TROON, Scotland — You might sooner find a golfer who’d rather win any tournament more badly than the British Open than one who welcomes a week of the shanks. Until you find Bob MacIntyre.
Oh, MacIntyre, a 27-year-old from Oban, in the Scottish Highlands, will play in the British Open this week at Royal Troon.
And of course, he wants to win the year’s final major championship.
But even a hoist of the Claret Jug on Sunday on the 18th at Troon won’t top for him what he did on Sunday on the other side of Scotland, where he captured the Scottish Open at the Renaissance Club.
It’s his national open, and the tournament he attended since he was a child, when his father would tote him along the fairways.
MacIntyre was on the British Open media schedule for a 3 p.m. pre-tournament interview on Monday, but there was no better chance he was going to be in that interview room than there was of Tiger Woods joining LIV Golf before the end of the business day Tuesday.
With the blessing of tournament officials, MacIntyre postponed his media session until Wednesday. And Woods has still not been lured to the Saudi tour for $1 billion, or whatever they’d offer him at this point.
“How I come down from this?’’ MacIntyre asked rhetorically Sunday with the Scottish Open trophy at his side. “I don’t think I will. I will just try and ride the wave. I don’t think I’ll be in a fit state to get to Troon. I don’t think I’ll be legally able to drive.’’
MacIntyre, who had the Scottish Open title ripped from his grasp on the 72nd hole a year ago, when Rory McIlroy birdied the final two holes, hitting one of the shots of his life on the final hole to win, promised that he was going to “celebrate this one hard.’’
This time, the Scot effectively stole the tournament from Adam Scott, who held a share of the clubhouse lead as MacIntyre played the 18th hole and buried a 20-foot birdie putt for the victory. MacIntyre played the final five holes in 4-under par to secure the win of his life.
Now what for an encore?
“When I tee the ball on Thursday [for the first round of the Open], whatever time I tee off, I’ll try to win the championship,’’ MacIntyre said. “[But] there might be some alcohol still in the system. You’ve got to celebrate the good times, because it doesn’t happen a lot, and this is one I said I wanted.
“I’m going to celebrate this with my family, friends, everyone,’’ he continued. “We’ll pitch up to the Open when we pitch up at the Open.’’
The past year has been quite the ride for MacIntyre, who’s risen from relative obscurity to become a multiple tournament winner and a member of the 2023 winning European Ryder Cup team.
Now, pending any results of a breathalyzer test before he begins his opening round on Thursday, MacIntyre has to be considered one of the favorites to win this week.
Before his Scottish Open win, MacIntyre won the Canadian Open in an emotional week that included having his father, Dougie, a greenskeeper at a small course in Oban, caddying for him.
At the end of that tournament, many tears were shed by both MacIntyre men.
“Winning in Canada was really emotional because it was my first PGA Tour win and my dad was on the bag,’’ MacIntyre said. “I never thought it would happen.’’
Then came last week.
“This win is one I wanted,’’ he said. “I was close last year, but I had my chance here and I just kept saying to myself, ‘Just take a chance.’ I took it. I can’t believe it. Last year was heartbreaking, but this year means everything. I’ve watched this [tournament] as a kid growing up and it meant a lot. It was the only one I could really go and watch.
“This is the one I said I wanted at some point in my career … and I got it.’’
