One mistake at the Ryder Cup might haunt Robert MacIntyre for the rest of his life. Even the golfer is contemplating his mistake and how he could have rectified it. Well, that’s a sign of the first stage of regret that the golfer is going through. In the first half of the Ryder Cup, MacIntyre and Viktor Hovland were the only duo who failed to win the match. That regret might be for a lifetime for Bob. 

MacIntyre, while playing a shot on the 17th, was disturbed by a spectator’s loud shout, which stopped MacIntyre in mid-swing, and later resulted in a bunker shot. Sharing about the incident, the Scottish pro said, “It was literally in my golf swing, so I stopped because it was loud enough. I’d been speaking to Si (Simon Shanks, his coach) all week about prepare, commit, accept. I’d prepared well, I was fully committed, but the minute there was a bit of doubt, I mean, it took my whole mind away from the shot, it was that loud. Then, when I went back in, the wind had picked up, and I should have switched clubs.” 

In the mid swing, a spectator yelled, “Good shot, MacIntyre, you choker!” The disturbance caused Bob to stop and start again. Although by the time he began to swing, the winds had started to pick up, it didn’t come to his notice. It would have been ideal for the golfer to change clubs, but he failed to make that decision, and the result was against his will.

Until the 16th hole, the score was tied, but on the 17th, Xander Schauffele took the lead and put the pressure on Robert MacIntyre. The Scottish golfer hit a 325-yard tee shot, but it missed the fairway.

Even though it was not deep rough, the proximity was a positive for him. But with that distraction, he ended up in the bunker just before the green and gave away the opportunity to tie the score. But despite MacIntyre feeling regret, the team has performed exceptionally, dominating the American side on their home soil.

Team Europe’s dominance despite Robert MacIntyre’s blunder

Away from the 1-up lead by Schauffele and Cantlay, the remaining three matches were in favor of Europe. At first, Jon Rahm and Tyrrell Hatton dominated the game with a 4 & 3.

DeChambeau and Justin Thomas were in the lead from the first hole, but after the 6th, the lead became tied, and it soon shifted to Europe’s lead on the 7th. After which, it was just an attempt to chase the LIV golfers of Europe. Following the win, Ludvig Aberg-Matt Fitzpatrick, and Rory McIlroy-Tommy Fleetwood also achieved the same feat.

Aberg and Fitzpatrick, with seven hole dominance, took the match with 5&3, while McIlroy and Fleetwood, with six hole wins, recorded 5&4. In fact, McIlroy and Fleetwood’s win became the biggest margin of victory over the home team in 21 years.

It last happened in 2004, when Darren Clarke and Lee Westwood also earned a 5&4 win over Chris DiMarco and Jay Haas at Oakland Hills, a triumph that helped propel Europe to an emphatic 18.5–9.5 victory.

After the first day, it seems the American team will need extra support to deliver a comeback performance on the second day. Will that be possible according to you? Let us know in the comments below.