Bob's earned his stars and stripes.. let's hope days of feeling alien are behind him

Monty convinced Major show can boost Scot's sense of belonging

- CRAIG SWAN

COLIN MONTGOMERIE knows Bob MacIntyre isn’t alien to strong Major showings.

But he reckons the Oban star’s pulsating PGA effort offers sure signs of life in terms of finally feeling some comfort in the United States.

And Montgomerie is convinced it’s another massive step towards future big-time success across the Atlantic.

MacIntyre produced another terrific showing on the big stage with a third top-10 finish. The 27-year-old’s tied eighth at Valhalla is a huge shot in the arm for validation and belief.

MacIntyre has spoken candidly about struggling to settle into PGA Tour life. He admits it’s lonely at times away from Scotland and it was a recent three-week trip home that kickstarted his recent improvement.

Former world No.2 Montgomerie, runner-up at the US PGA in 1995, knows the challenges as he said: “It is difficult living away from home. I was lucky in a way. I was away at boarding school and then, of course, I had four years in America living away from home as well.

“So it wasn’t so new to me to be away from home and it has been difficult for Bob to adjust to American life. It’s not easy. You are treated, I hate to say, a wee bit of a foreigner.

“They used to call us aliens, didn’t they! When you used to go to passport control, bloody aliens, hang on a minute!