Just seven days after helping Europe secure victory at the Ryder Cup in New York, Bob MacIntyre pocketed $816,000 by claiming the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship title in Scotland.
The World No. 9 golfer topped a celebrity-packed field on home soil, with fellow Ryder Cup stars Tommy Fleetwood, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Tyrrell Hatton also competing. It comes after Fleetwood set his sights on two Team USA stars in the world rankings.
LIV Golf heavyweights Dustin Johnson and Brooks Koepka were among the other major names participating in the $5 million tournament, staged across the legendary courses of St. Andrews’ Old Course, Carnoustie, and Kingsbarns.
Severe weather conditions on Saturday forced organizers to cancel play and reduce the competition to three rounds only, but MacIntyre made the most of the shortened format. The Scottish star cruised to an impressive 18-under-par total, crushing Hatton by four strokes to claim the championship.
MacIntyre’s confidence was evident from his opening tee shot, setting the tone for a dominant performance. Recording a six-under-par 66 at St. Andrews during Sunday’s final round, MacIntyre confessed afterward that his expectations were modest heading into the week. He was still recovering from Europe’s celebratory festivities following their Bethpage Black triumph.
The champion touched down less than 24 hours before his opening round and acknowledged his preparation had been subpar, especially regarding his eating habits.
Reflecting on how he found the stamina to compete this week, MacIntyre responded: “To be honest, I don’t know. I had a laugh when we were driving the buggy back down to the clubhouse.
“I’ve done everything against the book this week, from preparation, I pitched up Wednesday afternoon. I know the golf courses. Played 12 holes on Wednesday.
“The diet has not been good this week; I can confirm that. I’ve eaten plenty of takeaways, fish and chips, plenty of others. But sometimes when you are least expecting it, things happen. When I won in Canada [in 2024], everything that I wanted to do, I didn’t do. Yeah, here we are this week.”
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The triumph marks MacIntyre’s second victory on home turf following his Genesis Scottish Open triumph last year, and he understands the significance of savoring his achievements.
However, he admitted the celebration for this triumph is unlikely to surpass the festivities that followed Europe’s 15-13 victory over Team USA at Bethpage.
“It’s brilliant. I don’t know how we’re going to celebrate after the celebration we had last Sunday. We’ll try our best. I don’t know if it will be tonight.
“But over the next couple of weeks, we’ll have a nice celebration. Look, any time you can win, it’s difficult to win, and yeah, it’s just a beautiful end to go a good week. Unbelievable. Any time you can win a golf tournament on these shores is special, but just delighted the way I did it. Played really nice over the three days, and yeah, here we are.”