Bob MacIntyre: I'll be hung out to dry but that's fine as I don't want yes men in team

Bob MacIntyre reckons he’ll be “hung out to dry” by his support team over a costly poor decision that killed off his chance of being in the Betfred British Masters mix on the final day at The Belfry.

But the Oban man is ready to take any criticism coming his way on the chin because he doesn’t want to be surrounded by “yes men” in his bid to start climbing back up the world rankings.

MacIntyre, who’d stormed up the leaderboard at the Ryder Cup venue with five birdies in his last six holes on Friday, came a cropper at the iconic tenth hole in the third round.

Tempted to go for the green with the tees moved up, he ran up a double-bogey 6 then compounded the situation by taking a triple-bogey 7 at the next hole.

Bob MacIntyre appreciated playing in front of big crowds on all four days during the Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett at The Belfry in Sutton Coldfield. Picture: Ross Kinnaird/Getty Images.

“If I could take one shot back, it would be the tee shot on 10 yesterday, just to pull myself back from the situation that led to what happened on 11 because, at the end of the day, those two holes cost me to be in there with a chance today,” he admitted.

“If I’d hung back and played sensible, 11 wouldn’t have happened off the back of 10. The thing is, though, that I play golf on the line. I get bored, if I’m being blatantly honest.

“I could knock a wedge down that hole all day, but I’d get bored by that. I want to have fun when I’m playing golf and having fun is by being aggressive and disappointments come from that.”

MacIntyre birdied the tenth in the final round, signing off with a 69 for a two-under total that was set to see him finish around 30th spot in an event hosted by Danny Willett.

As he reflected on the week, he admitted that he expected to be called out by members of his team for that decision on Saturday, especially with a run of scoring holes to come on the back nine.

“We’ll have a good team chat during this week and I am sure there will be a few harsh words directed at me from people in my team,” he said of coach David Burns, performance manager Stuart Morgan, caddie Mike Thomson and manager Iain Stoddart.

“But that’s the only way I can deal with it, them being honest. If they are just ‘yes’ men, then they shouldn’t be there. They are going to hang me out to dry at times and I’ll rip into them at points.

“As long as we are honest with each other and tell it how it is behind closed doors, then we can move forward.”

MacIntyre’s next event is the US PGA Championship, which starts at Southern Hills in Tulsa on Thursday week.

“I’m seeing good signs in the game,” he said. “My iron play on Friday was really good, as was my approach play today, hitting 5-woods into 15 feet, for example.

“The game is there and I’m just looking forward to getting a run of events where I can build some momentum as opposed to stop-start at the moment.

“I really want to play but the travel is the problem heading into the US PGA, so I’m taking the week off.”

MacIntyre spent time signing autographs before heading into to sign his card at the end of the closing circuit, admitting he’d been blown away by the support he’d received from the English crowd.

“It’s part of it, especially the crowds this week as they’ve been unbelievable for me,” he said. “Obviously playing with Lee [Westwood] from the start, I thought the crowds were there for him.

“But, on Saturday, I walked on to that tee and it was unbelievable - the support has been brilliant and it’s good to have the fans back.

“It shows that I am playing golf the way people want to see it played and treating people the way they are meant to be treated. Be honest with them, tell you how it is and just get on with golf.”