– Robert MacIntyre stands in the inner hallway of the hospitality tent that connects the 18th green of the Majlis course with the room where scorecards are signed. He has just finished the third round of the Hero Dubai Desert Classic. His shoelaces are untied, and he’s fuming. It wasn’t the best time to ask him for a cigarette. He remains like this for more than ten minutes, the time it takes for the group behind to finish. His wait is no coincidence. He wants to settle scores…
What happened is that Casey Jarvis, behind MacIntyre, reached the 18th tee and hit. It’s a blind shot. The fairway isn’t visible, and for that reason, there’s a marshal with a red flag and a green one indicating whether it’s clear to hit or if it’s time to wait. When the South African hits, the volunteer has both flags down, so he understands he can hit. It wasn’t the case…
MacIntyre was in the right rough about to hit his second shot to the green with the wood, a tense second shot. Jarvis’s ball landed on the fairway, about 15 metres to the left of where the Scot was. He didn’t see it, but he did hear the ball bounce on the fairway. For this reason, Robert, in the middle of his routine to hit, stepped away from the ball and started the process again. That’s what happened.
Besides Jarvis, Iván Cantero and the Austrian Bernd Wiesberger were in the group behind. When they arrived to hand in their scorecards, MacIntyre was there, waiting, defiant. The first to approach him was Jarvis’s caddie. He started by apologising and explained the situation. MacIntyre wouldn’t listen to reason, didn’t understand the situation, and blamed the whole group for what had happened. “You should have known we were there, and you can’t hit if there’s no green flag,” he reproached them. Adolfo Juan Luna, Cantero’s caddie, intervened. He insisted on the apologies, took responsibility, and explained again that there was no intention. MacIntyre wouldn’t get out of the loop until Wiesberger stepped in and said, “we’ve all apologised, so that’s it, move on.” By the way, MacIntyre hit his second shot into the water…
– This little story, which is just an anecdote, is a good example of the tension experienced this Saturday at the Emirates Golf Club. It was a very tough day of golf, with a lot of wind, gusty, extremely challenging. A fabulous day of golf. Once again, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic proves to be an extraordinary tournament, no matter who plays and who is at the top of the leaderboard. The preparation is magnificent and offers everything the competition demands. Birdies can be made, and at the same time, many bogeys can be made. Today the golfers sweated blood.
– Only in this way can it be understood that a usually affable player like Ryan Fox ends up throwing his ball into the water after finishing the 18th hole with a bogey. Or that the impassive Rasmus Hojgaard bursts into laughter after sending his ball into the water on the last hole, missing the shot by 50 metres. That Gouveia and Olesen lose their chances after signing 74 strokes each, or that Robin Williams, the young South African talent making a name for himself, scored an 80. It was a day of long knives and gnashing of teeth.
– Daniel Hillier (-13) is the sole leader of the tournament with 18 holes to go. The 26-year-old Australian has one victory on the DP World Tour. He achieved it in 2023 at the British Masters. It was the only time he went out as the leader on Sunday. The problem is that Dubai is a whole different ball game. Today he held up spectacularly, but tomorrow will be a trial by fire. Let’s see how he responds. Hillier is the leader because he finished with two birdies on 17 and 18, a great response to his three consecutive bogeys on 13, 14, and 15.
– One shot behind Hillier is Tyrrell Hatton (-12), by far the favourite to win. The Englishman never fails. Every time there are world ranking points or Ryder Cup points at stake, he has the knack of bringing out his best. What a fabulous competitor. How well he recovered from his two consecutive bogeys on 8 (a good bogey) and 9. Right now, it seems difficult to think that it will slip away from him.
– Ewen Ferguson (-10) suffered the full weight of the lead on his shoulders today. He didn’t play well, but he’s still in the fight with a scorecard of 74 strokes. How he processes what happened this Saturday will determine his chances tomorrow. Additionally, Ryan Fox and Laurie Canter are at -9, with intact chances. Beyond that, it seems complicated to think of anyone who can surpass Hatton in the last 18 holes, perhaps Rory McIlroy (-6), always Rory. He’s quite far back, but if anyone can produce the best round of the day and take advantage of a slip by the LIV golfer, it’s the Northern Irishman. Especially here at the Emirates. Today he could have easily finished with -8 or -9 if his putter had worked a bit better.
*By the way, MacIntyre later apologised to Jarvis’s caddie for his behaviour.
