Macintyre, ‘the wee boy from Oban’,

So much for trying to keep things “low key” this week. Bob Macintyre, the “wee boy from Oban”, is in with the big boys in the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open. He’s in the same group as world No 4 Rory Mcilroy and 14th-ranked Rickie Fowler in the first two rounds at The Renaissance Club.

The dream draw is Macintyre’s reward for emerging as one of the bright young stars in European golf this season, sitting as the top rookie in the Race to Dubai as he makes his debut on the circuit on home soil in the $7 million Rolex Series event in East Lothian.

“Well, you’ve got to be thrown in at the deep end at some point, I suppose,” said the 22-year-old as the marquee three-ball was revealed at his press conference, which he’d started by talking about trying to treat it as a normal week on the European Tour. He is now bracing himself for a hugely exciting opportunity.

Macintyre, one of four Scots to graduate to the main circuit from the Challenge Tour at the end of last season, played with two major winners, Ernie Els and Charl Schwartzel, in an event in South Africa early on in the 2019 campaign and has since twice found himself in the same group as Tommy Fleetwood, the 2017 Race to Dubai winner.

“It’s another step in the learning experience for me,” he said. “In my first year, I’ve had quite a few already and this is going to be another one. To be out with them in your first Scottish Open is pretty special.” The left-hander has already been in Fowler’s company this week, the pair having taken part in a 14-club challenge match that was filmed for the European Tour social media channels and will be aired next week.

“I suppose I have,” said Macintyre when it was pointed out that he was set to go head to head with Fowler for a second time on Scotland’s Golf Coast. “And I might have snuck a wee win in there, as well. I was a bit nervous, obviously, Rickie Fowler being a world-class player and me being a wee Oban boy, so something dif