Bob MacIntyre makes 'business' decision with caddie change

Scottish No 1 hires fellow Scot Mike Thomson in bid to take career to next level

Bob MacIntyre revealed he'd made a change on his bag during a press conference ahead of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open, which starts tomorrow at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian. Picture: Andrew Redington/Getty Images

Bob MacIntyre reckons he needs to develop a "ruthless" streak to take his career to the next level and has started that process by making "one of the hardest decisions" of his young life.

On the eve of the $7 million Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club in East Lothian, the 24-year-old from Oban revealed he'd parted ways with Greg Milne, his caddie for more than two years

Feeling he's reached the first crossroads in his fledgling professional career, MacIntyre has turned to Fifer Mike Thomson, who was on Brooks Koepka's bag when the American took the Challenge Tour by storm before becoming a multiple major winner, to add some experience on his bag.

"I just felt like the time was right to change," said MacIntyre, last season's European Tour Rookie of the Year, of his decision to part ways with Irishman Milne. "Not just for me but also for Greg.

"Me and Greg came from the Challenge Tour together. We are great mates. But the two of us were almost getting stagnant in what we were doing. We almost spent too much time together. I think that was one of the problems.

"It's not nice at all to do it. It's one of the hardest decisions I've ever made in my life. But it's my job and my business. If I don't perform, I've not got a job. At the end of the day, it's my job that's on the line, so I just felt like it was something that I needed to do to just try and take the next step.

"I'm at a level or a stage in my career that I can go two ways; you can either go back into the pack or you can take off and get into the top 50 in the world, top 30s. That's obviously where I want to be. I don't want to be just in a pack. I want to be a standout. I want to be up there competing in majors."

Thomson, who lives in Lundin Links, caddied for Kopeka when the American won three times, including the Scottish Challenge at Macdonald Spey Valley in Aviemore, on the Challenge Tour in 2013, to secure an automatic step up to the European Tour.

While Koepka then hired Irishman Ricky Elliott as he went on to become a four-time major winner, MacIntyre was well aware of his fellow Scot's reputation when he started thinking about making that change.

His approach came at a good time, with Thomson jumping at the chance to turn his back on a delivery job for a local baker that meant him getting up at 3am.

"Once me and Greg parted I was always getting Mikey," added MacIntyre. "I need more experience and Greg needs more experience. Greg done his job to his absolute best for me every week, and it showed. My results were good.

"But, for me, it's like any other sport, like football, shinty, whatever. If something is not going well, you've got to change it to try and get different momentum, and that's pretty much one of the reasons I've done it, just to try and get something different, try and see a different angle on it, and I mean, that's really the main reason.

"Mikey is obviously experienced, been through a lot, and I just felt like I got on great with him, so it was one of them. It was a pretty easy decision for me. I approached Mikey and seen if he could do the job, and here we are this week.

"We had a good chat. For me, it was just a case of asking, 'do you want it as much as me?', and he came back and said, 'yeah, brilliant, let's get going'.

"I feel like that I'm doing the right things. Mikey, for instance, is a winner. He's not scared to take on folk, and I feel like that's perfect for me because I'm at a stage where that I need to push on and become ruthless when it comes to the crunch.

"I'm only 24 years old, but I feel like it's a big chance for me at this stage. Who knows, maybe at 29 years old it might happen. But I want it to happen at 24 years old. I want it to happen now, and I've got a great chance with these next couple of weeks. Thankfully my game is looking pretty good just now, so who knows."

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