LAKE CHARLES – Former McNeese golfer Robert MacIntyre rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18^th and final hole of his first Open Championship and ended golf's final major of the season in a tie for sixth place at 5-under par.
 
It's believed to be the highest finish of any former Southland Conference golfer in either of the four major tournaments in league history.
 
Former Lamar golfer Chris Stroud tied for ninth at the 2017 PGA Championship and another former Cardinals' golfer, Justin Harding, placed 12^th at this year's Masters Tournament.
 
"It's been a brilliant experience and today just topped everything off with that putt on the 18^th," said MacIntyre. "It made it a special week. You have putts when you're a youngster pretending it's for an Open Championship. Unfortunately, my putt wasn't for the Open Championship but it definitely gave you a flavor of what can happen."
 
The Oban, Scotland native is the first Scotsman since Colin Montgomerie in 2005 to finish in the top 10 in The Open.
 
MacIntyre, who played for the Cowboys in 2014 and 2015 and is a former Southland Conference and Louisiana Freshman of the Year, entered Sunday's final round at the Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland in a tie for 29^th place and at 2-under par.
 
He quickly rose up the leaderboard with three birdies in the first 10 holes before a bogey on No. 14 set him back a bit. But his electric birdie on the final hole enabled him to finish at 3-under for the day with a 68, which was tied as the third-lowest score of any golfer for the round.
 
With his finish, he's automatically qualified for next year's that will be held at Royal St. George's Gold Club in England.
 
Shane Lowry won the title at 15-under. He was followed by Tommy Fleetwood (-9), Tony Finau (-7), and Lee Westwood and Brooks Koepka (both at -6). MacIntyre tied for sixth with three other golfers at -5 – Rickie Fowler, Tyrrell Hatton and Danny Willett.