MacIntyre Shakes Off Slow Play Warning & Eye Timely Omega Dubai Top-10 Showing.

Top-ranked Scot Bob MacIntyre did not let a slow play warning delay his charge towards a gutsy top-10 showing in a first event of the New Year heading to the close of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic.

MacIntyre, 23 grabbed six birdies in a five-under par 67 to sharing 13th place at five-under par on the Emirates Club course in Dubai.

Fellow Bounce Sports management stablemate, Grant Forrest leads the Tartan charge into the last round of their debut Dubai Desert Classic event and highlighting his round in birdieing four of his closing six holes, including the closing pair in a round of 69.

The Craigielaw golfer is at six-under par and five shots adrift of China’s Ashun Wu.

Wu, 34 brilliantly ignited his third round holing his second shot at the par-4 opening hole for an eagle ‘2’ in a round of 67 to lead Frenchman Victor Perez (67) by a shot and with Perez winner of last year’s Alfred Dunhill Links Championship.

Wu said: “Holing my second shot at the first was my Chinese New Year celebration.”

Defending champ, Bryson DeChambeau posted a 70 to be sharing third place on nine-under par but is struggling with a virus and admitting he could not hear anything out of his right ear until it ‘popped’ at the 13th.

Indeed, there was the sight on the practice putting green of his manager and trainer pouring a ‘medicinal powder’ into a bottle of water as the 26-year old conducted short post-round TV interviews.

Forrest had earlier birdied his second and third holes but dropped shots at eight and nine, Crail’s former Battle Trophy winner found the overtaking lane.

He said: “The round was going against me until I birdied 13 and 14 as that going me going again, and nice there at the end to birdie last two, and each of them from around nine-feet.

“It’s great to see Robert and I going so well and the thing is, and as tough as it’s been this week, the best golfers stand out.”

And as Forrest spoke of his round he did so close to a banner hanging from a large corporate enclosure of former double Dubai winning Stephen Gallacher and the back-to-back champ in 2013 and ’14.

Forrest said:  “The only thing I remember from Stevie Gallacher’s two wins here was his holed wedge shot at the 16th (in 2013) but then it would be great to have another Scottish winner.”

MacIntyre along with playing partner, Gavin Green of Malaysia, were ‘on the clock’ for their closing few holes but it failed to rattle the Oban lefty.

He could hardly hit a club a week earlier on arrival at the Emirates course and despite still having his left wrist strapped, MacIntyre is slowly getting back into full stride.

He said:  “I am still not hitting it great but then my short-game is really good, and I am managing my game well as I know where I am missing it.

“There is a lot of red numbers on my card, so it has been good aspect but while I felt my overall game was about 50% after the two rounds, it’s still about the same improvement today.

“Being a Scotsman, my normal shot is a low punch but I just have not got that shot as I am hitting certain shots and I am coming out of them.

“We’re getting there day-by-day, and I could not have asked for a better day than today.

“The thing is I didn’t know at the start of the week if my body was going to hold-up to what I was needing it to do but then it’s feeling great with my body moving well.

“I’m just a wee bit slow and as I feel I should be having not played much golf, so my body is not firing at the pace I would want it to.

“The strong aspect of my game is my short-game is just incredible at the moment while my putting, my pace-putting and short putts have been brilliant.  I just feel so comfortable putting.”

And asked what would be a good result in his first event of the New Year, and considering he commenced his rookie 2019 season with a T57th in far off Hong Kong.

MacIntyre said:  “I will just try to keep playing the way I have been doing and if the long game clicks then my putting’s there to back it up.

“I am still trying to feel my way into tournaments.  This is my first tournament in some eight weeks, so I am still rusty and it’s still not all there.

“I have already surpassed what I thought I would achieve this week and, to be honest, my gaol was to just make the cut but some of the best players in the world missed the cut and I’ve had eight weeks off and not touched a club.

“I would say that’s not bad.”

Scott Jamieson produced a bogey-free 69 to be sharing 30th place at two-under.

 



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