Staff WriterRobert MacIntyre picked up right where he left off after his Ryder Cup heroics, storming into a share of the lead at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship before play was suspended on a blustery day two in Scotland.
The left-hander, who was instrumental in Europe’s triumph over the United States at Bethpage Black, continued his sparkling form on home soil to sit on 12 under par alongside Richard Sterne.
The Oban native followed his opening six-under 66 at Carnoustie Golf Links with another 66 at Kingsbarns, taming the kind of weather that makes umbrellas nervous and golf balls reconsider their life choices.
The two-time Ryder Cup winner opened with four birdies and one bogey on his front nine, then braced himself against howling winds and driving rain to pick up three more birdies coming in, locking in his position at the top of the leaderboard.
“It was almost a perfect round of golf, especially once the weather came in, just a lovely round,” Robert MacIntyre said. “It’s the worst weather of late, probably October 2023 I think it was when it was worse than that. Just played the ball really well today and thought I controlled my flights really well.
“It’s difficult when it gets this windy. It hard to hit the ball good with the wind. I was having to try and fight the wind on certain holes and wasn’t comfortable. But I made some beautiful shots and putted solidly in the wind.”
Sterne Keeps It Clean at St Andrews
South Africa’s Richard Sterne made the most of a friendlier morning draw, carding a flawless five-under 67 on the Old Course at St Andrews. While MacIntyre was wrestling gusts like a man hanging washing on a cliff, Sterne cruised early before holding firm on the back nine, keeping his card bogey-free for the second straight day.
“It was a good day. I got the right draw I think for the day, so that helped, after all the years of playing here, sometimes you get good draws. Sometimes you get bad draws and today I got a good draw so I’m pretty happy with that,” Sterne said.
“I’m playing well, and you can see that from the scoring. Fortunately, I’ve played here since 2001, so I know all the courses. I just try and play a few holes in preparation. I always enjoy playing any of these golf courses; it’s a privilege.”
Oosthuizen Lurks One Shot Back
One shot adrift on 11 under is 11-time DP World Tour winner Louis Oosthuizen, who fired a four-under 68 at Kingsbarns. The 2010 Open Champion at St Andrews showed his affection for links golf hasn’t faded with time.
“I love links golf. I think it was one of the few times that I played Carnoustie when the weather was that good yesterday, and I played well yesterday,” Oosthuizen said. “I think always in this tournament, starting off really good gives you good motivation going into the next round.
“At Kingsbarns I always struggle around here but today I felt like I played pretty good. I made a silly bogey on one hole, three-putting from 20-foot but the rest I played pretty solid.”
Kimsey Enters the History Books
Nathan Kimsey made sure his name won’t be forgotten in a hurry. The Englishman rattled off nine consecutive birdies at the Old Course—more than any player has ever managed in a single round in DP World Tour history. Previously, only Matt Wallace and James Nitties had matched the magic number.
Team Competition and Schedule Update
In the team competition, Jack Senior and Dery Desmond, Alejandro Del Rey and Matthew Goode, Harrison Crowe and Cian Foley, and Wenyi Ding and David MacFarlane share the lead on 24 under par after day two.
Round two will resume at 8:00 am local time across all three courses, with round three set for a shotgun start at 12:30 pm.
Robert MacIntyre, battling both weather and leaderboard pressure, has put himself in prime position heading into the weekend.
With Sterne’s precision and Oosthuizen’s experience breathing down his neck, the stage is set for a classic Scottish showdown—wind, rain, and all.
