MacIntyre feared it was 'curtains' before Scottish Open comeback

MacIntyre found himself two shots adrift of the cut line following a double bogey on hole 13, after a shot he described as "one of the worst" he had hit all year.

But the Scot was able to go through the gears to card a one-over 71, with birdies at the 14th and 17th proving crucial in an underwhelming round for the defending champion.

He still sits 10 behind leader Chris Gotterup, who holds a two-stroke lead at the top of the leaderboard at 11 under after equalling the course record with a blistering 61.

Heading into the third day of action, MacIntyre said he was trying to take the positives from his second round, but acknowledged he must improve moving forward.

"Aye, it was there. It was like, 'Oh, well, this is it. This is curtains,'" MacIntyre said of his poor shot on 13.

"I hit that [tee-shot] terribly. I mean, I'd hit so many bad tee shots. Normally, I'm very good at taking one side of the course out of play.

"If there's trouble at one side, I don't hit it anywhere near it. I just felt like I was hitting it, trying to stay away from it, putting on the swing that I thought would keep away from it and it just ended up in it.

"It's one of the worst shots I've hit all year, as in how much trouble is there after the shot I've hit. It was just silly. I could have lost the plot there, but I was like, 'I've just got to keep fighting here. There are chances.'

"You see so many people out there supporting me, pushing me on. To be honest, I picked up shots on the holes I didn’t think were the chances."

Onwards #GenesisScottishOpen #RolexSeries #FedExCup pic.twitter.com/NwKFfI5x0H

— Genesis Scottish Open (@ScottishOpen) July 11, 2025

Masters champion Rory McIlroy also impressed, carding six birdies and one bogey on his way to a second-round 65 to leave him seven under par and four off the lead.

McIlroy is tied for sixth alongside six other players, while world number three Xander Schauffele is in the group at six under, with Scottie Scheffler one shot further back.

"The conditions were so good for us this morning," said McIlroy. "It felt like if you didn't play that first nine in three or four under, you were losing strokes to the field.

"I did a lot of good things today, a couple of loose shots here and there, but overall it was a good day. I'm excited for the weekend, I'm right in contention."

But the day belonged to Gotterup, with the world number 158 holing nine birdies in his bogey-free round.

The American is closely pursued by three Englishmen. Harry Hall is two strokes back after posting a six-under 64, while a seven-under 63 leaves Matt Fitzpatrick in a tie for third.

"I made the putt on 14 and I was like, 'all right, I've got 16 and obviously 17 and 18 are pretty tough'. So I really wanted to get 16," Gotterup said.

"I'm not going to complain too much when I make my birdies on a course that isn't always typically easy."

However, U.S. Open champion JJ Spaun was one of the big names to fall ahead of the weekend's action after three bogeys in a round of 72 left him at two over.