Robert MacIntyre's immediate reaction to falling short to JJ Spaun (again!) at Texas Open

A visibly deflated Robert MacIntyre admitted he was “disappointed” after letting a golden opportunity slip through his fingers at the Valero Texas Open.

MacIntyre fell agonisingly short of a third PGA Tour title, edged out by J.J. Spaun — the same man who denied him at last year’s US Open at Oakmont.

The 29-year-old had looked firmly in control for much of the week at TPC San Antonio, at one stage building a four-shot lead before the tournament was thrown into chaos by severe weather. With Saturday’s play abandoned early, MacIntyre faced a gruelling 30-hole Sunday.

MacIntyre clung onto the lead after a laboured third-round 72, but then struggled to hold off a charging field in the final round. 

Playing alongside his European Ryder Cup teammate Ludvig Aberg and American Kevin Roy, the Scot stalled out the gate with nine straight pars — solid, but not enough as those around him began to make moves.

A birdie at the 10th briefly reignited momentum, only for a sloppy three-putt bogey at the 11th to halt progress. It proved a costly pattern.

He struck again at the 15th — but immediately handed it back with another bogey on 16 just as Spaun surged to the front with a stunning birdie-eagle burst to set the clubhouse target of 17-under. 

To MacIntyre's credit, he produced a moment of brilliance on the short par-4 17th, holing from 17 feet for eagle to keep himself in the hunt. 

But the final hole summed up his day.

A wayward second shot into the mud down the right side of the par-5 18th ultimately proved costly. He recovered onto the green but from 35 feet could not find the birdie he needed to force a playoff.

A closing par for a round of 70 left MacIntyre tied for second at 16-under alongside Matt Wallace and Michael Kim — one shot shy of Spaun, who closed with a clinical 67.

“Yeah, I honestly don’t know what else to say other than I’m disappointed,” said MacIntyre, who knows this was one that got away for him. 

“I gave it my best shot. I trusted everything I’ve got, especially down the stretch.

“I’m proud of the way I played, but disappointed with some of the bogeys. I’m right there — I just need to rinse and repeat going into next week.”

Spaun pocketed a whopping $1.76m, while MacIntyre, Wallace and Kim each received a consolation prize of just over $740,000. Check out the full prize money payouts at the Valero Texas Open.

The victory marked Spaun's second at the Texas Open having also won at TPC San Antonio in 2022. 

It's also now the third of his PGA Tour career, of course having won the US Open at Oakmont last June. Spaun defeated MacIntyre by two shots at the 2025 US Open. The American memorably holed a gigantic birdie putt on the 18th green to capture the first major of his career. 

Despite the frustration for MacIntyre, there are clear positives for him heading into this coming week's Masters Tournament at Augusta National.

MacIntyre has now posted three top-four finishes in seven PGA Tour starts this season, including a fourth-place finish at The Players Championship, and returns to the world’s top 10.

He now heads to Augusta looking to channel that form — and put this latest near-miss behind him — as he chases a first major title and aims to become only the second Scottish player ever to win The Masters, following Sandy Lyle’s historic 1988 triumph.