Kyle Stanley blasts back at Bob MacIntyre over ‘Fore’ row

American Kyle Stanley has hit back at Bob MacIntyre after being confronted by the young Scot for not shouting ‘Fore’ as he hit two people in the crowd in the second round of the 148th Open Championship.
American Kyle Stanley during the third round of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Picture: Getty ImagesAmerican Kyle Stanley during the third round of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Picture: Getty Images
American Kyle Stanley during the third round of the 148th Open Championship at Royal Portrush. Picture: Getty Images

MacIntyre, who is making his debut in the event, had heated words with the more experienced PGA Tour player in the scorer’s hut at Royal Portrush after the incidents on the 14th and 17th holes.

A marshal was hit on the leg on the first occasion and, on the second, MacIntyre’s caddie Greg Milne’s mum suffered bruising on her hand that required medical treatment as she was hit trying to protect her face.

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Giving his account of the second incident after completing his third round on the Antrim coast, two-time PGA Tour winner Stanley said: “I hit a ball right on 17 yesterday. You had a hard wind off the left.

“After I hit several people on the tee box yelled “Fore.” My two playing partners, my caddie, a couple of the volunteers or the marshals, even had them signaling it was going right. I mean, everyone to the right of that ball, they knew it was coming.

“So to me it’s kind of a non-issue. I’m not really sure why he decided to make such an issue about it. I know it hit his caddie’s mum’s hand off the bounce, and that’s unfortunate. If it didn’t, I don’t think we’d be talking about it right now.

“But, as far as I’m concerned, a number of people yelled “fore.” He made the argument that since I hit the ball that it maybe should have come out of my mouth first. I guess I can see that.

“But it’s unfortunate it ended up the way it did. It certainly wasn’t my intention to put anyone in harm’s way. I had my wife in the gallery, my coaches. So I’m surprised it’s kind of come to this point.”

Asked if he normally shouted ‘Fore’, the former Walker Cup player added: “When, I hit it off line I do.

“But this was a unique situation. You have marshals on the tee signaling where the ball is going. You have guys down there in the landing area. Everyone knew that ball was going right.

“Like I said, it’s a bad deal. But everyone knew the ball was going over there. Like I said, five or six people on the tee yelled “Fore”; my caddie did, my two playing partners, a couple of the marshals. I thought that was enough.”

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He also felt that was the case after his caddie quickly shouted ‘Fore’ after the shot that hit the marshal at the 14th hole.

A raging MacIntyre said he’d had “harsh words” with his playing partner after they finished the round. “It wasn’t too pleasant. But you’ve got to tell him it’s not right. He didn’t take it well at all,” said the Oban man.

Replying to that, Stanley said: “I wouldn’t say heated. We talked about it briefly. I was surprised. I was caught off guard that it even came up, really. I just explained to him my side of it.

“And listen, I saw what he said last night. The way things were kind of painted from his perspective wasn’t - he left out quite a few details. I wouldn’t really say that was an accurate description of what happened. They knew the ball was going over there.”

The missing details? “Like I told you, there were probably five, six, seven people on the tee box that yelled “fore.” There are also marshals signaling right. There are marshals down there in the landing area.

“I mean, it was pretty clear to me where the ball was going. I didn’t think I really needed to add to it.

“I mean, it’s not awkward for me. You know, when you talk about somebody playing within the boundaries of etiquette in golf, that’s kind of a touchy situation.

“To paint somebody in a bad light, not playing within the etiquette of the game, you’ve got to be careful when you do that. When you tell your story, you’ve got to make sure you have all the details.

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“From what I read last night, he didn’t do that. He’s a young player. I’ve been out here a while. So I don’t feel the need to be schooled on the rules of golf or what to do when you hit a shot off line. So that’s kind of my perspective on it. I don’t know, maybe a good learning experience for all.

“If his issue was with me not being the first person to say “Fore,” I mean, does he have a point? Does he not have a point? That’s up to him.

“ All I know is after I hit the ball it wasn’t but a couple of seconds when several people on the tee box started shouting “Fore.

“I thought that was enough. My intention was to never do anything negative or put anybody in the gallery in harm’s way.

“I always try to be very professional about how I go about things. I don’t think what happened yesterday changes that. It was just an unfortunate situation. Certainly not my intent.”

Players on the PGA Tour have a habit of not shouting ‘Fore’ and MacIntyre was widely applauded on social media for confronting the issue on this occasion.

“For the most part, everyone I play with when there’s a ball off line, there’s an effort to let people know,” insisted Stanley. “I certainly don’t think guys try to, when they hit a ball off line use, the crowd to their advantage, no.”

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