Bob MacIntyre should feel proud to be teeing up in Tiger Woods' event on back of big year

Sometimes it takes a fresh perspective to make you actually realise how well someone has done. “If you take away Scottie Scheffler, then Bob MacIntyre probably delivered the two best stories in golf this year,” opined an American during a chat on Sunday evening.

Scheffler, of course, has had an incredible year, cementing his position as the world No 1 with seven wins, including a second Masters in three years, The Players Championship and, to cap it off, the Tour Championship. He’s the game’s dominant force and it’s impossible to overlook him when it comes to reflecting on a year that is drawing to a close.

The same, of course, has to be said of Xander Schauffele after he finally landed that elusive first major in the PGA Championship at Valhalla then quickly backed it up by also winning the 152nd Open at Royal Troon, where, as I was reminded through watching the official film on Sunday after stumbling across it, his last-day performance was mighty impressive indeed.

It could have been something really special for Rory McIlroy as well if a couple of tournaments had worked out differently for him at the death, but, at the same time, four title triumphs in any season is a good return and it was great to see how emotional he was last month when moving level with the great Seve Ballesteros with a sixth Harry Vardon Trophy success on the DP World Tour.

Bob MacIntyre celebrates with his dad Dougie after winning the RBC Canadian Open in June. | Getty Images

Then, of course, we saw Nelly Korda land seven victories, including five in consecutive starts and a second major, in the women’s game, where Lydia Ko also illuminated the sport by claiming an Olympic gold medal in Paris before adding the AIG Women’s Open - her first major win in nine years - a fortnight later on the Old Course at St Andrews.

In comparison to all of that, it might not seem significant to some, but the aforementioned American certainly made a good point because, when you actually sit back and reflect on it, what MacIntyre achieved this year and the storylines he delivered in the process has, indeed, made people outside of his beloved Scotland sit up and take notice of him.

It would probably have escaped most people’s attention but, earlier in the year as he set out with a PGA Tour card in his hand for the first time, the Oban man was down the pecking order when it came to his tee times in events on the US circuit and, in truth, that was perhaps understandable.

Yes, he’d played on a winning Ryder Cup team in Rome last year and been pipped by a brilliant birdie-birdie finish from Rory McIlroy in the Genesis Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club, but, along with the nine others who had secured PGA Tour tickets through the DP World Tour’s Race to Dubai, he was effectively on the same level as Korn Ferry Tour graduates. And that meant either being out very early in rounds or very late, which, although he laughs about it now, can be a bit demoralising.

It all changed, of course, for the 28-year-old when he won the RBC Canadian Open in June and it was fairytale stuff - perhaps even the best storyline all year in golf - due to the fact that his dad Dougie, answering an SoS call, had taken a week off from his greenkeeping duties at Glencruitten to caddie for him at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Ontario.

We all thought that would be difficult to top and understandably so, but what he then did a few weeks later was one of those great moments in sport and those who were there back at The Renaissance Club to see him hole a lengthy birdie putt on the 72nd hole to win the Genesis Scottish Open - the first home player to achieve the feat since Colin Montgomerie in 1999 - as well will know exactly what I am meaning.

On the back of those two brilliant victories, the left-hander broke into the world’s top 20 for the first time - he’s currently 15th - and, in doing so, has earned one final outing in his 2024 calendar campaign, teeing up for the first time this week in the Tiger Woods-hosted Hero World Challenge at Albany Golf Club in the Bahamas.

Bob MacIntyre shows off the Genesis Scottish Open trophy along with girlfriend Shannon Hartley | Andrew Redington/Getty Images

MacIntyre is the first Scot to be playing in the event since 2016 and joins Colin Montgomerie, Martin Laird and Russell Knox as the only players to have flown the Saltire in it, with this one being the nine consecutive at this particular venue and 25th edition overall.

It’s a measure of MacIntyre’s journey in the game over the past 12 months or so in particular but also since he was crowned as DP World Tour Rookie of the Year in 2019 and it should be a pinch himself moment to be in a 20-player field that is being led by Scheffler and also includes world No 5 Ludvig Aberg, as well as US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley.

Woods himself is not teeing up this week as he continues to recover from his latest back surgery in September, but the 15-time major winner will be speaking at a press conference on Tuesday before joining MacIntyre, Justin Thomas, Jason Day, Akshay Bhatia, Aaron Rai and Nick Dunlap in a Hero Shot event.

Who knows what lies ahead for MacIntyre and, in the short term that will hopefully include another Ryder Cup appearance at Bethpage Black next September, but let’s all take a minute or two to soak up what he has actually achieved this year and thanks to my American friend for offering his perspective because he is spot on.