Bob MacIntyre savours 'unbelievable' St Andrews success in Dunhill Links

In the third and final round of the curtailed Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, MacIntyre grasped the opportunity to underline his status as one of the world’s top players on home soil, where he’d already experienced the thrill of winning the Genesis Scottish Open last summer.

In a westerly wind gusting up to 25mph, the 29-year-old signed off with a six-under-par 66 on the Old Course, matching his opening effort at Carnoustie on Thursday and also his second-round score in heavy rain at Kingsbarns on Friday.

Due to play on Saturday being abandoned due to Storm Amy, MacIntyre teed off in one of the early groups on Sunday, meaning he wasn’t in a position to celebrate after closing with a par just after 3pm to finish on 18 under par, though it was pretty clear that he wasn’t going to be caught, with confirmation of that coming around 90 minutes after he’d putted out.

In the end, defending champion Tyrrell Hatton finished as the left-hander’s closest challenger, albeit four shots behind, after he signed off with a 65 in the same group as his Ryder Cup team-mate. The Englishman has now won this event three times and been second three times as well.

In finishing joint-fifth, Scott Jamieson secured his DP World Tour card for the 15th consecutive season after coming into this event sitting 119th in the Race to Dubai but now up to 88th, but, in week when he either had Andy Murray in his group or in the one in front or behind him, this was further evidence that MacIntyre has established himself as the tennis legend’s successor as Scotland’s top sporting superstar.

“Unbelievable,” declared MacIntyre of his latest eye-catching performance, which came on the back of him becoming a two-time Ryder Cup winner in New York seven days earlier. “Any time you can win a golf tournament on these shores is special, but just delighted the way I did it.

“Played really nice over the three days, and, yeah, here we are. I don't know how we're going to celebrate after the celebration we had last Sunday. I don't know if it will be tonight, but over the next couple of weeks we'll have a nice celebration.”

Heading out tied for the 36-hole lead with South African Richard Sterne, MacIntyre wasted no time showing he had a first individual victory in 2025 in his sights by rolling in a 20-footer for an opening birdie before adding a second gain of the day following a lovely approach at the fourth.

Wearing a blue top and white woolly hat - “He’s like a smurf”, commented someone in the crowd later in the round - the two-time Ryder Cup winner refused to be put off by a crow that seemed determined to cause distraction to his group, stepping off his second shot before dispatching it to the heart of the green at the par-5 fifth to set up a two-putt birdie there.

That early burst had taken him three shots clear of the field and, even at that stage, it was starting to look as though the trophy would, indeed, be ending up in Scottish hands for a fourth time after Paul Lawrie won the inaugural staging in 2001 before Stephen Gallacher and Colin Montgomerie also triumphed in 2004 and 2005 respectively.

A fourth birdie of the day came from close range at the seventh and, though he would have been disappointed by having to settle for a par at the driveable ninth, the biggest roar of the day was raised from the fans up on the bank to the left of the green as a 16-footer was converted for a birdie at the next.

His lead had grown to four shots at that stage, though his two nieces Penny and Lottie - sisters Gillian and Nicola were there on this occasion after missing out on a trip to New York for the Ryder Cup - were having more fun on their pink scooters than watching Uncle Bob go about his business.

Which he continued to do in a polished manner. Bearing in mind the huge break he was faced with and also being above the hole, he made a great two-putt to save par at the short 11th before setting up birdie No 6 of the round with yet another lovely wedge shot from 88 yards at the 13th.

By the time he reached the par-5 14th, the crowd had swollen in size considerably from the front nine and, on a day when admission was free, hats off to the Scottish fans who did the right thing by turning out in force to cheer the home hero to his fourth DP World Tour victory.

Though he’d ideally have wanted to birdie that 14th hole, he ended up making one of his best pars of the year after finding a pot bunker with his second shot and having to splash out before being rewarded for taking a little bit more time over his approach at the 16th by sticking it to four feet there.

His only dropped shot of the day came from a three-putt from long range at the 17th before seeing a four-footer for birdie slip past the right edge of the hole at the last, but neither of those late slip ups mattered.

It was job done again for MacIntyre on Scottish soil and, though Rory McIlroy looks uncatchable, this win lifted him to seventh in the Race to Dubai and expect him to go into his next two events - the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and DP World Tour Championship in Dubai - will all guns blazing.