MacIntyre’s Masters Invitation Quandary Should He Capture Magical Kenyan Open

1 year ago by Comments Off on MacIntyre’s Masters Invitation Quandary Should He Capture Magical Kenyan Open

Top Scot Robert MacIntyre could be staring at a Masters invitation quandary should he capture the Magical Kenya Open in Nairobi.

MacIntyre muscled his way to within one shot of the lead with an equally impressive second straight round of 65, moving to 12-under and just one adrift of Jorge Campillo after the Spaniard birdied his closing four holes in an eight-under 63 for a 13-under tally on the host Muthaiga course.

It was three years ago last Thursday that the now 36-year-old Spaniard denied Eyemounth GC attached Scot David Drysdale victory at the 2020 Qatar Masters, and with Campillo looking for a third Tour title since his five-hole play-off success over ‘Double-D’.

MacIntyre also seeks a third Tour win, and in what is his 12th event since last September’s success at the Italian Open, and with the Oban lefty showing all the hallmarks of achieving that goal in the Kenyan capital.

The World No. 94 capped his round finding the side-door with a 15-footer for eagle at the par-5 10th and this after four birdies from his fourth to the eighth holes but if there was a standout shot it was at the last, the par-5 18th.

MacIntyre used the thin air in being at 5,500 feet above sea-level and the second highest course on the DP World Tour schedule, smoking a 380-yard drive down the left side at the last and then finding a gap in branches from an overhanging tree, and with his ball hitting the hole, stopping about 10-feet behind the flag and two-putting for an easy birdie.

 

MacIntyre said: “It was again a good day’s work.  The game is great and after the putter was holding me back, I’m now seeing the ball go in and overall so the game’s in good shape.

“I’m feeling really comfortable over my putts just now.  For me, that is the biggest aspect of feeling comfortable. I’m standing over the ball a bit differently than what I have been used to, but the putter is feeling good in my hands.”

In the bigger MacIntyre career picture a win would lift the Scot some 30 spots to World No. 63, and still a fortnight to the cut-off point of being inside the top-50 on March 26th for a Masters invitation.

However, MacIntyre’s chosen not to enter the next two DP World events being held in South Africa while he’s also not in the field contesting next week’s PGA Tour Valspar Championship on the Flordia west coast.

If he does win in Kenya there’s one last event he may qualify for a third Masters invitation with tomorrow night (Sunday – March 12th) being the cut-off mark for the world’s top-64 to contest the March 22nd starting WGC Dell Match-Play Championship in Texas.

Should MacIntyre seal success and move to No. 63 in the world, as being predicted, he then qualifies for the Match-Play, while a decent finish in the Texas capital could be good enough to move into the top-50 on the rankings to earn that Masters invitation.



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