Why Bob MacIntyre feels opening Troon round was 'close to perfection'

Bob MacIntyre reckoned his first outing as the new Genesis Scottish Open champion was something to be pleased about and Jon Rahm, one of his playing partners in the opening round of the 152nd Open at Royal Troon, agreed.

“Bob played good,” said the Spaniard, speaking in the mixed zone at the Ayrshire venue as MacIntyre did a series of TV interviews after signing off with a birdie to card a one-over-par 72 in testing conditions. “Bob could have easily shot two or three lower because he had a couple of lip outs.”

Cheered every step of the way by the home fans after his dramatic title triumph at The Renaissance Club on Sunday, MacIntyre mixed two birdies with three bogeys as he produced exactly the performance he’d been looking for after admitting he felt more relaxed than ever coming into the Claret Jug event.

TROON, SCOTLAND - JULY 18: Bob MacIntyre during first round action at the 152th Open Championship at Royal Troon on Thursday, July 18, 2024 in Troon, Scotland. (Photo by Tom Russo/ The Scotsman)

“I thought it was almost perfect,” said the left-hander of his morning’s work in an all-European Ryder Cup group that also included Tommy Fleetwood. “The putter didn't turn up today, but I thought tee to green was absolutely superb, especially that front nine. With the wind in out of the right, I wasn't comfortable at all.”

Under the circumstances - in addition to the challenging conditions, he’d “celebrated hard” on Sunday night after becoming the first home player since Colin Montgomerie in 1999 to win the Scottish Open - it was arguably the 27-year-old’s best-ever round in the game’s oldest major.

“Obviously the prep wasn't great, but that's by the by,” he said. “I thought we prepared well Tuesday, Wednesday and, with the conditions out there, I just thought the way I'm swinging the golf club and moving the ball in the air and fighting the winds has been, it was close to perfect today.”

Having shaved the edge of the hole on a number of occasions, it was really no more than he deserved when a close-range birdie putt fell at the last. “Yeah, it was big,” said MacIntyre of signing off on a high. “I thought I played absolutely superb and had loads of chances from inside that 12-foot range. Didn't hole them today, but I gave myself good chances. I thought I rolled them well, and they went the opposite way.

“But that's Troon. It's very subtle. It's old school links golf where the greens are very flat but they just kink left to right, and the crosswinds as well, when you're hitting a putt, the ball will move in the wind.”

Though wind-assisted, he was one of the few players to fly the burn at the par-5 16th with his drive. “On the way out, I'm fighting hard just to keep the ball in play,” he said. “But I know that when we turned that the right-handers are fighting hard to keep the ball in play.

"With me a natural drawer of the golf ball, I had a game plan to go short, I had a game plan to go over, and I walked on to the tee and I looked up at the flags and seen they were more down, turned to Mike [Burrow, his caddie] and he looked at me and he went, driver, and I went ‘yep’.

"I think it was like 305 to cover the burn. With the wind the way it is, it's no bother. If we hit it in the thick stuff, we just pitched out and would have wedged it on. But I like to hit driver.”