Ring-rusty return for Macintyre but still under par

The low hum of commuting cars queued up both ways on the nearby A446 and the occasional squawk of ducks was the audible backdrop instead of cheering crowds as Oban golfer Robert Macintyre made a return to action in the UK yesterday.

The European Tour had hoped the Betfred British Masters at The Belfry in the West Midlands could be a test event for the return of fans to the galleries. They’d worked on a travel plan allowing only car drivers to attend, in much reduced capacities.

But with so many foreign players and caddies present, the government wanted an abundance of caution – so no spectators. Maybe the Scottish Open at North Berwick in July will see some fans return.

At No 45 in the world, Macintyre is the event’s highest-ranked player.

With former world No 1 Martin Kaymer and rising Danish star Rasmus Hojgaard as partners, he started at the short par-4 10th.

There sits the prominent plaque designating that this was where Seve

Ballesteros had first driven the green 311 yards away in 1978.

Changed days. The feat seemed outrageous then, but it’s bang average now. Only no player really wants to start a round with double Ryder Cup qualifying points on the line attempting to drive over water to a tight green at a short par-4, so no one was taking it on.

Macintyre parred there, then hit to four feet at the 11th and holed it for birdie. He looked maybe a little trimmer again after his US run which saw him perform so well in the Masters and Matchplay. He had three weeks off at home and some of it appears to have been on the Peloton bike, most 21st-century golfers’ fitness friend.

But the rustiness started to show fairly quickly after that. There were a couple of missed chances, a messy 6 at the long 15th (his sixth) which included a leftward drive into the trees, a free drop, a clatter among the branches and, to one observer, “five poor shots”.

Swing coach David Burns was watching from a discreet distance, trying to keep an eye on Macintyre’s fellow Scot Calum Hill, who was among the early leaders in the group behind.

The Kingsfield coach tutors them both and it was the first time he’d been able to see both of his star clients in action in the same event.

At 18, where a new back tee had Kaymer’s jovial Scottish caddie Craig Connolly growling, Macintyre groaned loudly as his second shot went under the tree where Team Europe celebrated so wildly at the Ryder Cups of yore.

It was a groan of disappointment rather than despair. He thought he’d a hit a pearler, but mis-judged the wind and it went long. A beautifully judged chip to a foot-and-ahalf saved par.

One the back nine, it was pars all over and one birdie at the fourth. A birdie putt from the front edge after being bunkered off the tee burned the hole edge, but it was a one-under 71 – still good enough for a top 20.

“I really didn’t play great,” said Macintyre. “I putted great, didn’t drive it great, felt like there were a few slack irons.

“The score is still there to get, delighted to walk off there one under par.”

One aspect of Macintyre’s US sojourn was he found he couldn’t stop the ball on the firm greens there. That has resulted in a new set of irons, which have a better “dispersion of distance”, he said. There’s a lot of science that goes into this.

“I thought it was quite easy, I just didn’t take advantage of the par-5s early on,” he said.

“I had a mis-hit with a six-iron into one. Really, you shouldn’t be making par on a par-5 hitting a sixiron in there.

“The shot on 18 we thought the wind had switched into us slightly. I just said this to Mike (Thomson, his caddie), I can hit this a bit harder, I can trap it.

“I hit it perfect, just misjudged the wind slightly. It was a great shot, I just was left with a horrible chip.”

The purpose of this week’s return, however, is to be ready for next week’s PGA at Kiawah Island.

“A tough track is what I’m here for,” he said. “You hit a bad shot you get punished, hit a good shot you get rewarded.”

BACK IN BLIGHTY: Robert Macintyre on the sixth tee yesterday on his way to a one-under-par 71.