Robert MacIntyre
With so many big names in the field, MacIntyre shouldn’t be a trendy pick for one and done pools and the Scot brings huge upside. MacIntyre heads to Royal Birkdale in excellent form, riding a four-made cut streak and finishing T10th at the Travelers Championship and T3rd at last week’s Genesis Scottish Open in his last two starts.
At both these events, MacIntyre gained strokes on approach and with his putter, and he shot under par in every round. At the Renaissance Club for the Scottish Open, MacIntyre put on a clinic with his irons, gaining 9.67 strokes on approach, which set a career high and easily led the world-class field. Ranking second was the winner in Tom Kim with 7.79 strokes.
MacIntyre has been one of the top putters this season, ranking ninth in SGP, but he has had issues with his ball striking, ranking just 102nd in SG APP, so seeing him light it up with his irons is a huge development.
This is especially a great sign for Royal Birkdale. This venue presents small greens for a links course, putting a premium on iron play. When Jordan Spieth won by three shots at Royal Birkdale in 2017, he finished the week third in GIR.
This will be MacIntyre’s first start at Royal Birkdale, but he has been outstanding at the Open Championship during his career. MacIntyre has never missed a cut in six starts at this major and he has finished inside the top-eight three times. MacIntyre finished T7th at Royal Portrush last season and in general, the Scot has unsurprisingly been more comfortable competing in Europe.
MacIntyre won the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open and he is a three-time winner on the DP World Tour. He ranks 11th in this field in strokes gained per round at courses in Europe and him hoisting the Claret Jug come Sunday afternoon is a real possibility.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, MacIntyre presents the 12th-best odds to win the Open Championship at +3600.
Past One and Done Tournament Results
The Sony Open: J.J. Spaun (T40)
The American Express: Si Woo Kim (T6)
The Farmers Insurance Open: Will Zalatoris (MC)
WM Phoenix Open: Maverick McNealy (T13)
AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am: Justin Rose (T37)
The Genesis Invitational: Hideki Matsuyama (T28)
Cognizant Classic in the Palm Beaches: Shane Lowry (T2)
Arnold Palmer Invitational: Rory McIlroy (WD)
THE PLAYERS Championship: Collin Morikawa (WD)
Valspar Championship: Jacob Bridgeman (T14)
Texas Children’s Houston Open: Sam Burns (T21)
Valero Texas Open: Russell Henley (MC)
The Masters: Jon Rahm (T38)
RBC Heritage: Jordan Spieth (T33rd)
Cadillac Championship: Cameron Young (first)
Truist Championship: Ludvig Aberg (T8)
PGA Championship: Scottie Scheffler (T14)
CJ CUP Byron Nelson: Christiaan Bezuidenhout (MC)
Charles Schwab Challenge: Rickie Fowler (MC)
Memorial Tournament: Patrick Cantlay (T17)
RBC Canadian Open: Wyndham Clark (T11)
U.S. Open: Xander Schauffele (T11)
Travelers Championship: Tommy Fleetwood (T14)
John Deere Classic: Ben Griffin (T21)
Genesis Scottish Open: Matt Fitzpatrick (T3)
