Robert MacIntyre fights back to win Scottish Amateur

Credit: Kenny Smith.

• Robert MacIntyre clinches Scottish Amateur Championship
• Defeats Daniel Young in a match which went right to the wire
• “I just kept telling myself not to give up,” said MacIntyre

Robert MacIntyre produced a stunning comeback to lift the Scottish Amateur Championship title at Muirfield, defeating Daniel Young in a final which went right down to the wire.

The Glencruitten teenager, who turns 19 today, was 4DN against Craigie Hill’s Young after the first 18 holes, but fought back magnificently to clinch his maiden victory at Men’s level in Scotland by two holes.

He also becomes the first left-handed player in living memory to win the flagship event, tasting victory on the same course where fellow ‘lefty’ Phil Mickelson famously lifted the 2013 Open Championship.

“I believed I had a chance this week” – Robert MacIntyre

“It feels unbelievable,” said Scottish Golf Academy graduate MacIntyre, who emulates past Scottish Amateur winners like Colin Montgomerie and Stephen Gallacher. “It’s my first victory at Men’s level in Scotland so I guess it’s not a bad one to win, probably the best. I went out onto the range after lunch and felt I was hitting it good, so just took it out to the golf course.

“It feels great to be the first left-hander in living memory. I believed I had a chance this week, coming in with a relaxed mindset. It got me through so far and I just had to dig deep in the final. I just kept telling myself not to give up.”

CONTINUES BELOW…

Credit: Kenny Smith.

And he certainly didn’t give up, despite being firmly up against it after opponent Young, the reigning South African Amateur winner, gained a substantial 18-hole lead.

But by the 27th hole, it was all-square after MacIntyre played that nine-hole stretch in one-under, but Young edged ahead once more with an immediate birdie at the 28th^.

MacIntyre went ahead for the first time in the match at the 31st but in an engrossing match to watch, MacIntyre’s bogey at the 32nd levelled the showdown again, before the Argyll & Bute teenager decisively went one up when Young missed from four feet at the 35th before he clinched the win on the final green.

“I felt I didn’t play as well as I did in the afternoon compared to the morning” – Daniel Young

Speaking afterwards, a disappointed Young, who played his second 18 in seven-over, said: “I was in a position to push on and win but I’ve said all week that two, three or four up is nothing round a course like this. You can be easily pegged back.

“I felt I didn’t play as well as I did in the afternoon compared to the morning and gifted him a few holes, especially on the front nine. But don’t get me wrong, Bob played awesome in the afternoon and never gave me anything. He holed out brilliantly from six feet and in. It is disappointing just now, but I suppose it’s a good week in the end and it’s still been a good year for me.”

Robert MacIntyre :: Scottish Amateur champion

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