Bob’s loving Ryde along
MacIntyre checks out of Augusta to Euros anthem after stormer
BOB MacINTYRE is eyeing automatic Ryder Cup selection and his next big steps in golf after a dream Masters debut.
The 24-year-old Scot produced a scintillating show at Augusta to tie for 12th and book his return to the Major next April.
MacIntyre’s outstanding effort has rocketed him to within one place of the automatic spots in Padraig Harrington’s European team to take on the USA.
And the Oban talent will bid to play his way into the September showdown at Whistling Straits. Asked about his chances right now, a modest MacIntyre said: “Zero – because I’m not in the team yet.”
But he added: “If I am in the spots, I’m in and they can’t not pick me.
“Until I am inside the automatic spots I won’t
BOB MacINTYRE can not only birdie, he can boogie.
But the Scot joked he feared he may fall foul of the law after chanting his way out of Augusta National.
MacIntyre didn’t dare look at his mobile phone the morning after his Masters debut heroics.
Such was the impact around his nation thanks to a stunning two-under tally, there were so many messages of congratulation he wasn’t sure he would get anything done for the rest of the day if attempting to reply to them all.
However, having taken it out to film and capture unforgettable moments as he headed down Magnolia Lane for the last time in 2021, he suddenly wondered if he’d stepped out of line.
MacIntyre had reason to celebrate. Having tied 12th on his first trip around this track, his ticket was booked for a return next April and the party was on.
Ceilidh music accompanied his drive in at the start of the week.
When he left in elation, it was the new Scottish celebratory singalong choice of manager Iain Stoddart – Baccara’s ’70s hit Yes Sir, I Can Boogie.
Mercifully Masters officials didn’t rain on the parade as MacIntyre smiled and said: “I decided all the music, all the way, until maybe the last one on the way out. Stoddy suggested we use the one Scotland had when they qualified for the Euros and we obviously all went mental in the car.
“We actually did well to stay calm for the intro part of the music – everyone was so excited about what was going on.
“I was worried I was going to get stopped for holding my phone up to the windscreen as I was driving. I don’t know what the laws are like here. Back home they would have stopped me.
“But they gave me a wave and everyone was absolutely brilliant around the whole club from the minute I got there until the minute I left.”
It was quite an hour or so for the Oban
youngster. A short while earlier he had drained a putt on the 72nd hole to give himself a chance of an automatic return to Georgia.
It was his 21st birdie of the week, a tally no one in the field matched.
Only a gain from American Brian Harman on the last could deny him a guaranteed comeback but, after doing TV interviews, he witnessed his rival’s effort fail.
Cue the burst into mood by swamping his unsuspecting family and team outside the clubhouse.
The 24-year-old, who only made his Major bow with a tied sixth at The Open in 2019, said: “My dad, Stoddy, (caddie) Mike and everyone else were outside, not knowing what’s going on. When Harman missed the putt I just said, ‘See you next year, lads!’
“I opened the door, ran straight out and they didn’t know. My dad still had the binoculars out, trying to see what was happening.
“I just ran up and jumped on Mikey’s back, giving everyone high fives.
“The minute you play one of these, you don’t want to miss another one. To guarantee my spot for next year is absolutely brilliant. It’s where you dream of playing as a wee kid.”
Naturally, Scots fans noticed his putt on the last was near identical to the one Sandy Lyle holed to slip into the Green Jacket in 1988. He added: “It was going in a bit hot but the hole was there to stop it!”
MacIntyre savoured a magical week but it’s back to business with the RBC Heritage on Hilton Head Island in South Carolina this week before he gets a real chance to reflect on Augusta and a twomonth stint in the States.
Asked what he’d do as soon as he got home, he laughed and said: “Isolate!”
Seriously, he added: “I miss Oban, I miss home. But I don’t mind missing home if I’m playing the Masters. I’ll take it.”
MacIntyre’s efforts captured the imagination in Scotland beyond golf and he said: “I was seeing it on social media and stuff.
“People from back home in Oban who don’t follow me that much were watching golf and the Masters because I was there.
“It’s gone a bit more wild than I thought it would.
“I’m just playing a game I love and I’m thankfully decent at.
“I am not changing. I’m literally just playing because I enjoy it and can make a living from it.”
His first job will be to dish out the Augusta souvenirs as he laughed and said: “The question is what aren’t we bringing home!
“We have filled a bag. Family and friends were wanting something because they obviously couldn’t be here so we stocked up.”
And the music choice for when he does get his Major win, having now featured in all four?
He said: “That’s a bit ahead of the game. I might sing my own song! Seriously I’m just taking it day by day.
“What I’ve done is good – 12th at the Masters at first attempt.
“But there’s so much more I could have gained out of it. We’ll take what we can get.”