Robert MacIntyre insists he had to overcome moments of major stress in order to cement his place in the European Ryder Cup team.
MacIntyre booked an automatic slot in Luke Donald’s side for the tournament, with a tied 55th finish at the Omega European Masters in Switzerland last weekend enough to get him over the line.
The Oban golfer had put himself in a strong position to automatically qualify through his fine form early in the season, having been marginally pipped to a Genesis Scottish Open victory by Rory McIlroy in July.
In recent weeks, MacIntyre faced a hot pursuit from the likes of Yannik Paul of Germany and Poland’s Adrian Meronk.
‘It was my only goal’
Knowing he still had work on his hands to get over the line, MacIntyre was relieved to come through a challenging period to fulfil a boyhood dream.
MacIntyre said: “We set a goal at the start of the year that I wanted to make the Ryder Cup team – it was my only goal.
“I had an opportunity to go and play some other places, but we stuck to our guns and eventually got there in the end, though it was stressful to say the least.
“It wasn’t nice. The draws I got, and everything was just putting the pressure on me. It was all done for the media and cameras to put more hype around what was going on, I suppose.
“I felt in Prague that I had full control of the golf ball until one hole on the Friday and I was like ‘right, you are going to struggle to make the cut here’ and I had to keep fighting.
Buongiorno @RyderCupEurope 😍🇪🇺 pic.twitter.com/MZt6Y8uc65
— Robert MacIntyre (@robert1lefty) September 4, 2023
“Obviously I managed a good weekend and then last week, that was the first cut I’ve made up the mountain and it’s probably the last cut I’ll make up the mountain as well.
“It’s been a difficult time up there for me and I’m just happy that I got across the line as it has been stressful.”
MacIntyre proud to stand among European elite
MacIntyre is one of four rookies in the European team, along with Ludvig Aberg, Nicolai Hojgaard and Sepp Straka.
Having staved off competition from a number of other in-form players, MacIntyre is proud to have established himself among the current European elite.
The 27-year-old added: “This is my fifth year on tour and it’s been a steady rise. The last Ryder Cup I went and pushed for my PGA Tour card and didn’t get that or the Ryder Cup.
“There’s so many good players in that age bracket between 22 and 27. There are a lot of good European players.
“There are the twins Rasmus and Nicolai Hojgaard obviously, you’ve got Alex Fitzpatrick now, Ludvig Aberg.
“You’ve got so many other guys coming up through the ranks. It is obviously good to be part of that.
“But, at the end of the day, you have just got to perform on the golf course and, if you do that, it’s all fine getting the hype. But, if you don’t do that, there is no point.”
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