Bob MacIntyre 'lost the plot' after 'ridiculous' ruling in last round of BMW PGA

Bob MacIntyre bemoaned a “ridiculous” rules decision that led to him “losing the plot” in the final round of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

The Oban man finished birdie-birdie-eagle on the iconic West Course at the Surrey venue to record a top-ten performance in the $9 million Rolex Series event, won by American JJ Spaun.

After signing for his card, MacIntyre, who ended up four shots behind Spaun, came over to talk to The Scotsman and asked “do you want the calm Bob or explosive Bob”, making it seem that he needed to get something off his chest.

“The way I’ve played this week I’ve got no right to be in contention,” he declared. “Once I was in contention, though, I felt I should have been right in there.

Bob MacIntyre pictured during day four of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth | Richard Heathcote/Getty Images

Referring to a new model local rule that is an extension of the embedded-ball rule (Rule 16.3), MacIntyre added: “There’s a ruling that happened today that is ridiculous. What is the point of changing the rules for a plugged ball when I have split the fairway on 11. The ball has pitched in a pitch mark but, because the pitch mark has been deemed to have been stood on, cut or whatever it was, I didn’t get relief.

“I’ve then hit from a plugged lie in the fairway over the green and dead and I made bogey and I’ve just lost the plot from there. Yeah, I know that my attitude really, really needs to improve, but I am absolutely fizzing with the ruling.

“I even got a second opinion. But, because the sides of the pitch mark weren’t standing up and it looked as though someone had stood on it or a buggy had gone over it. I didn’t get relief.

“But the rule is absolutely ridiculous. It is all down to a referee’s decision. It looked as though it was plugged and that pitchmark could have happened this morning.

“They need to simplify the rules. If it is in a plugmark, it’s in a plugmark. Unfortunately, I got on the wrong side of that decision on this occasion and I just absolutely lost the plot, which contributed to me hitting a pitching wedge five yards from the rough at the next.”

Normally, Rule 16.3 gives free relief when a ball is embedded in the ground, subject to the rule's conditions. F-2.3 gives an additional right to relief for a ball that has become embedded in a pitch-mark made by a player's stroke, provided certain conditions are met.

According to DP World Tour chief referee Mark Litton, the local model rule only applies in the general area cut to fairway height or less. The ball must be below the level of the ground in a pitch-mark and a referee must determine that this is known or virtually certain. The pitch-mark must have been made by any player's stroke and it must not have been repaired in any way.

Referring to the decision for MacIntyre on this occasion, Litton told The Scotsman: “It was in our opinion a partly- repaired pitchmark hence he got no relief.”