Bob marks return with Oban Pipe Band and dad on the bag

Bob MacIntyre marked his return to The Masters at Augusta National to the sound of Oban Pipe Band blaring from his courtesy car.

Continuing a musical theme when making his Masters debut 12 months ago, the Oban golfer had Highland Cathedral playing as he made the journey up Magnolia Lane.

A year ago Bob announced his arrival at the season’s opening major by making the journey for the first time with a tune from the Gunna Sound Ceilidh Band blaring.

The build-up to this year’s Masters had been extraordinary, with Tiger Woods announcing he would compete, but one thing sure to offer some calm among the chaos was the traditional warm-up event, the Par-3 Contest where Bob’s dad Dougie was on hand to carry his bag.

The Par-3 Contest returned to the schedule this year for the first time since 2019 following Covid-related cancellations over the past two years. Previous Masters champions and this year’s Masters field were invited to take part – often with family members in tow, in a competition that offers players a gentle and lighthearted way to ease their way in to proceedings ahead of the first round of the main event.

The short nine-hole course is located in the northeast corner of the

Augusta National grounds, playing over DeSoto Springs Pond and Ike’s Pond.

Not surprisingly, the total yardage of the course is dwarfed by the record 7,510 yards of this year’s revamped Augusta National.

Mike Weir, Mackenzie Hughes and Kevin Na shared the victory at 4-under. Unfortunately the event had to be cut short because of inclement weather conditions.