I DON’T LONG TO BE LIKE BRYSON
MacIntyre won’t chase speed merchant as Tour gets going
BOB MacINTYRE admits catching “absolute monster” Bryson DeChambeau in the speed stakes isn’t on his agenda.
But after climbing to within one spot of a Masters invite without striking a ball, the 24-year-old hopes freeing himself from a gung-ho mindset will drive him to new heights.
The Scot starts his European Tour season on Thursday at the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, with a prize pot of £5.9million.
DeChambeau won’t be in the UAE but an appearance on Tour is imminent, with the US Open champion heading to the Saudi International in a fortnight.
Although MacIntyre, who bagged a maiden Tour win with victory in Cyprus in November, will leave the American alone after he motored past 200mph club head speed.
The Oban lefty is known for giving the ball a fair whack but laughed and said: “I’m miles back! I’ll be 175 to 180 ball speed. He’s an absolute monster Bryson, he’s miles ahead of everyone else on ball speeds. But this week it is who can get the ball in the hole in the least number of shots come Sunday afternoon.
“Bryson is not here this week so I’m just going to go out there, play my golf and see where we end up.” On the fascination with DeChambeau, he added: “I mean everyone is, he’s pushing the limit. When he said he was going to
try a longer driver, everyone was like, ‘Let’s try the longer driver.’
“I haven’t done it yet because I feel my strengths are my driving and accuracy. If I keep driving it the way I am, unless something drastically changes in the game of golf I’ll still be able to compete.”
MacIntyre began 2021 by rising from world No.55 to a personal-high of 51st – the top 50 come March 29 are Augusta bound – without teeing up.
He said: “Sitting at home with a beer in hand watching, it was quite nice! If I kept going like that I’d have my feet up in Oban now.
“But we can’t do that, we’re not just trying to get into the top 50 in the world, we’re trying to surpass that. If that is my limit then it’s my limit – but I don’t think it is. I’m trying to push on.
“I don’t know how high I can get in the world rankings, no one knows. I can only try my best, put in the work and, wherever I end up, I’ve given it my best shot.” A Masters debut would be a “by-product of good golf ” so he’s not letting himself worry.
Asked if it is easy to mentally block out the opportunity that could beckon come April, he added: “It is. Again top 50 is not where I want to end up, it’s not my end goal, it’s a stepping stone.
“If I can crack that by March 29 then, brilliant, I’ll be at the Masters. If not, I’ll only be 25 this year so I’ve got plenty of years.”
MacIntyre reckons he’s now in the shape of his life after injury saw him miss this event last year – and admits honing his mental discipline may be just as crucial.
He said: “I used to worry about the outcome and I didn’t win in two years so I was failing every week. Technically I was shooting to win, I wasn’t winning, so what are you doing? You’re failing.
“Whereas if I can set little goals that are achievable every week, I can keep building on that, then you have got to be in a better place physically, mentally, emotionally. Then if you get a chance to win, come the last two holes you’re really thinking, ’Let’s try to win this thing.’”