WE’RE ALL SWITCHED ON FOR AUGUSTA
MacINTYRE’S ARMY OF FANS WILL CHEER FROM HOME AS HE LIVES OUT HIS DREAM
IN normal circumstances, a full-strength battalion of family, friends and well-wishers would currently have been plotting out the quickest route between Oban and Augusta, Georgia.
As you may have noticed, however, we’re still at least half a club short of hitting normal any time soon.
Which means that Robert MacIntyre’s very own Tartan Army will instead have to settle for tuning into TV coverage of next week’s Masters. And taking enormous pleasure from seeing their boy realise a dream he’s cherished since childhood.
‘Yeah, it’s obviously disappointing not to have everyone out here with me,’ said MacIntyre of the travel restrictions that will prevent him sharing his Augusta National debut with those closest to him.
‘But it’s also a dream of mine to play at Augusta — and my family would give up absolutely anything in the world for me to play in the Masters once in my life.
‘They will be able to watch it on TV at home. I’m sure they’ll be able to see quite a bit.
‘But, yeah, you’d love to have everyone out. Mums, dads, sisters, friends, everyone. I would have an army coming over for me.
‘That’s part of life just now, we take it on the chin. Hopefully we have many more and, when everything opens up again, we’ll have everyone over.’
Back home in Oban there was much celebrating yesterday after MacIntyre received the official invitation he earned by staying inside the world’s top 50 by the cut-off point for ‘qualification’.
As for dad Dougie, the long-serving greenkeeper at Glencruitten Golf Club could forget about a minor work crisis to cheer his son’s achievement.
‘They are delighted — other than my dad,’ grinned MacIntyre. ‘He is raging today because the burn has overflown and the bridges have been swept away.
‘Other than that, he is over the moon for me. It’s something he’s dreamed of for me.
‘It’s not just something I have wanted to create. It’s a dream that my whole family and friends have given up so much to help me try and create it.’
Obviously talented, driven and fiercely competitive, MacIntyre’s greatest gift may be an ability to remain unfazed by the most daunting of challenges.
Still only 24, this is a kid who marked his major debut by finishing tied sixth in the 2019 Open at Royal Portrush.
Having since found the going a little tougher in both the US Open and USPGA, his recent performances on a mini-swing of US events have given him plenty of encouragement.
Nothing was better for his self-belief than last week’s WGC Match Play event in Austin, Texas, where he reached the round of 16 by winning his group.
He effectively eliminated world No1 Dustin Johnson in the process, having forced the reigning Masters champion to ‘throw the kitchen sink’ at the young Scot just to halve their head-to-head match. Currently the world’s top-ranked left-hander — no bad thing heading to a course where Mike Weir, Bubba Watson (twice) and Phil Mickelson (three times) have all pulled on the famous green jacket — he’s definitely not worried about the tournament’s reputation for devouring debutants.
‘I’d never played Austin Country Club before,’ he pointed out. ‘It doesn’t put me up or down whether I’m a rookie or I’ve played a course ten times. If you hit the shots you are meaning to hit, it’s just golf.
‘It doesn’t matter if I’m playing Glencruitten or Augusta. A bad shot will be punished, just more severely.
‘I’ll enjoy every moment, good or bad, and just believe what I’m doing is right.
‘Driving up Magnolia Lane is going to be absolutely incredible. I’m sure we’ll be able to video that and save the moment for the rest of my life. Just being there and being in the tournament will be great.
‘It’s not like I’m turning up as someone who isn’t going to compete. I’ve shown I can compete. Not to anyone else, but to myself and the people around me.
‘We know if I go there and play well, I can compete. That comes from the belief of last week. That’s huge for me, to know that.’
MacIntyre was heading to TPC Sawgrass to make use of the PGA Tour HQ’s practice facilities yesterday, with his arrival at Augusta pencilled in for Friday.
Having already picked the brains of 1988 winner Sandy Lyle, he hopes to play nine holes with the great Scot — and also play at least nine with 2018 champion Patrick
Reed, with whom he’s struck up an unlikely friendship.
The early arrival is deliberate, even though he’s unlikely to be allowed to play a practice round until Monday.
‘I will go there and do all the Covid testing, you can do that early,’ he said. ‘The sooner we do that, the better.
‘Just try to make Augusta feel normal — that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s obviously going to be difficult but we’re all ready to take on the week.
‘This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a wee kid. You watch year in, year out and think: “I’d love to play there one day”. Realistically, you think: “It’ll probably never happen”.
‘But I’ve put the work in, people around me have as well and it’s been rewarded.
‘I’m not going out there shouting and screaming who I am. I still go about things the same way.
‘People take notice when you play good golf, and I think people took notice when I gave DJ a bit of a scare last week. But again, I didn’t beat him, so there’s a lot of work to do.
‘It makes me proud I can stand up against these guys… he had to throw the kitchen sink at me. I stood up and took it and was delighted to get a half, but disappointed not to beat him. It lets me know I can compete against the best.
‘For me, I don’t need any more belief than seeing what I’ve done the last week.
‘I’m not going to do things differently than I normally do. It’s another golf tournament. I’ve got an opportunity to go and do something and I am going to treat it the same way.’