Bob MacIntyre no longer an ALIEN in America as Colin Montgomerie insists PGA display can boost US Open hopes

Colin Montgomerie knows Bob MacIntyre isn’t alien to strong Major showings.

But he says the Oban star’s pulsating PGA effort offers sure signs of life in terms of finally feeling some comfort in the United States. And Montgomerie is convinced it's another massive step towards future big-time success across the Atlantic. MacIntyre produced another terrific showing on the big stage with a third Top 10 finish.

The 27-year-old’s tied eighth at Valhalla is a huge shot in the arm for validation and belief. MacIntyre has spoken candidly about struggling to settle into PGA Tour life. The Scot admits it’s lonely at times away from his homeland and it was a recent three-week trip back to Oban that kickstarted his recent improvement.

Montgomerie knows the challenges as he said: “It is difficult living away from home. I was lucky in a way. I was away at Boarding School and then, of course, I had four years in America living away from home as well. So it wasn’t so new to me to be away from home and it has been difficult for Bob to adjust to American life. It’s not easy. You are treated, I hate to say, a wee bit of a foreigner. They used to call us aliens, didn’t they! When you used to go passport control, bloody aliens, hang on a minute!

“When you are not American, you are not part of the scene the same as it is at home. Hence his great success at the Scottish Open last year, he must have felt like: Oh my god, I’ve got this huge support here at The Renaissance Club and that isn’t forthcoming here in America. Things weren’t going well, he went home, came back and he has been different since then. So we just wish him well and let’s hope this performance in this particular Major, as he wasn’t in the Masters, gives him a real boost, and