MacIntyre: Ryder Cup 2023 is my No. 1 goal

After the routing of last week there were some positive noises coming from the European camp and Bob MacIntyre is already setting his sights on Rome 2023.

The Scot was an outsider for a pick but came up just shy after a run of blank weekends but he is already beginning to sharpen his focus towards making his Ryder Cup debut.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen from here to Rome but that is high on my list,” he said. “Now I’ve got two years to achieve it, and just turned 25. This year I was close but I was also trying to achieve other things. As much as I was trying to get on the Ryder Cup team, golf is an individual sport, and for me I was trying to get my PGA Tour card, and that’s what’s best for my career.

“But no, Rome is top of the list. Come the start of next season, there’s going to be goals set, and I’m 100 per cent sure that Rome is going to be top of the list for a two-year goal.”

The last time any Scot featured in the matches was 1999 when both Paul Lawrie and Colin Montgomerie were on the same side at Brookline and MacIntyre believes that there might once again be a couple (or more) of his countrymen on the team.

“I personally think that there will be at least one of us [Scottish players], if not two, maybe three of us. We have got the guys, we have got the support around us. I’m not just saying that because there’s three of us in the same management team. But you see the results. The results speak for themselves. Calum [Hill] is on a trend that’s rocking. Grant [Forrest] is obviously in great form.

“And then there’s me, as well, and I’m fully expecting to be there in two years’ time and we support each other as much as we can. If someone is doing well — you seen Grant won Calum just missed out, there was a celebration on the green, even though Calum is disappointed. We’re all behind each other, pushing each other.”

MacIntyre is currently ranked 54th in the world with Hill 109th and Forrest 183rd – there is also Martin Laird (133) to consider if he can regain his best form.