Red-hot Bob MacIntyre rates his chances of success at The Open and has message for Scottish youngsters
‘It's just about getting in that position on Sunday and seeing where the cards fall’
Home hero Bob MacIntyre has vowed to give “110 per cent effort” as he bids to bridge a second 25-year Scottish golf gap over the next four days.
After becoming the first home player since Colin Montgomerie in 1999 to win the Genesis Scottish Open on Sunday, the Oban man is now bidding to repeat the feat in The Open after it was won the same year by Paul Lawrie.
It’s a tall order, but MacIntyre can take heart from the double being achieved by fellow left-hander Phil Mickelson in 2013, when he won the Scottish Open at Castle Stuart then claimed the Claret Jug seven days later at Muirfield.
“It's possible,” said MacIntyre, speaking to the media at Royal Troon ahead of the 152nd Open getting under way there on Thursday, when he’s out with two of his Ryder Cup team-mates, Jon Rahm and Tommy Fleetwood, in one of the marquee groups.
“Tomorrow we'll start off from level par. I've got as much chance as everyone else in the field. Same Thursday last week, I had the same chance as everyone else. It's just about getting in that position on Sunday and seeing where the cards fall. Obviously last week they fell my way.
“My job is to go out there, fight as hard as I can, try my best, and hopefully get in a position where I can just have a chance. That's all I can ask myself, and that's the only bit of kind of anything that I want is just have a chance. If I do my job well enough and I hit the shots I see, execute them as well as I can, accept where they end up, then there's a chance.”
MacIntyre, who is being joined in flying the Saltire on the Ayrshire coast by Ewen Ferguson, Jack McDonald and Calum Scott, will be cheered every step of the way by Scottish fans as he makes his fifth Open appearance as the new world No 16.
“They should expect 110 per cent effort,” he declared. “That's all they can expect. I'm a human being. We're all humans out here. Some weeks it can be great. Some weeks it can be poor. But, if it's good or it's poor, it doesn't matter. I'm going to give 110 per cent.
“It's brilliant to know so many people are backing and supporting you. It's just great to know that you're bringing so much joy to other people. I'm just doing my job. My job is to get the golf ball in the hole as quickly as possible. If I do it well, then I'll give myself a chance, and that's when the crowd really, really gets going.
“Sunday afternoon last week, I mean, some of the roars, I'm sure, the people that were finishing before me were hearing what was going on. It's just so cool to have the support. Since I got on the European Tour in 2019, the support I've had from home in Scotland has been outrageous.”
In a short period of time, the 27-year-old has played on a winning Ryder Cup team in Rome and now landed two wins as a PGA Tour rookie, having won the RBC Canadian Open last month with his dad Dougie caddying for him. From cutting his teeth at Glencruitten, he’s now a global star.
“Don't be scared to dream,” he replied to being asked what message he’d have for Scottish youngsters who are currently being inspired by his success. “A lot of kids out there will be told to do certain things because things aren't achievable, but with hard work, sacrifice, dedication, anything's possible.
“Obviously you need a bit of luck on the way. You need a good break. You need a decent support background. But anything's possible.”
After holing a 20-foot birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win the Genesis Scottish Open in East Lothian, MacIntyre vowed to “celebrate hard” before turning his attention to the season’s final major.
On a scale of one to ten, how had the party been? “Ten,” he said, smiling. “Look, I'm not a big drinker, but when you get moments like that that's a childhood dream and a lifetime goal and you've got family and friends there that have backed you since you were a young kid, I think it was quite right to go absolutely wild. I think we did a good job of that.”
The left-hander tied for sixth on his Open debut at Royal Portrush before making the top again two years later at Royal St George’s. No longer flying under the radar, he’s carrying the weight of a nation on his shoulders this time around but, on the evidence of the last few weeks, he is Scotland’s first genuine Claret Jug contender for some time.
“Just the exact same as last week,” he said of his goal setting out. “There's no expectation for myself from my team around me other than give 110 percent. It's the same.”
Also in a short space of time, MacIntyre has become a multi-millionaire and revealed recently that he’d paid off a mortgage for his mum and dad. “Money's not going to change me,” he insisted. “I'm not going to go and do anything daft or buy anything flash because if you do that, someone in Oban will drag you down properly. But it's great to obviously get the financial gain and be able to do certain things.
“I'm a big believer that everything happens for a reason. A lot's gone on in my family in the last little while, everything that's gone on at home. Again, family's everything. If I can help family and close friends, that's what I'll do. I'm out here doing my job, and I'm lucky it pays really well. It's part and parcel of the sport. Yeah, just try and enjoy myself as much as I can and help the people around me.”
Rory McIlroy’s wonder shot at the 18th hole at The Renaissance Club to pip MacIntyre in the 2023 Genesis Scottish was marked with a plaque, so what would the Scot like to see with his name on it next year? “I think it's a gold-plated sprinkler,” he said, laughing, of the free drop he got from one in thick rough at the 16th on Sunday and making the most of that by recording an eagle as he finished 3-3-3 to pip Adam Scott.
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