Why Bob MacIntyre has reason to be excited as stats paint revealing picture

The one in question at that particular time was the Genesis Invitational, the tournament hosted by Tiger Woods, and, as Hideki Matsuyama came out on top at Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles, MacIntyre probably felt he was a long way off being able to compete on what are now the PGA Tour’s showpiece stages.

Not any more, though. Not after landing his maiden win on the circuit in the RBC Canadian Open last June. And not after he then backed that up by pulling off a sensational win in the Genesis Scottish Open, becoming the first home player since Colin Montgomerie in 1999 to claim that coveted crown.

On the back of those victories, MacIntyre finished 17th in last year’s FedEx Cup Standings and, in doing so, secured spots in all eight of this season’s Signature Events, with this week’s Genesis Invitational, which is being held at Torrey Pines in San Diego after it was moved from Riviera Country Club following the devastating wildfires in LA, being No 3.

In the first one, the 28-year-old finished in the top 15 in The Sentry in Hawaii before then ending up in a tie for 40th in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. In both cases, the venues for those events were new to him and, consequently, he had good reason to feel satisfied with each effort.

In fact, it’s been a solid all-round start to the 2025 campaign for him, having now made four cuts in four starts in the US, finishing joint-sixth behind Thomas Detry in his latest outing in the WM Phoenix Open in Arizona on Sunday. “Played some really solid golf overall,” he declared of that performance in a post on social media.

It was also a very positive week indeed in terms of PR work, having not only worn an Oban Celtic shinty shirt when he tackled the infamous par-3 16th at TPC Scottsdale but throwing a few into the crowd as well in a bundle that also included a $20 note with a note effectively saying that the drinks were on him.

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What a brilliant idea that was and it should certainly have been noted by those who were quick to criticise the left-hander last year for writing the score from the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome on his caddie’s bib when playing in the Valspar Championship in Florida because, although some people didn’t see it, that was actually just a bit of fun on his part.

Through MacIntyre himself having made no attempt to hide it, it was no secret, of course, that he wasn’t having much fun at all, really, as a PGA Tour player this time last year, which, of course was mainly down to life on the US circuit being completely different to what he had been used to on the Challenge Tour initially then the DP World Tour.

There will never be any doubt that he’d always prefer to be at home on his beloved west coast of Scotland but, helped, admittedly, by his success and status in the US having been elevated - he’s now in marquee groups and no longer worrying if he’ll get rounds finished - MacIntyre has adapted to his new working environment.

A good example of that was in December in the Hero World Challenge in the Bahamas, where he was comfortable in the company of host Tiger Woods and multiple major winner Justin Thomas at a fun event in the build up and then looked very much at home out on the course alongside, for example, former FedEx Cup winner Patrick Cantlay.

In comparison to the likes of him, of course, MacIntyre is still learning the ropes at the very top of the game. This week marks just his 59th start on the PGA Tour, though his career earnings on the circuit, having made an impressive 43 cuts to this point, already exceed $8.5 million.

He’s banked close to $690,000 already this season and, even at this early stage of the campaign, it’s interesting to delve into his stats on the PGA Tour website and see why he’s now a top-15 player in the world, having jumped back into 14th spot after climbing three spots on the back of his WM Phoenix Open performance.

He’s ranked tenth in strokes gained both off the tee (0.647) and tee to green (1.290) but, as MacIntyre himself would be the first to admit, there’s room for improvement in other areas of his game.

For instance, while he is ranked fourth for approaches from 150-175 yards, he’s then 135th from 50-125 yards and 144th inside 100 yards. Scrambling, which, at 60.61 per cent, puts him 99th, could also be better.

Then there’s putting, which, as anyone who follows what he’s had to say about his game will know, is the one area that causes him way more frustration than anything else. Currently standing at -0.356, that has him ranked 137th in terms of strokes gained in that department while his average number of putts per round so far is 30.06.

There’s been signs, though, that things are starting to fall into place through the work he’s been doing on his putting with Mike Kanski, a new addition to his team. For example, he’s played his last 87 holes without a three-putt -his best streak on the PGA Tour - and it’s now just a case of becoming more successful with his first attempts.

In his 16 rounds so far, MacIntyre has already made 83 birdies, but he’s yet to make an eagle and that’s something he’ll be aiming to change over four days on the South Course at Torrey Pines, where, incidentally, the Scot tied for 35th there in the 2021 US Open.

Exciting times indeed for MacIntyre and a ‘signature’ success or even something bigger could be next on the cards.