Why Bob MacIntyre's BMW pain will be eased - $2.16m, new ranking and Ryder Cup boost

But the pain of being beaten by world No 1 Scottie Scheffler in the $20 million PGA Tour FedEx Cup Play-Off event will be eased somewhat when the Oban man lets the dust settle on his latest performance.

For starters, MacIntyre picked up $2.16 million for finishing second to Scheffler at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mill, taking his season’s earnings on the US circuit to close to $8 million.

On the back of his effort, the 29-year-old jumped from 20th to ninth on the FedEx Cup points list heading into this week’s season-ending Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta.

He’s also broken into the top ten in the Official World Golf Ranking for the first time after moving up to eighth in the global standings from 16th.

In addition, MacIntyre jumped back above both Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood into second spot in Europe’s Ryder Cup points table and will now finish there behind Rory McIlroy.

That’s because the Tour Championship doesn’t offer points and this week’s Betfred British Masters hosted by Sir Nick Faldo at The Belfry will not provide an opportunity for anyone to jump above the Scot.

Taking all those things into account, it was still a great week for MacIntyre, though he was disappointed, nonetheless, that a closing 73 for a 13-under-par total saw him lose out to Scheffler by two shots.

“I just didn't play good enough,” declared MacIntyre, who found himself on the back foot after starting bogey-bogey then dropped another shot at the par-4 fifth.

“I got off to an absolutely horrific start. I just expected jumpers on one and one. One, it's come out dead and then it's got a massive mud ball just short of the green. Hard to control the chip.

“But I just felt great going out today. I wasn't even expecting to be over par, to be honest. I was really expecting to go out there, foot down, and perform the way I had the last couple days.

“My golf ball was going miles today. I don't know why. I need to work that out. But when I got the game back in somewhat of a shape, I went over the back of the par-3s. I feel I've hit good shots, and I've gone miles.”

MacIntyre twice found himself two shots behind Scheffler on the back nine before two unexpected three-putts from the PGA and The Open champion left the door open for him only for it to be slammed shut when Scheffler produced a brilliant chip-in for a birdie at the par-3 17th.

“Walking up I think it's 15, I'm talking to myself. I wasn't nice to myself up until that point,” said MacIntyre, who was bidding to become the first Scot to win a FedEx Cup Play-Off event.

“Scottie has missed a putt, and then I'm like, right, if you were given one shot back going up 15 at the start of the week, would you have taken it? 100 percent I would have taken it. Yes, I had the lead, but it doesn't matter until the final putt on the 18th green and the 72nd hole. I still had a chance.

“When he's pitched that in on 17, hitting a great shot, and then he's hit the perfect tee shot on 18, it's pretty much game over just then. You're playing for second place at that point.”

As has been the case over the past three-and-a-half years, Scheffler barely missed a fairway or green as he signed for his 17th consecutive score in the 60s.

“Not at all,” said MacIntyre in reply to being asked if the relentless American had put extra pressure on him. “I can't control what he does. Look, if he doesn't get up-and-down on 17, my ball didn't fly two yards long, it may have been a different story.

“But, look, he's the better player on the day. I'm just really pissed off right now. Right now I want to go and smash up my golf clubs, to be honest with you.”

‘Bob should be proud of the fight that he had this week’

Scheffler admitted that MacIntyre had given him a “couple of gifts early in the round”, but, having also done “some good things himself on the front nine”, the game’s dominant player insisted the runner up had no reason to be too hard on himself.

“Bob is a great player,” said Scheffler. “I knew him making some mistakes early, he wasn't going to continue to do that all day. He was going to fight and claw his way back, which he did, and he should be proud of the fight that he had this week, and it was a good battle out there.”