Bob MacIntyre's big boost as start of 2026 major campaign looms

That's how difficult it is for anyone to land one of the game's biggest prizes and it is something that we should all remember as the 2026 major campaign looms on the horizon, with The Masters being followed on this occasion by a PGA Championship at Aronimink, the US Open visiting Shinnecock Hills and The Open being held at Royal Birkdale.

That said, there can be no denying that Scotland has a genuine contender at the moment when it comes to the events that really matter in the sport because Bob MacIntyre certainly has both the talent and potential to become a major champion.

It was absolutely huge for the Oban man when he came close to winning last year's US Open, having posted the clubhouse target in a gruelling final round at Oakmont before seeing J.J. Spaun produce a brilliant birdie-birdie finish to leave him having to settle for second spot.

MacIntyre then gave another good account of himself when finishing in the top ten in the 153rd Open at Royal Portrush the following month and has now recorded five top tens in what is still a relatively short career in the game's marquee tournaments.

He's also now had successive top-ten finishes in The Players Championship, having ended up ninth last year and then claiming solo fourth spot in the PGA Tour's flagship event at TPC Sawgrass in Ponte Vedra Beach in Florida on Sunday.

Given that the 29-year-old had been joint-42nd and 12 shots off the lead at the halfway stage, it was a brilliant effort, having catapulted himself into contention by making nine birdies in a third-round 65 before being in with a definite chance of winning as the action unfolded on the back nine.

Make no mistake, the Pete Dye-designed Stadium Course is an absolute brute and you actually have to see it with your own eyes - as I was lucky to do for the first time a couple of years ago - to know that, from start to finish, it just never lets up.

Standing in the middle of the fairway at the par-5 16th, MacIntyre knew that if he could find the green and make a birdie, he might well have emulated Sandy Lyle's superb success in the event back in 1987, when the two-time major winner beat Jeff Sluman in a play-off.

‘Worst lie I could possibly get all week’

Alas, he came off his second shot with a 7-wood and was unlucky to find an awful lie in the rough, leaving him with a perilous chip, having to dig one out and, having no control on it, seeing it run all the way across the giant green before dropping over the edge of the wooden sleepers and into the water.

"I got the worst lie that I could possibly get all week in a kind of little valley where the mowers couldn't get to and it was six, seven inches long," he later revealed, doing well to limit the damage to a bogey before signing off with two solid pars.

In the end, he finished three shots behind Cameron Young, admitting it felt a "sore one right now" but had also been a "good week" and, rightly so, feeling proud of himself that he "gave it a shot" and had still "played aggressive but smart" on the final two holes following his untimely setback.

It’s no surprise that lots of Scots are feeling excited about what lies ahead for MacIntyre this season, starting at Augusta National, where he tied for 12th on his debut in 2021 then gave another good account of himself by finishing in the top 25 again the following year before missing the cut last year on his return to that particular stage after a two-year absence.

In six events so far this year on the PGA Tour, he’s been steady rather spectacular but making cuts is a great habit when you are playing at the top level and his worst score in 16 rounds has been a 73 while 12 of those efforts have been in the 60s.

He talked on Sunday about how he feels he is “driving it beautifully” and “putting unbelievable” and, if he can keep it that way when he heads up Magnolia Lane in just under three weeks’ time, then, yes, he could be in with a chance as be bids to try and emulate Lyle once again.

If not, MacIntyre will move on to Aronimink, Shinnecock Hills and Royal Birkdale knowing that he has the game to get himself in the major mix and that, more than anything, it’s about trying to stay patient and letting things happen rather than trying to force the issue.

Just think about Matt Fitzpatrick, for example, when he won the US Open at Brookline Country Club in Boston in 2022 and certainly don’t be surprised if he adds to that tally over the next few years because, although he was denied by Young at TPC Sawgrass, the Englishman is one of those players who thrives on big occasions.

‘Child’s play compared to Bethpage’

Though helped, of course, by the fact, they are TGL team-mates, it was very classy indeed to see Fitzpatrick masking his own disappointment to show genuine joy for Young on Sunday, when, over the past couple of holes, it felt more like a Ryder Cup as the fans starting singing “USA, USA!”

“Listen, that was literally child's play compared to Bethpage,” said a smiling Fitzpatrick, referring to the awful abuse aimed at the Europeans in last year’s Ryder Cup. “If they think that that was anything, then they need to reassess. Get yourself up to New York!”

It’s Ireland next, of course, for that event and, with Fitzpatrick, MacIntyre, Ludvig Aberg, Tommy Fleetwood, Sepp Straka, Justin Rose and Viktor Hovland all finishing in the top 15 on Sunday, then Luke Donald should be a contended European captain once again.