High-flying Bob aiming to shoot for the stars as he eyes Augusta debut
Rookie of the Year Robert MacIntyre is aiming to continue his incredible start to life in the pro ranks by reaching Augusta and the Ryder Cup.
The 23-year-old is back home in Oban reflecting on a remarkable debut season on the European Tour, which saw him become the first Scotsman since Marc Warren in 2006 to land the end-of-year rookie prize at the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai last week.
MacIntyre finished 11th in the Race to Dubai standings after racking up seven top-10 places, including three runner-up finishes, and winning a host of new admirers.
The left-hander currently sits 66th in the World Rankings, but is projected to finish the year in 62nd spot – meaning he has until the end of March to reach the all-important top 50 for the first Major of season at The Masters at Augusta in April.
“The main goal for the next couple of months is getting into the top 50. But I can’t control the World Rankings, I can only control my own golf,” said Bob.
“You have to take care of yourself and see what happens.
“Augusta is a dream, isn’t it? If there is one golf tournament I would love to win it’s The Open. But, if there is a golf tournament that I could play once in my life, it would have to be Augusta.
“It’s a place that looks so good, it’s special and it’s obviously been a dream. But if it doesn’t happen next year, I’ve got plenty of years.
“I’ve done very little this week since Dubai, as you need downtime. Next week I’ll sit down with my manager, Iain Stoddart, talk about how the year went, what can go better and we’ll make some goals.
“We’ll go out in January and we’ll shoot for the stars again.”
MacIntyre, who is likely to return to action in the new year at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, is acutely aware that more rewards come in golf through consistently performing.
While the Ryder Cup may have seemed a distant dream for Whistling Straits in 2020, he is currently 11th on the European points list and is among a number of young players on the radar of captain Padraig Harrington.
“I see the Ryder Cup Rankings every week and it would be great to get into it,” admits MacIntyre.
“But I’m still young. Everyone can probably guess my long-term goals, but I can’t worry about that. I’ve just got to go out and play and if I keeping playing good golf, things can happen.
“There is a group of young players pushing hard, comfortable coming from the Challenge Tour.
“It just depends how everyone plays next year, as guys like Matthias Schwab, Marcus Kinhult and Victor Perez are closer than me.”
MacIntyre’s down-to-earth attitude has made him an instant hit among players and fans these past 12 months, and he is pleased to reflect on a job well done.
It has certainly been a stirring Scottish story in 2019, given MacIntyre only burst on to the amateur scene as a fresh-faced teenager when he won the Scottish Youths title at Lanark six years ago.
The Glencruitten GC star continued: “I didn’t think the season would go as well as this. I knew I had the game to compete on the European Tour, but I didn’t know how high.
“This year has opened my eyes to not just European Tour golf, but world golf, like at The Open (where he tied 6th). It has been a learning curve, but there are only positives you can take from the year.
“I enjoyed playing care-free golf. I wasn’t worried about anything, whether at home or on the golf course.
“That is when I play my best golf, when I’m care-free and looking to win. I feel if you worry about the cuts each week, then you will be around the cut line.”