PGA ‘Rookie’ MacIntyre Chuffed With San Francisco Second Round 67

‘Rookie’ Robert MacIntyre confidently headed to the clubhouse delighted having posted a bogey-free 67 on day two of the PGA Championship at TPC Harding Park in San Francisco.

MacIntyre is contesting only his second major following a brilliant sixth place finish in last year’s Open Championship and with this week being a maiden major championship on US soil.

And the young Scot has shown he’s finally shaken off the injury concerns of earlier this year as evident over his four rounds last week in Memphis and now at this year 102nd staging of the PGA Championship.

MacIntyre ended his round at level par trailing eight shot shots behind the now San Diego-based Chinese Haotong Li who grabbed the early clubhouse lead adding  a 65 to his opening 67 for a two shot lead at eight-under par and with England’s Tommy Fleetwood (64) in second place on six-under.

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre shoots a bogey-free second round 67 at the PGA Championship.

Haatong Li, 25 has six pro wins in his career with a best result in brilliantly coming from behind to deny Rory McIlroy in a play-off for the 2018 Omega Dubai Desert Classic title.

Li was out in the second group just after 7am local (US) time and picked-up his five birdies in the opening 10 holes before posting eight straight pars.

He said: “The last couple days I’ve been pretty much all hit in the right spot. Even if I miss the green, I still got a chance to up-and-down, and also got a lot — good lie in the rough.”

Li also is no stranger to going low in a major having shot a final round 63 to grab third place behind Jordan Spieth at Royal Birkdale.

He said:  “That was a long time ago (laughing). Yeah, definitely good to have that experience in my mind, and definitely will help to play the next two rounds.”

MacIntyre had dropped two shots over his closing four holes on day one in a three-over 73 but it was a great start to his second round launching a 306-yard drive off the par-5 10th tee and then finding the green in two, the young Scot two-putted from just short of 30-feet for birdie.

The Oban lefty dropped a shot at his third hole but was back on the birdie train in almost driving the green at his seventh hole before chipping to just 18-inches for a second birdie.

MacIntyre then made the turn with a real spring in his step having holed a 32-foot birdie bomb at his ninth hole.

He then found the green at his 12th hole or the par-3 third on the ‘card and with MacIntyre draining another monster birdie putt of just short of 20-feet and closed with six straight pars and head to the clubhouse just outside the top-50.

He said: “I was like lucky that that was my front nine was the back nine on the scorecard, so I managed to play that harder nice really well.

“I was thinking 1-over will get in, but coming up the last there, the ninth, I noticed even par it wasn’t in yet.

“So, it was nice to get up-and-down at the last to pretty much secure making the cut.”

MacIntyre was then asked the ‘big difference’ between his opening 73 and a second day of six shots fewer.

He said:  “I wasn’t far off yesterday. Yesterday afternoon, the weather was as hard as I’ve played in with the condition of the golf course.

“If you missed a fairway, you were chipping out, and I couldn’t find a lie until the final hole today I finally found a lie that I could get up near the green. It was a bit easier. The wind wasn’t as strong. I think the conditions made it hard yesterday, and today obviously it’s playing easier.”

And while it’s MacIntyre’s maiden US-soil major, he’s no stranger to San Francisco having represented his University of Louisiana in competition.

He said:  “I was actually here at University in Louisiana, so I’ve played — I know this style of course. The style of golf suits my game. I hit it high, normally straight off the tee.

 



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