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Though 23-year-old Robert MacIntyre, the European Tour’s rookie of the year, pocketed in excess of €2 million across his 30 events in 2019, the money side of things does not stir him overmuch. “To me,” he said, “money’s just a byproduct of playing well.”
You could never imagine MacIntyre, for instance, doing what Mike Lorenzo-Vera did during the recent DP World Tour Championship in talking of how, if he were to win, he would fork out a portion of the $3 million winner’s share on a Ferrari. For the Scot, any suggestion that he might like to drive round the streets of his native Oban in such a car would leave him cold. The bus would be a better option.
In a recent interview with GGP, this Ryder Cup player-in-the-making explained how the people of his hometown (population less than 9,000) have what it takes to bring a man down to earth long before his feet have left the ground. Up at the Glencruitten Golf Club, for instance, there will always be a handful of members to opt for the old Scottish way of giving someone a ribbing for what he has failed to do instead of praising his feats. (For the record, MacIntyre had three runner-up finishes among seven top-10s during the ’19 season.)
“The majority of the guys like a laugh,” he said. “I like to think that I give as good as I get but, to be honest, I’m grateful for the way they treat me. The best thing about coming from where I do is that you’re never in any danger of getting above yourself.”
In terms of giving as good as he gets, you have no trouble in believing it after the way he confronted Kyle Stanley after the American had twice driven into the crowds during the Open at Royal Portrush without calling “fore.” On the second occasion, the ball had caught MacIntyre's caddie’s mum on the arm. “He just stood there watching it,” MacIntyre said. “It wasn’t too pleasant, but you’ve got to say something. … ”
Stanley, in turn, described the incident as a non-issue, reasoning that others nearby had yelled “fore” in both instances: “He’s a young player. I’ve been out here a while ... I don’t feel the need to be schooled on the Rules of Golf.” (Hardly surprisingly, many were of the opinion that MacIntyre was the man in the right.)
Away from golf, MacIntyre revels in the ongoing involvement he has with the town’s shinty brigade. “The shinty folk were supportive when I first started to concentrate on golf ahead of shinty and they’ve stayed that way,” he said. “There’s a lot of rivalry among the different teams but the players never stop looking after each other.”
Shinty officials are always telling him to keep up the good work, while he himself – and here you have to rely on what you learn from others – makes his own contribution to the community. Recently, he auctioned off what was his first Open Championship bag, the one from Portrush, to help a friend in need.
Following a spell on tour, he finds nothing so therapeutic as the long journey home.
“When I’ve flown into Glasgow, I drive up past Loch Lomond, one of the most beautiful places on earth, and from there on to Crianlarich,” MacIntyre said. “After that, the route takes you through mountains and hills until there’s the sight of the sea and the fishing boats jostling in the harbour.
“My golf clubs don’t come out of the car for the first couple of days. Golf is my job. Everyone else get two days off each week and I follow suit. You need time off.”
Back with his parents, he returns to “being a kid” as he plays shinty and football in the back garden with his two young foster brothers.
His mother always wanted to be a foster mum and she started off down that route once Robert’s older sisters left home. “It was a family decision,” he explains. “We’re all in on it. … It certainly helps me to keep things in perspective. More and more, I appreciate how lucky I’ve been in life. What I’ve achieved in golf is not all down to me. I couldn’t have done any of it without the help of friends and family.” Here, he no doubt was thinking of how his father, now in his 25th year as the greenkeeper at Glencruitten, used to ferry him around to amateur tournaments.
There are two golfers to have impressed MacIntyre more than any others during the past year. The first is Rory McIlroy, and the other a lady he met in a friendly game at Machrihanish two weeks before he left for the WGC-HSBC Champions tournament in China. The lady in question was Belle Robertson, a seven-times Scottish amateur champion who, at 83, still has a 3 handicap.
“I was amazed,” he said. “She came hurrying round the corner carrying a pencil bag and proceeded to play some truly incredible golf. She even holed a full wedge.”
Robertson was no less fulsome in her praise of MacIntyre, both as man and golfer. “He’s so unspoiled and such a lovely golfer with it. Towards the end, he hit a couple of 6-irons which were just perfect.”
Robertson’s words tallied with what Justin Rose recalled from the first occasion he played alongside MacIntyre. “Bob,” he said, “hit this beautiful 5-iron into the last and made birdie. The quality of the shot left me thinking, ‘Bloody hell, this lad can play … ’ ”
Rose added that MacIntyre’s game “looks like it can travel.”
To MacIntyre the round-the-world travel is the hard part. “It’s not for everyone. … I could stay at home for the rest of my life but, on the other hand, I marvel at how hitting a white ball can take you to such incredible places.
“I sneaked my player’s card last year and this year I’ve played in my first WGC event and my first Open.
“I had no idea how far I could go in golf when I started out and, to be honest, I still don’t know.”
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