MacINTYRE WILL KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON
Robert MacIntyre believes he can seriously contend for the Claret Jug on his open debut — after marking his first round of major championship golf with a stunning declaration of intent.
the 22-year-old left-hander carded a three-under 68 to put himself in contention for the biggest prize in golf.
And, asked if he could pull off a stunning victory at royal Portrush on Sunday night, MacIntyre said: ‘I think so. I need to keep putting myself into a position to do so.
‘Come Sunday on the back nine, if you’ve got that chance, that’s the way I play golf — I keep going at it.
‘I was taking memories from everything, walking round. I kept glancing at the leaderboards and thinking: “Can we win this?”
‘It’s day one and we’re going to have to keep going. It’s about jockeying in position.
‘It’s 72 holes. We’ve only played 18. So I want to be in position come Sunday. that’s what I plan on doing. Hopefully we can do that.’
MacIntyre’s stellar start to his career at this level is fast becoming one of the stories of the golfing season.
there’s definitely more than a touch of the Hollywood yarn about the lad from oban being thrown in at the deep end — and looking completely at ease so very far from the shallows.
It was all there yesterday, with MacIntyre revealing that he and Irish caddie Greg Milne had used their love of shinty and hurling, respectively, to stay calm in his first major.
Few are as immediately engaging as the 22-year-old with the steady nerve and the down-to-earth attitude. even the sight of his name up in lights, emblazoned across the giant electronic leaderboards dotted at almost every greenside here, didn’t faze him.
He may have wobbled once or twice. Dropped the odd shot here and there. but, on a day when the pre-tournament favourite had an eight and a former champion signed a card with a 14 on it, MacIntyre handled just about everything a windswept and wet royal Portrush could muster in defence of its honour.
only a bogey on the last kept him from joining the earlymorning leaders on four under par. Some of the best golfers in the world would have paid good money for his 68.
Insisting that he had never once felt over-awed by the experience, and had felt more nervous playing alongside rory McIlroy and rickie Fowler in last week’s Scottish open, MacIntyre said he could never be one of those golfers who ignore the leaderboard.
‘I’m watching it every moment.’ he declared. ‘once I eagled the par four, and on the par three, I was talking to Greg, saying: “Look, we’re leading the open”. We don’t get ahead of ourselves and just keep doing what we’re doing, enjoying it.
‘one of the things that’s key to me staying relaxed is Greg. He’s a big part of it. When we walk down the fairways, we’re not talking golf. We’re talking anything. He’s into his hurling, I’m into my shinty. We just talk absolutely anything.’
being in the relaxed company of Andrew Johnston certainly helped, with MacIntyre adding: ‘beef was a big help, just kind of laughing when the crowds erupted for him. It’s been brilliant and I’ll keep enjoying it.
‘I was much more nervous last week. I stepped on that tee with rory and rickie last week and I was just thinking: “oh, no, just get this thing going forward.” but last week you’ve just got to learn from these things. And I feel that’s what I’m doing.’
on the tee for an 8.36am start, there were plenty of laughs among the three-ball early in the round, MacIntyre looking at ease as he chatted with Kyle Stanley and Johnston.
He was grinning like a schoolboy after rolling in a lovely birdie putt on first, too. A second straight birdie followed on the reachable par-five second and, just like that, the Scot was on the leaderboard. Impossible to ignore.
Although he dropped a shot on the fourth, he bagged a dramatic eagle on the par-four fifth — just holding the back of the green on the 374-yard hole with his drive, then draining the putt from all of 60 feet.
‘I was about two yards from going out of bounds,’ he said. ‘but you get a bit of luck — and hopefully you take advantage of it.’
on the most spectacular green on the course, he had just gone top of the leaderboard. What a sight.
MacIntyre was rising to the challenge, the sight of Shane Lowry moving a shot clear on the board behind the seventh green prompting an immediate response — another birdie at perhaps the most demanding hole on the front nine.
He battled and fought from there on, his putter staying just hot enough to keep him very much in contention.
MacIntyre’s mum, Carol, and one of the two boys she and husband Dougie foster — young thomas — were by the green on 18, taking a picture of the famous open leaderboard.
the man himself says he is taking mental snapshots of everything that has happened since breaking through from the Mena tour to the Challenge tour, the european tour and now this elevation to the elite.
‘It’s come faster than I ever thought,’ confessed MacIntyre. ‘I was expecting to have another year on the Challenge tour. but life’s a rollercoaster — and I’ve got to keep riding it.’