This was the kind of finish that grandstands were invented for. With a daring, defiant late thrust, Robert MacIntyre conjured a valiant charge which could’ve have been accompanied with a fixed bayonet as he claimed a share of second place in the Betfred British Masters here at Hillside.

Playing alongside local hero Tommy Fleetwood in the penultimate group, and with a vast gallery looking on, the Oban left-hander stayed as sturdy as the granite of McCaig’s Tower and recovered from a double-bogey on the second with a rousing eagle, birdie finish in a spirited four-under 68.

When he knocked in his birdie putt of five feet on the final green, MacIntyre’s 15-under tally had him in a share of the lead and looking at a possible play-off for his first European Tour title in just his 14th start of an increasingly impressive rookie campaign.

He was denied, however, by Marcus Kinhult as the young Swede, playing in the last match, birdied his closing two holes to win his maiden tour crown by a single shot.

It had been a terrific effort from MacIntyre, though, and one which earned him a whopping cheque for £224,000 as he propelled himself up into 36th place on the Race to Dubai.

There was another tasty spin-off in the shape of a necklace worth £20,000 for the most birdies made by a player during the tournament. In total, MacIntyre blasted 24.

In the final analysis, he may have been left mulling over that seven earlier in his round but the 22-year-old Scot was in philosophical mood. In fact, he used that potentially demoralising dunt to his advantage and mounted a thrilling salvage operation.

“The double bogey at the second actually helped me in a way as it settled me down,” admitted MacIntyre, who was joined in the top-five by Richie Ramsay on another profitable week for the Scots on the European Tour.

“It made me think, ‘you are almost out of it here so just go on and play your own golf’. My caddie said to me as we were walking off the green that there were loads of birdies out there. To finish that way was fantastic. It was all or nothing and I had to go for it in the end.”

He certainly did. With the kind of bold, gung-ho adventure that Evel Knievel used to adopt when confronted by a row of London buses, MacIntyre’s eagle on the 17th was wonderfully audacious and it launched him right back into the mix.

From just over 231 yards, the former Scottish Amateur champion clattered a 5-wood to within three feet of the flag. “That’s the best shot I’ve hit in a long time,” he said with a beaming grin.

Knowing he had to stay on the offensive down the last, MacIntyre produced a super approach from around 200 yards. “He caught the life out of his 6-iron,” said his caddie Greg Milne of a shot that rolled up to five-feet.

Kinhult may have scuppered MacIntyre’s hopes of a sudden-death shoot-out for the top prize but, after a couple of 15th place finishes during a solid start to life on the tour, the former Walker Cup player has finally got the big finish he was looking for. “I had been there or thereabouts but never managed to get in the thick of it and I was disappointed about that,” he said. “Today couldn’t have been a better day to change that, playing with Tommy and in front of those big crowds. It was brilliant.”

Supported by his family, and his two lively foster brothers, MacIntyre may just be tempted to take them out on tour all the time. “My young brothers, Tom and Dan, have kept me on my toes,” he said.

“Last night I wasn’t even thinking about winning a golf tournament. Before they go to bed, you are having a game of ‘knock knock’. Standing over the eagle putt on 17, I was closing my eyes and thinking ‘knock knock’. It helps with everything.”

There will be mind gurus and sports psychologists now racing to extol the virtues of ‘who’s there?’ joviality.

As for Kinhult? Well, he came knock-knocking late on just when it looked like the door of title-winning opportunity had been slammed shut.

The 22-year-old, who won the Lytham Trophy just up the coast during a fine amateur career, staggered to bogeys at 15 and 16 to slither off the top but he rallied admirably and after getting a shot back on 17, he held his nerve on the last with a birdie putt of 12-feet to win.

“The knees were shaking, the hands were shaking, everything was shaking,” he said of that last putt. I’ve been dreaming about winning for such a long time and to actually do it now is amazing.”

Matt Wallace and defending champion Eddie Pepperell finished alongside MacIntyre with tournament host Fleetwood back in eighth.