Forget England at Euros - Bob MacIntyre plans to hog Sunday limelight with Scottish Open redemption

Twelve months after being pipped by Rory McIlroy’s birdie-birdie finish in the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, the Oban man is back in the mix on the East Lothian coast and has vowed to burst a gut in the closing circuit to get over the finishing line on this occasion.

“That’s my end goal, I’ve said it from the start of the week,” declared MacIntyre after stepping up his title bid in the $9 million Rolex Series event by carding a best-of-the-day seven-under-par 63 to move to 15 under par. “The Scottish Open on a resume for my whole career is what I want.”

Standing on the 18th tee on a damp afternoon, the left-hander had stormed two shots clear of the field, having rolled in a 40-footer for an eagle-2 at the fifth and also picking up birdies at the third, fourth, seventh, tenth, 11th, 15th and 16th holes. A bogey to finish coupled with the halfway leader, world No 4 Ludvig Aberg, bouncing back strongly from a wobble early on the inward half changed the picture somewhat by the end of the day, with the Swede holding a two-shot cushion and going to be tough to beat.

But, feeling confident about his game and knowing he is going to be cheered every step of the way, MacIntyre is relishing the challenge as he gets set to roll the dice for the second year running on the final day in his bid to become the first home player to land this title since Colin Montgomerie did the trick at Loch Lomond in 1999.

“I'm delighted,” said MacIntyre of his position on the leaderboard in his first start on Scottish soil since landing a breakthrough win on the PGA Tour in last month’s RBC Canadian Open. “Look, the last is a difficult hole, whether it's flat cam, downwind, into wind, it's difficult. And, when they put the pin up that top shelf, it makes it even harder. Overall, I played absolutely brilliantly. Tee to green was solid again, rolled the putter beautifully. Just got to let it happen and it happened.”

In last year’s event, MacIntyre came up on the rails with a blistering 64 before ultimately having his heart broken by McIlroy’s stunning 2-3 sign off. With McIlroy in the hunt again, albeit five shots off the lead, and the likes of Adam Scott and Collin Morikawa also among the players he’ll have to beat to go one better, it’s going to take something special again on the last day and he’s hoping he can deliver for the home fans.

“It's brilliant and that’s all I can ask for when I'm back home in Scotland,” he said of the support that the likes of Sandy Lyle, Colin Montgomerie, Sam Torrance and Paul Lawrie all received over the years and is now being directed towards MacIntyre. “Tomorrow they're there to watch me perform and I'll give it 100 per cent and what will happen will happen. Just go out there and play 18 holes, have fun with Mike [Burrow, his caddie] and see where you end up.”

The home hero, who used his performance in this event last year to secure an automatic spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team and then be unbeaten in the win in Rome, admits it will be “difficult” to block out just how much people want him to emerge victorious on this occasion, but, as well as his game being technically sound at the moment, he is also gaining experience all the time in terms of expectation levels.

“I think I've done a really good job in the last 10-15 weeks of getting out of my own way and just let it happen,” he said. “I'm swinging it nicely, it's smooth and I can control the golf ball. I said it from the start, I just wanted to be in with a chance on Sunday and I've given myself that chance. Tomorrow is just another round of golf and I've just got to control me. And, if I do that well, then I'm going to be in with a chance.”

Earlier in the season, his putter had often misbehaved, but it’s certainly warmed up since he started to work with Irishman Stephen Sweeney. “I've been rolling it unbelievable for a while now,” he said. “I can see the ball going in, I can see the speed, I can feel the speed and I'm confident when I go over the putter.”

MacIntyre certainly impressed playing partner Scott. ”Bob's playing great and he's the local hero,” said the former Masters champion. “Scotland is fantastic and I’ve loved it my whole career but playing with Bob today was really special and trying to hang on to his coattails while he was running hot was good fun. I really enjoyed today.”

Aberg, who added a 65 to his back-to-back 64s as he continued to show why he’s taken the game by storm since missing the cut in this event last year, will have Ryder Cup team-mate MacIntyre for company in the final group. “It will be a cool pairing and I’m looking forward to it a lot,” he said. “It's fun to have an opportunity to win a golf tournament especially here in Scotland and I’m definitely excited.”

In his first event since suffering heartbreak in the US Open, McIlroy still has a successful title defence in his sights despite losing ground on Aberg after covering the last eight holes in one over. “I wish I was two or three shots better,” he admitted, “but it's another opportunity to go out there and try to win a very prestigious tournament that's got a lot of history.”