THE LUKE OF LOVE

Ryder skipper Donald can't get enough of home hero Bob

- CRAIG SWAN

LUKE DONALD has poured praise on to home hero Bob MacIntyre ahead of his Scottish Open title defence.

Europe's Ryder Cup captain has been fully across the Oban star's work before and since his outing for Europe in Rome.

MacIntyre played a key part in the 2023 victory, won twice on the PGA Tour last year and was runner-up at last month's US Open.

The Scot currently sits fourth in the Ryder Cup qualification standings with the top six sure of a place for September's clash in the States. And Donald said: "I'm very impressed. He's really adapted his game to the US.

"When you make that transition from playing mostly in Europe to playing over there, it's more difficult. But he was still very consistent and I was watching his stats quite a lot.

"Even from when he qualified in Rome to where he was before the second place in the US Open, his stats were quite a bit better.

"He's been very consistent. It's harder to break out in the US and win tournaments. He already won twice last year. He won in Canada and won here.