Bob MacIntyre happy again no longer searching for 'perfect golf swing'

Bob Macntyre is feeling better about his game again after deciding he doesn’t need to be searching for the “perfect golf swing”.

The 25-year-old from Oban bounced back from his disappointing back-to-back missed cuts in Rolex Series events in Abu Dhabi and Dubai by producing an encouraging effort in the Ras Al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital.

While he’d have been looking to finish better than joint-13th behind Dane Nicolai Hojgaard after sitting in the top five heading into the closing circuit, it was much more like it overall from MacIntyre at Al Hamra Golf Club.

“For a wee while there, I was trying to do stuff differently and it wasn’t working,” said the top-ranked Scot, who decided to stay on in the UAE to start his season rather than head to California for the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am on the PGA Tour.

Bob MacIntyre in action duing the final round of the Ras al Khaimah Championship presented by Phoenix Capital at Al Hamra Golf Club. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images.

“But this week’s been a case of going back to just playing golf the way we know how to play golf. I’ve been shaping it into holes and it works. It’s the way I know how to play golf.”

Referring to Kingsfield-based David Burns, he added: “I’ve talked about it a lot with my coach. You can try and get a perfect golf swing, but sometimes the perfect golf swing doesn’t fit the person.

“And I feel we have worked that out and we are starting to learn the way I know how to swing a club and how I can swing a club and it’s working again now.”

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MacIntyre tees up in the Ras Al Khaimah Classic on the same course this week before heading to Los Angeles for next week’s Genesis Invitational, the event hosted on the PGA Tour by Tiger Woods.

And the left-hander said accuracy rather than length is what he’s looking for going forward.

“Sometimes I tee it high and absolutely slash at it, but it’s about swinging within yourself with the driver,” he added.

“It is fun to slash it, but my body is not going to last if I keep doing that. The way I know how to play golf is to shape the golf ball and this teeing up and slashing it doesn’t always work for me.

“We are just trying to get into contention in as many golf tournaments as we can and try and take a couple of opportunities this year.”

MacIntyre had been due to forces with Stephen Gallacher in one of two Scottish teams in Tuesday’s Hero Challenge in the UAE, but that is no longer happening due Gallacher still being troubled by a back injury.

Because Gallacher was the highest-ranked played in the team, MacIntyre doesn’t automatically qualify.

John Catlin, who was first reserve, has a category ranking higher than Macintyre’s, meaning the American will now tee up along with Jacques Kruyswijk.

It means Richie Ramsay and Grant Forrest are the sole Saltire bearers among the 26 teams, with twins Nicolai and Rasmus Hojgaard likey to be the pair to beat in the nine-hole shoot-out.

The winning team will pick up $24,000 from a total prize pot of $150,000.

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