Robert MacIntyre says he may already have played his last event of the year, with uncertainty over the situation in the Middle East putting his place at the DP World Tour’s closing tournaments in doubt. Scotland’s top golfer finished tied for sixth at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship at St Andrews on Sunday, 12 months after winning it.
The 30-year-old will miss this week’s Spanish Open and has no plans to play in India or South Korea before the season-ending events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai in November. He told BBC Scotland he would watch how conflicts in the region develop before deciding whether to travel, and admitted he was not sure when the entry deadline falls, guessing it would be the week before. “This is potentially the end of my season right here,” he said.
He is not the only Ryder Cup player with doubts. Matt Fitzpatrick has also raised concerns about travelling to the region, while world number two Rory McIlroy has confirmed he will play in both events. MacIntyre said he could still tee up in the Bahamas in December, depending on how his preparation for next season goes, and expects a quiet couple of months of gym work, losing some weight and jobs around the house, possibly including a golf simulator.
The world number 19 called 2026 a good year and a learning curve as he balanced life on and off the course. His finish at the Dunhill Links also suggests a better relationship with the Old Course, which has had new bunkers and tees added on some holes in recent years. MacIntyre said the links had never been his favourite course but was “starting to grow on me”.
That could matter next summer, when the Old Course hosts the 155th Open Championship. MacIntyre, whose family holidays in the town, said he was starting to see holes where he could be more aggressive off the tee, and that his recent success there had helped him work the course out. He will be back at St Andrews for the Open whatever he decides about the trip to Abu Dhabi and Dubai.
