Robert is a record breaker
Oban golfer Robert MacIntyre signed off a marathon nine weeks on the road with a brilliant course record 63 on the final day of the Magical Kenya Open in Nairobi.
He said: ‘I’m absolutely delighted. I didn’t really expect that after the way I’ve been playing but I just went out with complete freedom and managed to get it round in eight under. I’m still not striking my irons great but I managed it well. I started holing some putts which is a key, I’ve been really struggling.
‘It just wasn’t feeling natural and today I went out there and made myself feel free and it just worked.
‘I made a joke with my caddie after we made the cut. I said: ‘We can’t go backwards’.
‘I’ve got the game to go and shoot these numbers as I showed today, it’s just playing with freedom and that’s what I did. That’s the way I’ve got to try and get my mindset for the rest of the year.’
The Glencruitten golfer graduated off the European Challenge Tour in 2018 and just 18 days after the season ending Ras Al Khaimah Challenge Tour Grand Final, he teed up in the season opening Honma Hong Kong Open.
He went from Hong Kong to Australia and then played two weeks in South Africa, securing back to back top 15 finishes before the winter break.
He made the cut on his Rolex Series debut in Abu Dhabi in January and he has not missed a cut or been home since, playing five events and having two practise weeks in Dubai before arriving at Karen Country Club for the Kenya Open.
That means the 22-year-old has played every week he has been able to get in the field so far in the 2019 season, with 10 made cuts from 11 events including this week.
He could be forgiven for showing signs of fatigue but there was no danger of that from MacIntyre, who made six birdies and an eagle in his last European Tour round before taking a well-earned five weeks off from tournament golf.
‘I just can’t wait,’ he said. ‘Just to get home and see the family, the two foster kids, Dan and Tom; it’s just so relaxing back in Oban, everything about it.’