John Rahm wants 'miraculous' Bob MacIntyre given Ryder Cup place as he joins list of superstar backers

John Rahm has launched his weight behind Bob MacIntyre’s Ryder Cup bid.

The Spanish superstar believes the Scot must be a massive candidate for the European team to take on the United States in September. Shane Lowry insisted he’d happily go into battle in Rome with MacIntyre at his side following his brilliant display at the Genesis Scottish Open which rocketed him into the automatic qualification spots for captain Luke Donald’s side.

Now Rahm has added his influential voice as he said: “Well, given the fact that he beat Rory McIlroy and Fitzy [Matt Fitzpatrick] a couple years ago at that golf course to win the Italian Open in a play-off, I think his chances were always good, but he’s definitely been in good form lately, playing good golf. He had a good chance in Denmark. He played really good last week.

"It was an incredible finish by Rory, even though that pin on the 17th might have been the easier one, in the last hour or so of broadcast, I didn’t see anybody get within 20 feet. To finish the way he did was absolutely incredible.

“It was unfortunate that Bob made that bogey on the 16th, but that birdie on the 18th was nothing short of miraculous. He got a little lucky on the tee shot and hitting that second shot into the green was incredible.

“If somebody who can do that, shoot six-under in those weather conditions, is not a candidate, I don’t know who else can be. Yeah, he should definitely be a candidate. I like his chances.”

Earlier, Lowry had said: said: “If he makes the team and I make the team along with him, he’d be a good person to have in the team room. Bob reminds me a lot of myself when I was younger. Just how gritty and determined of a character that he is.

“The country Scottish upbringing, similar