'Rough': Bob MacIntyre braced for more fan flak after throwing money at carnage
Scot feels in ‘unbelievable place’ as he bids to retain spot on European team for Bethpage Black
Bob MacIntyre reckons he won’t be able to “buy” friends at this year’s Ryder Cup but, if the Oban man retains his place on Europe’s team for the contest at Bethpage Black, he’s determined to “embrace” whatever is thrown at him by loud New York sports fans.
Helped by handing out Oban Celtic shinty tops and a $20 note in gift bundles, MacIntyre secured some new American fans during last week’s WM Phoenix Open, the PGA Tour’s rowdiest event on the Stadium Course at TPC Scottsdale in Arizona.
It was a brilliant PR move as MacIntyre came up with a plan to deal with what he described as the “carnage” of the 16th hole, but he’s not being fooled into thinking that something similar would have the same effect in a Ryder Cup on US soil.
“I think it's more the other way - it's going to be coming at us,” he replied to being asked if it would take a $100 bill for that as opposed to a $20 one. “But no, look, it's going to be good. I'm hoping I'm going to get there and my plan is to get there.”
For the first time in the biennial event, crowd monitors will be out on the course at Bethpage Black keeping an eye on behaviour outside the ropes when Europe, the holders after winning at Rome in 2023, bid to record a first away win in the match since 2012 at Medinah.
“I think when the boys get there, it's just embrace it,” added MacIntyre, who was unbeaten on his debut at Marco Simone Golf Club and is determined to be on Luke Donald’s team once again. “It's going to be rough, but, if you play well and you can bring the energy from yourself to them as well, then you’ve just got to try and enjoy it as much as you can.”
The left-hander reckons his experience when landing a maiden PGA Tour win in last year’s RBC Canadian Open in Ontario, where his dad Dougie was caddying for him, would stand him in good stead for Bethpage Black
“For probably 60-63 holes, I had Canadians on my side because I'm left-handed,” he said. “I was one of them because I was left-handed. A lot of hockey players play golf and they're left-handed. When I got in the back nine on Sunday, it switched a wee bit. Someone got thrown out because of the stuff they were shouting at me. I just think you can channel that and bring it in and use it as fuel to the fire. We've got some of the best players in the world in Europe and I just hope that we enjoy it.”
It’s no secret that MacIntyre wasn’t really enjoying life as a PGA Tour player this time last year, but, helped - admittedly - by the fact he’s now inside the top 15 in the world and playing in all the big events this year, the smile is back on his face and there’s a definite spring in his step again.
“I think once I pulled all the layers back, it was all to do with the attitude towards my golf, to be honest with you,” he admitted. “Obviously the lifestyle, the culture change and everything's different, but I'm just coming out here to do my job.
“Things changed once I realised that and, if you want to go home, you do so in 15 hours. Also once I realised that not to react so much to the shot, not to react so much to things that are said, not to react to things that annoy me, because the same things still annoy me when I'm out here.
“It's no different this year to last year with things that annoy me. But I know how to handle them. And it took me a wee while to realise how to handle them, little things to help me handle them.”
It’s been a team effort, with his girlfriend, Shannon Hartley, having done her bit to help change MacIntyre’s mindset about being in the US, as have manager Iain Stoddart, caddie Mike Burrow and the other members of his trusty support team.
“It’s about having the right team around you to help you handle all these situations and now I feel in an unbelievable place, within my golf game, personal life, to the team I've got around me,” he added.
“I feel like we've all got the same goal and that's to get as high up this world ranking and high up with the game of golf and win the biggest golf tournaments in the world that we can. Everyone in my team is stacked up the exact same way. And that's all I can ask for because, if someone says jump, it's like how high you want me to jump, man, I'll jump as high as you want.
“And it's the same across the board. I ask Mike to do something. If he can do it, he'll do it. If he can't, well, give it his best shot. Same with Simon [Shanks, his swing coach), same with Stoddy, same with Mike, same with Kenny [MacKenzie, fitness coach]. I mean, the whole team.
“I was in the gym yesterday with Kenny and it's one o'clock in the morning back home and he's helping me achieve our dreams. Do you know what I mean? It's not just one guy. Like Simon's out here this week. It's not just one guy trying to achieve a dream.
“The whole team is trying to achieve dreams. Mike, for example, has got dreams as a caddie. And, once I realised everything is a bigger picture than me trying to hit a golf ball and there's more to it, then it becomes easier.”
Has that attitude transferred to the golf course? “I'd say so, because I'm not meaning to play bad golf when I play bad golf,” he added. “As long as everyone tries their best, I can walk away at the end of my career, whether the career ends in two years, whether it ends in 15 years, I can walk away and go, you know what? I gave this everything I had and so did my whole team. And, if I can do that by the end of my career, it's going to be a decent one.”
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