Bob MacIntyre dazzles in Open Championship debut at Portrush

Robert MacIntyre tees off at the 11th. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

The 22-year-old left-hander from Oban twice held the outright lead on a morning of showers on the Antrim coast as he lit up the season’s final major with both his golf and an ever-present smile.

Carding an eagle and five birdies, he signed for a three-under-par 68 to sit just one shot off the clubhouse lead, held by Irishman Shane Lowry.

“It was a brilliant day all in,” admitted MacIntyre, who is enjoying a memorable rookie season on the European Tour, afterwards, “and I enjoyed every bit of it.”

Playing in the same group as Andrew ‘Beef’ Johnston, the former Scottish Amateur champion marched off the first tee wearing a smile from ear to ear after a solid opening tee shot.

That came a week after he’d played with Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open and that definitely seemed to help prepare him for this major debut.

MacIntyre had bemoaned poor putting after missing the cut at The Renaissance Club, but he didn’t waste any time on this occasion to get the flatstick going.

In went a 25-footer across the green for a birdie at the first before he then rolled in a 40-footer from just off the putting surface for an eagle at the driveable par-4 fifth.

Just before the heavens opened, MacIntyre made a nice up and down at Calamity, the notorious par-3 16th, before holing a 20-foot birdie putt at the next.

He dropped a shot at the difficult last, but it was still an outstanding day’s work by a player who is establishing himself as one of the brightest young talents in European golf.

“Once I eagled the fifth, I was talking to Greg (Milne, his caddie) and said: ‘We’re leading The Open’.

“But we’re not going to get ahead of ourselves just now and keep doing what we’re doing, enjoying it.” Adding to a promising opening day for the Scottish contingent, Russell Knox also broke par with a 70 while Connor Syme carded a 72.

Syme holed his third shot from 94 yards for a birdie at the first after coming close to the same internal out of bounds that cost Rory McIlroy a quadruple-bogey 8 shortly afterwards.

The world No 3 then found himself five-over and close to last after dropping a shot at the par-3 third before clawing it back to three-over with birdies at the seventh and ninth.

But it ended up being a nightmare start for McIlroy as he four-putted the 16th then finished with a quadruple-bogey 7 to sign for an eight-over 79.

Sam Locke, the fourth Scot out in the morning, got off to a shaky start as he missed the fairway with an iron at the first - 12 months after he won the Silver Medal as leading amateur at Carnoustie.

But the 20-year-old started to find his feet on the back nine and followed five straight pars from the 13th with a closing birdie-3 to card a 75.

Twenty years after getting his hands on the Claret Jug, Paul Lawrie was among the afternoon starters in the event’s first visit to Portrush since 1951.

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