Home hope MacIntyre wins Dunhill Links title

Round three leaderboard for the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship

–18 R MacIntyre (Sco), -14 T Hatton (Eng), -13 R Sterne (SA), J Parry (Eng)

Selected others: -12 S Jamieson (Sco), J Smith (Eng), -11 G Forrest (Sco), -10 B Koepka (US), T McKibbin (NI), T Clements (Eng), R Mansell (Eng)

Robert MacIntyre, a national hero, won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship in testing conditions, becoming the first Scotsman to win the title in 20 years.

Only a week after helping Europe secure a dramatic Ryder Cup victory in New York, MacIntyre, 29, carded a third round of 66 to finish on 18 under par.

Play was halted on Saturday due to strong winds from Storm Amy, which caused the tournament to be split into 54 holes.

Following in the footsteps of Colin Montgomerie, who was the last Scotsman to triumph at the Alfred Dunhill in 2005, MacIntyre, who also won the Scottish Open last year at The Renaissance Club.

Tyrrell Hatton, a Ryder Cup team-mate of MacIntyre, finished second, four shots back of the Scot, in the seventh-under round on Sunday.

With four European Tour victories, world number nine MacIntyre, who won the Ryder Cup with one and a half points for Europe in Bethpage Black, is now the top player.

We’ll do our best, according to MacIntyre, but it’s brilliant that I’m not sure how I’m going to celebrate following the celebrations we had last Sunday.

It’s a lovely way to wrap up a successful week. This week, I’ve done everything in opposition to the book. I had 12 holes and only pitched up here on Wednesday.

I’ve consumed numerous takeaways, fish and chips, and other foods during this week’s bad diet.

“But things do happen occasionally when you least expect them to.”

With a birdie on the first hole, MacIntyre made a quick start to his final round, finishing at four under par.

The Scots continued to dominate the leaderboard after making a precise approach from the rough on the 13th, beating the 17th and missing the 18th to seal the victory.