SAN ANTONIO (AP) — Robert McIntyre added the Valero Texas Open to his bid for this year’s Masters and went all out on Friday with four birdies in his final five holes for an 8-under 64 and a four-stroke lead over Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg.
McIntyre felt comfortable swinging from the start and took advantage of the back nine, including a hybrid that rolled to 8 feet for eagle on the par-5 14th.
It was the finishing that made the difference, with all four of the Scotsman’s birdies coming from close to 10 feet.
He was in the same group as Aberg, and had shot a 67, including an eagle from 120 yards and a wedge to hole out on the par-4 67th. The Swede’s only disappointment was missing the fairway on the final hole, the ninth, and making a three-putt from 100 feet.
McIntyre was 14-under 130.
“I didn’t play last year and went straight to Augusta, so that was an adjustment,” McIntyre said. “I wanted to be sharp, maybe even sharper, for Augusta.”
While the Texas Open is the last chance for many others to win and qualify for the Masters, McIntyre is starting to feel like that possibility is a little longer.
Tony Finau, who has not played the Masters since 2017, suffered three bogeys in the first six holes and entered the second round one stroke behind the lead. He had to rally for a 69, including sinking a 35-foot eagle putt on the par-5 18th. This puts him 5 strokes behind Kevin Roy, Bud Corey, and Thorbjorn Olesen.
“I’m glad I was able to score an eagle at the end,” Finau said. “I hit a really good drive, pushed my second shot a little bit and was lucky enough to cover some water and roll it. Sometimes you need those little little breaks to get closer to the top of the leaderboard.”
Mark Hubbard, who was in the lead with a 65 after 18 holes, followed with a 77 to take the lead with a 2-under 142. He improved his ranking from a one-stroke difference to a 12-stroke difference.
Aberg said he has recovered from the back nine struggles he suffered two weeks ago at The Players Championship. He had one more chance in the final 36 holes at TPC San Antonio and that’s all that mattered to him.
“I feel great. I feel like I played some good golf,” Aberg said. “Golf for me is about putting myself in situations where I can win tournaments. I feel like I haven’t been very good over the last 12 months, but now I’m starting to see that and that’s been really good. So I’m looking forward to getting another shot this week.”
McIntyre is trying to become the second left-hander to win the Texas Open three years in a row, joining Brian Harman last year and Akshay Bhatia in 2024.
