Bob MacIntyre reckons his dream Ryder Cup debut was like shinty on steroids.

After heading to the first tee almost in tears, he had the perfect response to a bigmouth Yank on the first. He then had a partner on the last who let out his own roar to end the day with a brilliant putt after using MacIntyre’s big feet as a line guide. At that point with a half-point secured, he realised it was the whole reason why he even plays golf.

On a day of epic starts and enthralling finales, it’s fair to say MacIntyre’s was right up there. Two down with two to go, the scenario of defeat was staring them in the face. But in a fairytale finale, as the previously impressive Wyndham Clark and Max Homa began to crack, the home pair hung tough and Rose had the final say.

MacIntyre said: “It was everything I dreamed of. People are asking me at the start of the week if this is a reason you play golf, and I mean, now I’ve realised that this is the reason. That was incredible out there, even watching Justin hole that putt and hearing the crowd behind you.

“Obviously we are on home soil just now, but I don’t get that feeling anywhere else. I mean, I play shinty and stuff, but that was like shinty on steroids.”

For the Oban kid, it was the moment of a lifetime. He’d been out on the first tee before the morning foursomes for a taste of it. But there’s nothing like the real thing and he was up to it in the afternoon. MacIntyre took the tension in his stride, pegged one up and piped it down the first.

He explained: “It was incredible. I’ve never walked off a driving range before almost in tears. I knew what was coming.

“I had been thinking about that for three weeks, that one tee shot, and I made sure to hit one last driver on the range and hit the shot I envisioned myself. I stepped up and absolutely roasted one down the middle.”

He fired the approach it tight and rolled home the putt. One Ryder Cup hole, one birdie in the bank. The subtle clenching of the fist at that point may have been better served landing in the gob of the Yank who yelled “We’ve never heard of you” just before that drilled first shot.

MacIntyre’s mum Carol and dad Dougie and their two daughters Nicola and Gillian were there to witness the moment. The moment when the lad became the first Scot since Stephen Gallacher at Gleneagles in 2014 to play in The Ryder Cup. MacIntyre didn’t just have family backing him.

There were Saltires everywhere around Marco Simone and Lion Rampants. Three lads who stood in a line to make the words Bob on their tee-shirts. Fans sang at the first about MacIntyre being on fire and the Americans being “terrified” while another song from the fellas in the silly yellow and blue Guardian costumes on the front nine suggested Bob Could Fix It.

Rose was a planned partner and this had been a long-term plan for Donald. The pair were teamed up for the get-together trip two weeks before the competition week and again in grouping for the first two rounds of the BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth.

The Scot’s flying start and Rose’s birdie on the second had them in front before the American putters got hot and became a bother.

But, as MacIntyre’s own putter turned freezing and he headed straight to the practice green after speaking, Homa was the man with the magic flat stick on front nine and Clark did the damage on the way back. However, they blinked. On three of the last four holes and MacIntyre said: “To have Justin there to hang on, I managed to get a half point.”

Ironically, given his own struggles, MacIntyre had helped Rose line-up putts all day as the Englishman explained: “I wanted Bob to reaffirm with his feet what I’m seeing with my eyes. Whenever I was slightly unsure, I did pull him in. Yeah, I mean, cracking pair of feet!”

Rose’s explosion after the final strike was pure emotion. He singled out his entire time with a jabbed pointing gesture as they celebrated as one and the crowd went berserk.

Rose said: “I think it was you and you and you and you, that’s what I was saying. For all the boys. Everyone is in it together. I had 10 people willing it in behind me.

“A lot of putts have meant a lot to me. But the last putt of the day, all of your team are behind you, the stage was set. I’ve been out on the golf course and experienced moments like that in the past, whether it be with Poults and Rory and guys like that, but I’ve never had that moment alongside Bob here where we fought really hard to have that moment.

“The amphitheatre was incredible, and to knock on in, I kind of let it rip. It was fun. I said to my caddie: I don’t want to be the only piece of red on that board. There was a fairly similar putt to the one I holed against Phil [Mickelsen at Medinah].

“I turned around to do something similar and Phil was right there coming in because he had a putt on a similar line I think. I couldn’t continue my celebration. But obviously, Novak Djokovic even said, you’ve got to use people as inspiration. You can’t plan that reaction.”