Bob MacIntyre believes there is “no reason” why he can’t become a major champion after being on the verge of winning the 125th US Open until J.J. Spaun produced a brilliant birdie-birdie finish at Oakmont Country Club in Pennsylvania. In an interview with The Scotsman after a dramatic conclusion to the season’s third major, the Oban man also opened up on his classy act of sportsmanship as he applauded Spaun’s title-winning putt across the final green and spoke as well about how he is determined to play in “every Ryder Cup from now until I retire”. After a sensational weekend performance, posting rounds of 69 and 68 on a brutal course on the outskirts of Pittsburgh, MacIntyre posted the clubhouse target as he finished with a one-over-par total and, as Sam Burns, Adam Scott, Viktor Hovland and Tyrrell Hatton all faltered down the stretch, it looked as though that might have been good enough to get his hands on the trophy. It took something special from Spaun to deny the 28-year-old as the American set up a birdie at the par-4 17th by driving the green then finished with a birdie as well when a three-putt could easily have been on the cards from around 65 feet and resulted in a two-hole play-off. “Aye, it does,” replied MacIntyre, who picked up a whopping cheque for $2.3 million and also climbed to a career-best 12th in the Official World Golf Ranking, in reply to being asked if this excellent effort had given him the belief that he can go on and win a major. “That’s the toughest test I’ve ever encountered on a golf course. That’s as hard as it gets. Obviously finishing sixth in The Open at Royal Portrush (in 2019) was my best finish, but it was a back-door effort, so to speak, due to the weather and stuff. “But this was different. There’s no reason why I can’t win a major championship in my career and that’s my goal now. I said I wanted to win the Scottish Open and I got that. I thought I had this one, to be honest with you, but, yeah, I just want to win majors now.” Spaun’s big breakthrough came after he feared his career was heading nowhere this time last year before showing what he was capable of when almost winning The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in March, losing out in a play-off to Rory McIlroy. MacIntyre watched on television in the recorder’s area as Spaun emerged as the winner on this occasion and his reaction to the 34-year-old Californian sealing the victory in style - he applauded vigorously and shouted “wow” - has been widely praised. “Aye, it was just one of those ones where you want to see someone winning it (in style),” he admitted. “I mean, I got to win the Scottish Open last year the way I did with the big celebration. “Look, if I’d won this one it was going to be unbelievable - it would have been something special. But to see a guy hole a putt like that to win after his heartbreak in The Players, I take my hat off to him - fair play!” * Love golf? Then sign up now to our new newsletter series, Scottish Golf Courses You Must Play MacIntyre, who will defend his Genesis Scottish Open title at The Renaissance Club next month, is now looking forward even more to heading back to Royal Portrush for the season’s final major after making his mark on his debut in the game’s marquee events at the County Antrim venue six years ago. “It is satisfying to think about that,” he said of what he’s achieved in the game since then, including a double triumph on the PGA Tour last year and playing on a winning Ryder Cup team in Rome in 2023, “and I can’t wait to go back to somewhere I love and enjoy playing as much as I do when it comes to Portrush. “So much has happened for me in the last year and I keep saying that I don’t know when I am going to be able to sit down and actually think about what we have achieved in the last year. “It keeps coming and keeps coming and keeps coming. But it’s not from the lack of effort. Look, I’ve put a lot of work into this. It’s not just happening through luck. I’ve built a team around me that I think are the best I can get and they can support me. People that are known and people that are still unknown. I trust every one of them pretty much with my life. “I mean, this is my job and this is my life, but it’s all about trust. I trust them and they obviously trust me to go out there and try to deliver, as I almost did on this occasion.” Since suffering a disappointing early exit in The Masters in April, the left-hander has made eight cuts in a row, including a confidence-boosting top-ten finish in the Charles Schwab Challenge after adding that to his schedule instead of taking a week off. On the back of getting himself in the major mix, he has climbed to fourth behind McIlroy, Hatton and Shane Lowry on Europe’s Ryder Cup points list and now looks in a great position to secure either an automatic spot or a captain’s pick. “I was going to take a week off and not play Colonial (venue for the Charles Schwab Challenge),” he reflected, “but my game has been feeling good and I believed that a result was coming so we decided to play Colonial, which was good. I had Mikey Thomson on the bag for that and we got a top ten there. “I am starting to see things happening with my game - driver, putter, everything. I feel things coming and just have to keep going and keep going until I get that result. “This is my sixth week in a row. If you are planning a schedule, you probably wouldn’t do six weeks, never mind going to a seventh this week (in the Travelers Championship in Connecticut). But I make big calls and I trust what I do. I just felt that was the right thing and we’ve built some good momentum and then a result like this comes. “As far as the Ryder Cup is concerned, that’s where I want to be. I want to play every Ryder Cup from now until the day I retire and this is a massive step for that to happen this year.” After finding it difficult to adjust to life on the PGA Tour in his rookie season last year, MacIntyre has learned to cope with it a bit better so far this season, though he is ready to get back to Oban for a bit once he’s done and dusted at the Travelers Championship. “I can’t wait to get home, to be honest,” he admitted. “This will be an 11-week stretch for me in the US and it’s tough for me and Shannon (Hartley, his girlfriend). But we’re out here to do a job and that’s to play good golf. My attitude has been up and down, but we are trying our best out there and that’s all you can do.”