Robert MacIntyre calls himself out after early-week putter snap proves costly
Tracy Wilcox
Robert MacIntyre couldn't have asked for a cleaner final round on Sunday at the Sony Open in Hawaii. A seven-under 63 that featured seven birdies and zero bogeys. Enough to vault him into a tie for fourth, and it even briefly gave him the clubhouse lead until Chris Gotterup ran away with the tournament.
All MacIntyre could think about, though, was Friday's second round, the one that proved to be his undoing. The two-time PGA Tour winner shot a one-over 71, a round that began with an early double bogey at the par-4 second. MacIntyre did manage to claw all the way back to one under with two holes to play, then he arrived at the par-3 17th and things took a dark turn.
MacIntyre missed the green left but was able to hit a solid chip to six feet, setting up a look at par. He missed, tapped in for bogey, then snapped his putter.
If only MacIntyre had waited until the 18th, not the penultimate hole, to let his anger get the best of him. Without a putter, he missed a three-footer for par on 18, spoiling what could have been an impressive round of even par after the early stumble.
"Big, big reminder for me that attitude has got to be right for 72 holes not just 36," MacIntyre said. "Because at the end of the day my attitude cost me this golf tournament, and can't be allowing that. You got to be in the right position at the right time to a allow a round like today to finish off."
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While being disappointed about the week overall, MacIntyre was pleased with the final round. Pre-putter snap, he lost almost a full stroke on the greens on Thursday and then lost over a full stroke on the greens on Friday. With the backup flat stick, an exact replica, he gained 0.4 strokes putting Saturday and then 2.873 on Sunday, which ranked him fourth in the field.
"First two days I felt rusty, very rusty," he said. "Not around the greens like chipping whatnot. Putting was off, just routes were off. Iron play, approach play, normally I can shape it into the winds and certain shots I didn't have.
"And I'm like, I feel I've lost this. Yesterday was better. I hit 17 out of 18 greens. Really good approach play. And then today was very good approach play. Wedge play was superb. Felt like I missed in the right spots off the tee to give myself chances and I putted beautifully."
Dating back to the Charles Schwab Challenge last May, MacIntyre has now finished inside the top 20 in eight of the last 12 events. The Scotsman appears poised for another big year, so long as he can keep the mental side in check.
"A massive reminder of attitude has to be spot on. Last year I felt like I done a great job of that," MacIntyre said. "I think expectations first two rounds have kind of affected me with that, but, yeah, starting to manage it better. Obviously nice when you're playing well. It's easier to manage. Something I really got to switch on for the rest of the year."