Ryder Cup winner ‘expected’ Robert MacIntyre’s undefeated debut

Stephen Gallacher says he was not surprised to see compatriot Robert MacIntyre have an undefeated Ryder Cup debut last week.

The Oban man won two and a half points from a possible three in Italy, and Gallacher argues his game is built for the big occasions.

Speaking at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, Gallacher told bunkered.co.uk: “I thought Bob did great to go undefeated. I expected that from him, he’s a big-time player.

“He plays well in the big events, in the majors, and he showed it at the Scottish Open.

“The team he was with were a great bunch of lads, so I’m sure they would’ve kept him going.”

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Gallacher, who was a part of the winning team at Gleneagles in 2014, was the last Scot to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup before MacIntyre.

The 48-year-old was one of Paul McGinley’s captain’s picks, although failed to win a point on his first start in blue and gold.

Gallacher had his own captaincy success last week, though, as the Scot led Europe’s Junior Ryder Cup team to a dominant 11-point victory.

And he was every bit as impressed with Luke Donald last week, who made the correct calls to ease MacIntyre’s nerves.

He said: “I think it was a great pairing (with Justin Rose), it looked as if they got on really well and clicked.

“Justin’s a stalwart and was the oldest guy there, so to put him out with a rookie made total sense.

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“I think Justin is a captain at some stage, but he’s still playing that great, so I think Luke would be great again. The players obviously know what he’s like, and you’ve got to listen to them, really.

“They are the ones in the team room and around him 24/7 for a week and the year before it. It’s a huge effort for Luke, not just the week, so he’s obviously done something right.”

Rose and MacIntyre teamed up to tie their match against Max Homa and Wyndham Clark on Friday afternoon.

MacIntyre had another morning rest before returning to see off Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth alongside his English partner-in-crime.

The 27-year-old’s dream week ended with a singles triumph over 2023 U.S. Open champion Clark.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.