more difficult than ever being away. I’m a home boy. I love being home in Scotland.
“When he’s old enough and he’s able to travel, then they’ll be travelling (with him on tour). It’s difficult just now but it’s magical.”
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As for the golfing magic? Well, after two level-par rounds to start with, MacIntyre conjured the kind of fascinating spectacle that could’ve been accompanied by a smiling Debbie McGee.
In total, the Ryder Cup player reeled off nine birdies, three of which arrived on the closing four holes.
MacIntyre holed a raking putt of almost 40-feet on the 15th, two-putted from 60-feet on the 16th and flighted a fine tee-shot into four-feet on the perilous 17th for a trio of gains.
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“I’ve been playing well all week, and driving it beautifully, but I wasn’t taking advantage of the scoring holes when I had a wedge in my hand,” said the 29-year-old, who began his 2026 campaign with a share of fourth in the Sony Open and has had a couple of sturdy top-25s since.
“But I took advantage today.” The prospect of a Sunday surge will keep viewers back here in Scotland tuned in. Wee Findlay will be up regardless, no doubt.
Elsewhere in the early stages of day three, Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, posted a 72 for a -one-over total while Scottie Scheffler, the world No 1, fired a 67 to get to four-under.
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Still in with a chance? “Not unless it starts blowing like 30 miles an hour,” he said with a wry chuckle.
Did you know it’s only 551 days until the start of the 2027 Ryder Cup? Of course you did.
Ever since Luke Donald was confirmed as European captain for a third time the other week, you’ve been chalking off said days like a prisoner on the walls of his cell.
Poor old Keegan Bradley, meanwhile, probably required some kind of padded cell after his own captaincy ended in a 15-13 defeat to Donald’s Euro stars at Bethpage Park last autumn.
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Since then, of course, Bradley has returned to the bread and butter of being a PGA Tour player. At the Players Championship, he opened with a 77, rallied with a spirited 66 and made sure he’d be around for the closing 36-holes.
He’s still wrestling with Ryder Cup reflections, though. “I’m still heartbroken from the Ryder Cup, so I am trying my best to separate myself and move on but it’s hard,” admitted Bradley with the kind of dewy-eyed lament you’d get from someone who’s been jilted at the altar.
Back in ye day, the Ryder Cup captaincy seemed to be pretty straight forward. “Boys, let me tell you something,” said Ben Hogan to his US troops ahead of the 1967 tussle in Houston.
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“You don’t have to be a rocket scientist to do this job. I’m going to pair straight hitters with straight hitters and crooked hitters with crooked hitters, so you won’t find yourselves in unfamiliar places.”
These days, it’s a bit more complicated than that. Well, so it’s portrayed. While Donald was showered with acclaim, Bradley was pelted with criticism. The wounds remain.
“Unless you’re a captain of the Ryder Cup team, you just have no idea what goes into it and the emotional toll that it takes on you,” he said.
And you thought faitherhood was tough, eh?
