A terrific weekend surge has taken Oban left-hander Robert MacIntyre to the brink of promotion to the European Tour after a runners-up finish in the Challenge Tour’s Foshan Open in China.
The former Scottish Amateur champion reeled off closing rounds of 64 and 65 for a 19-under total of 269 and was pipped to the title in a sudden-death shoot-out by Frenchman Victor Perez.
MacIntyre, who was also beaten in a play-off to the Finnish Challenge crown earlier in the campaign, had forced himself into the reckoning with a huge, curling eagle putt on the 18th green which thrust him into the clubhouse lead.
The Scot was denied when Perez holed his own raking putt on the last and then edged the play-off with a birdie to MacIntyre’s par.
Despite the defeat, MacIntyre’s cheque for over £42,000 hoisted him into the all-important top-15 of the Challenge Tour rankings.
At No 13, the former Walker Cup player is inside the European Tour card-winning places heading into the closing event of the season, the Grand Final, in the UAE.
His compatriots, Grant Forrest, Liam Johnston and David Law, are also inside the top-15 and on course for a step up to the main circuit in 2019.
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