Bob’s sights are firmly focused on St Andrews and the 150th Open
No sooner had the dust settled on the European Tour’s 2021 season than the starting gun sounded for the launch of the DP World Tour.
As such in modern sport, there is little time to rest on your laurels and reflect on past glories. Instead it’s on to the next challenge.
Bob Macintyre is certainly proud of his efforts this year, with his fourth-place finish in Dubai last Sunday earning him a spot in the top 10 on the completed Race To Dubai standings.
While thoughts are very much looking ahead to the new golfing season, Macintyre has yet to work out what his goals are for 2022, getting back into the all-important top 50, from his current position of 55, will be uppermost in his mind.
But whatever he decides, playing well in the 150th Open at St Andrews next July would surely be near the top of the list.
After finishing sixth at Royal Portrush on his debut two years ago and then eighth at Royal St George’s in July, the clock is ticking until the man from Oban gets to experience the tournament as a home favourite for the first time.
“I can’t wait,” said Bob. “If I could only play one Open, it would be The Open at St Andrews.
“It’s for the buzz and the atmosphere of being a Scot playing an Open Championship on home soil. It’s where we all want to be.
“Getting to do that is something I have dreamed of since I was a kid.
“But I won’t just be going there for the sake of playing, I’m going to compete.
“I’ll be going off the position of two good finishes in my first two Opens, so I know what to expect, and I know what the atmosphere will be like.
“So I’ll go there with all intentions to win, like I do every week. “The Old Course is great, but it takes a bit of getting used to. I hope the rough is up and I’m sure it will be. There is a lot that I still need to learn, even though I’ve played it so many times – little things that I can’t see visually.
“But we’ll turn up and hopefully it blows and rains and makes it really tough!”
At 25, Macintyre is still a relative rookie in golfing terms, but he now has three years’ of knowledge under his belt from competing against the best on the European Tour.
Now two more Scots have joined the tour in Challenge Tour graduates Ewen Ferguson and Craig Howie.
Remarkably, Bob is younger than both of them, but he has some simple advice for his new Tour mates.
“Don’t change a thing,” stated Macintyre.
“It’s a game of golf and how good can you be at a game? There is only so good you can be.
“You have got to this level by doing certain things that work, so just keep doing those same little things.
“One of the main things you have to do is invest in yourself. If you think something is going to help you, do it. If you don’t think it is going to help you, don’t do it.
“For me, it’s not rocket science. Do the simple things right and have the right people around you to do the same.
“There are so many little things which can just get in the way of letting you play golf.
“So it’s about doing the things you do well, and keep doing them.”
With his status as Scotland’s No. 1, and now a regular in the game’s biggest events on both sides of the Atlantic, life is different from when Macintyre was the new kid out on Tour.
But he admits that he has been trying to pick up little nuggets from golf’s star players, which set them apart from the rest.
“There are more demands on you, but it’s also easier to get better resources the higher up you go,” he adds.
“You’re seeing the biggest players in the world and what they do and you can pick away at those little things.
“It could be technique-wise, something they do in their practice rounds, just little things they do differently from the majority of guys.
“It’s about picking that up and adding it to your game.”