Bob McIntyre: I thought I lost the Ryder Cup to Europe

Bob McIntyre admits his illustrious experience has helped him settle down as he thought he was on the verge of losing the Ryder Cup to Europe last month.

It looked as if Europe would beat the United States in New York, but the home team resisted strongly on the final day, before the visiting team finally secured victory through a Tyrell Hatton point.

McIntyre was last out for the Europeans and as the day wore on, it looked increasingly likely that the cup might come down to the final match.

“It was terrible,” the world number eight told BBC Radio Scotland’s Saturday Show in Scotland. “There are no vice-captains, no one to walk with you except your family, friends and partners.

“It feels like it’s you and your holder versus America. When I started the race, I thought it would be over when I got to eighth, there was a lot of blue on the board.

“I got to eight or nine, and the main difference is that it’s very even, but there’s more red now. The matches that ended on the 18th kept going red and I thought ‘it’s close now’. I felt like that could be reflected in your match.”

“I missed the putt on the 15th and I honestly thought I was going to lose the Ryder Cup for us.”

“I did the exact same thing in Rome, missed a 14-point shot and thought the exact same thing – I lost the Ryder Cup.”

However, McIntyre was able to rely on the mentality he learned from the game he grew up playing in Oban-Chinti.

“I just thought, ‘What am I going to do in the Chianti game when they score a goal in the 80th minute to go 1-0 up?’” he said.

“You can’t put your head down and give up. You still have 10 minutes to come back, it’s the same in football.”