Bob MacIntyre tipped for big things on Masters weekend by former champion and fellow left-hander Mike Weir, while Martin Laird is also going well on his first trip to Augusta in eight years.
Friday 9 April 2021 20:36, UK
Mike Weir backed Bob MacIntyre to enjoy a prosperous weekend at The Masters after the young Scot fired a confident two-under 70 on day two at Augusta National
Weir, the 2003 Masters champion, partnered MacIntyre for the opening two rounds and was clearly impressed with his fellow left-hander, who was flirting with the cut line before three consecutive birdies at 12, 13 and 14 lifted him back to level par for the tournament.
The debutant parred his way in to make sure of being around for the weekend, and Weir felt MacIntyre's game was ideally suited to tackling Augusta.
"Oh, he's got a great game," said Weir, whose one under 71 was not enough to make the halfway cut as he finished on five over. "He's got a very nice game. He fades the ball well, which for a lefty you need to do around here, and he putts really well. You know, he can do well here on the weekend."
MacIntyre concurred that the quality of his putting is one of his strongest attributes, and he felt far more comfortable heading to the first tee on Friday morning having suffered an understandable attack of nerves as he began his first round.
"I missed one putt from inside about 10 feet," he said. "Other than that, that's where my golf is. If I don't miss a putt inside, say, 10 feet, I score well. I've worked hard on it, me and my coaches. It's a reward for putting in the practice and learning the golf course as good as I could.
"Yesterday, the nerves, I was shaking on the 1st tee. It's normal here, but I wanted to get right back in the golf tournament. I wasn't worried about anything other than getting back in the golf tournament. That's what I went and done. I'm going to have a chance over the weekend if I can post a good one tomorrow."
MacIntyre's compatriot, Martin Laird, also made it safely through to the final 36 holes in his first Masters start since 2013, qualifying by virtue of his thrilling win at Shriners Hospitals for Children Open last autumn.
The 38-year-old was on course to finish ahead of MacIntyre until he bogeyed the final two holes to take the gloss off a hard-fought 71 which left him at one over par.
"To get back here obviously is great," said Laird. "I played really well today. A little disappointed with my finish, but up until then I played really nicely all day, and looking forward to the weekend.
"I've been struggling with my iron game the last few weeks, but my iron game this week has been really good. My coach and I kind of figured something out early in the week and I've been hitting them very nice. So I'm glad my irons are good and hopefully can drive it in the fairway this weekend."
Laird was out first in front of a handful of patrons alongside Vijay Singh on Friday morning, and he was delighted to be able to play at a decent pace having been forced to wait on several shots in his first round.
"I was exhausted," he added. "I was in a twosome in the middle of the field yesterday, so it was a five-and-a-half-hour round in a twosome. So when I finished, I was pretty mentally beat up."
