One week after the 2025 Ryder Cup, members of the victorious European team are continuing their good form across the pond. On the shoulders of back-to-back 66s at Carnoustie Golf Links and Kingsbarns Golf Links, Robert MacIntyre will take a share of the lead at the 2025 Alfred Dunhill Links Championship into the weekend at 12 under alongside Richard Sterne.
MacIntyre will contest his third round at the Old Course at St. Andrews before a cut is made following 54 holes. The final round of the competition will see the remainder of the field take to the Old Course once again.
“It was almost a perfect round of golf, especially once the weather came in, just lovely round,” MacIntyre said.
Whipping winds and pestering rains posed many problems for players in the second round — and caused a stoppage in play in the afternoon — but did little to slow the momentum of MacIntyre. A quick start to his front nine saw him add three circles to his scorecard in the first four holes before a healthy diet of pars emerged to close out his first nine (the second nine at Kingsbarns).
Weather persisted, as did MacIntyre, on the outward half of the property. Exchanging a birdie and a bogey across the first two holes on the golf course, the sturdy left hander kept the hammer down and rattled off three more birdies on his back nine to match his opening 33 with another. His last of the day on the par-5 9th was enough to give MacIntyre a share of the lead, one stroke clear of Louis Oosthuizen.
“Just golfed the ball really well,” MacIntyre said. “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. So I was having to try and fight the wind on certain holes and wasn’t comfortable. But I made some beautiful shots. Yeah, putted solidly in the wind.”
MacIntyre is not the only player from the blue and gold to overcome the quick turnaround from Bethpage Black. Englishman and former tournament winner Matt Fitzpatrick continues his string of consistency and sits only four behind his teammate following rounds of 67 and 69 on Carnoustie and Kingsbarns.
Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood are also in with a chance heading into the second half of this tournament one worse than Fitzpatrick at 7 under. Meanwhile, two-time major champion Dustin Johnson dazzled with an opening 64 at Carnoustie but backed it up with a 77 on Friday at Kingsbarns to send his name tumbling down the leaderboard no thanks to playing his final six holes in a 6-over fashion including a triple bogey-8 on his finisher.