Bob MacIntyre 'gave it a shot' in bid to join Sandy Lyle in landing Sawgrass success

The Oban man had started the weekend sitting 12 shots off the lead in a share of 42nd spot before leaping into contention on the back of a seven-under-par 65 in Saturday’s third circuit at the Ponte Vedra Beach venue.

Keeping his foot to the floor in the final round, he was in the thick of things throughout the back nine as Swede Ludvig Aberg, who’d been out in front since Friday, found water at both the 11th and 12th holes.

As Matt Fitzpatrick took over at the top of the leaderboard, MacIntyre’s hopes of victory were effectively dashed when, faced with a treacherous third shot from the rough at the left of the par-5 16th, he couldn’t stop his ball from getting wet at the other side of the green.

The 29-year-old, who was bidding to emulate Lyle’s victory in the PGA Tour’s flagship event in 1987, did well to limit the damage there to a bogey before closing with two pars to sign off with a 69 for a ten-under-par total.

“It was stressful,” admitted MacIntyre, who finished fourth, improving on his ninth-placed effort 12 months ago, afterwards. “I was actually struggling to eat early in the back nine.”

This effort came on the back of a second-placed finish in last year’s US Open and he added: “It's where I want to compete. Obviously last year was a big kind of wake-up call for me in order to know that I can really compete at the top end of world golf. I had a chance today to do something very special that obviously Sandy was the last one to do it from our country.

“Yeah, in the middle of that back nine I really thought I was in with a shout. The way I'm playing, driving it beautifully, putting unbelievable, it was just a matter of getting that ball inside 30 feet and then look out. Yeah, just disappointed with the (two) bogeys on the back nine, but, yeah, I gave it a shot.”

American Cameron Young, runner up in the 2022 Open at St Andrews, claimed victory on 13 under, making a brilliant birdie-2 at the 17th then seeing playing partner Fitzpatrick finish with a bogey.

Rory McIlroy, the defending champion, closed with a 71 to finish on level par, admitting he was pleased to get four rounds in after he’d teed up on this occasion without a practice round due to him nursing a sore back. “Yeah, happy I got through four days and my body feels good,” he reported.

He’ll now turn his attention to another title defence in The Masters, hinting he might tee up in either the Houston Open or Texas Open before heading to Augusta National in three weeks’ time.

“I'll see,” he said. “I haven't really made a decision either way. I'll see how my body feels. We'll see how I feel in practice and at home and if I get itchy feet at home maybe add an event at some point.”