Scottish lefty Robert MacIntyre brilliantly emerged from the mental strain of the coronavirus lockdown to capture a maiden Tour win with victory in the Cyprus Showdown at the Aphrodite Hills resort.

MacIntyre, 24, went within inches of an ace at the 17^th and then also birdied the last in posting a seven-under 64 to win by a shot from Japan’s Masahiro Kawamura (65).

The Scot had finished runner-up on three occasions last year in being named ‘Rookie of the Year’ and he’s finally broken through for a first victory toast in his 45^th Tour event, and in process, MacIntyre’s created Tour history in becoming the first Scottish-born lefty to win on Tour.

However, it was an emotional MacIntyre in accepting the gleaming silver Cyprus trophy.

💋🏆#CyprusShowdown pic.twitter.com/EhVMVNFrlG

— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) November 8, 2020

He said: “It’s unbelievable and it’s what I’ve dreamed of as a wee kid.

“I’ve been watching Scottish Open’s held at Loch Lomond and then finally to play on the Tour, and giving myself a lot of chances to win last year.

“But it’s been a tough lockdown for me and the family.  The first nine to 10 weeks was fine as I had things to do.  I was trying to lose weight and become stronger.

“I was setting myself golf and we were on the ‘Peloton’ almost every day and once we reached the target there was nothing else to do.  I felt like I was wasting time, wasting away and I struggled mentally.

“So, with the support of my family I have coped mentally and just to come through this week is amazing.

“I’ve changed a lot of things including Mike (Thomson) on the bag so to finally get over the line means the world to me.”

His final round was a mix of eight birdies and it could have easily been more in missing two to three other birdies over his inward half and that being down to a ‘far from hot’ putter but there was no doubt about the shot of his round in landing a 165-yard, 9-iron shot to just inches from the cup at 17.

MacIntyre is the 25^th different Scot to win on the Tour while earning a £ 180,00 first prize cheque that sees him move to 25th on the Race to Dubai and  also jump from 91st to a career high of 62^nd on the World Rankings.

He had ended last year 65^th in the rankings to miss out on this week’s Masters but he’s now determined more than ever to end 2020 inside the top-50 to secure a maiden Augusta tee time next April.

He said: “It’s been my goal since I first started playing.  I know the level of golf that I am expecting myself to play, and my team is also expecting me to play but I just wasn’t quite there.

“The last couple of weeks, the past five to six weeks, I’ve started to see the ball fight that I have been looking for.

“I just have to set my standards really high and I know if I can do that I’m sure a top-50 on the rankings will take care of itself.”

MacIntyre arrives back to Oban and with a first Tour trophy to find pride of place in his recently-purchased bachelor pad.

He said: “I’ve just started to do up the apartment a little bit, particularly in the living room, so there will be a nice spot for the trophy.”

And he is the first ‘lefty’ to win on the European Tour in four years since American Paul Peterson won the 2016 Czech Masters.