A ROLLERCOASTER BUT BRAVE BOB KEEPS HIS COOL AND VOWS TO BATTLE ON
THERE were moments when Robert MacIntyre’s recent commitment to keeping calm and carrying on was sorely tested. When it mattered most, though, the mental tools designed to ensure he didn’t blow his top just about got the job done. A frustrating day for the man from Oban began with bogeys on two and four. A birdie on five was handed back with a three-putt on 13, while the stroked gained on the par-five 14th was cancelled out after he found the rough to the right off the tee on 15. By the time MacIntyre stepped on to the 16th tee, two over for the day and even par for the tournament, there was no margin for error. What heart he showed thereafter. Having chalked up another par despite going left off the tee, he then holed a seven-footer on the Road Hole to remain bang on track. A missed birdie chance on 18 typified his travails after a promising opening round of two-under, but his record of making the cut in every major he’s entered remained intact. ‘I just thought it was going to be one of those days, but Mike (Thomson, caddie) did well to kept me calm. I was at boiling point,’ he confessed after his 74. ‘I missed some good opportunities for birdie. (The level-par cut mark) was in my mind from the minute I stepped on until about the 8th tee. I was watching how it was moving. I holed some great putts on 16, 17, to give me a chance. Then 18, I just misread it. I trusted the line, and it just wasn’t the right line.’ Thirteen shots off the lead, 25-year-old MacIntyre will step onto the first tee today with nothing to lose.
‘It’s all guns blazing, no hanging back,’ he vowed. ‘I’m a fair bit back but I know the golf I can play. I’ve been striking it well. I was a bit anxious. I was thinking about things. I wasn’t fully committed in what I was working on.’ David Law leads the Scottish charge after impressively carding three-under following his opening round of even par. The Aberdonian bogeyed the fourth but picked up shots at 5, 13, 14 and 18 to tie for 34th. ‘I think I’ve proved I can compete at this level,’ said the 31-year-old. ‘We’ve got a good game plan. We’ll continue with that. ‘It’s probably been the two most patient rounds of golf I’ve ever played. It’s been brilliant — really fun. I’ve never played a tournament of this magnitude before, so to hear everyone shouting my name when I get on a tee and walking on the green, it’s pretty surreal, to be honest. ‘I was nervous yesterday playing the first couple of holes and settled into it reasonably well. Today was about having a good round of golf.’ Law’s mentor, 1999 winner Paul Lawrie, bowed out after shooting a 77 yesterday following his first-round 74 to finish seven over.