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What a mistake it would be to presume the boy-next-door demeanour means a lack of competitive instinct. Robert MacIntyre’s love for Oban, shinty and all associated is endearing. He has also proved that he is perfectly comfortable in the company of golf’s aristocracy.
MacIntyre missed the module where sportspeople are advised not to speak about lifetime aspirations. Mention the Masters to the Scot and he lights up. Absence makes the heart grow fonder; after impressing at Augusta National in 2021 and 2022, he failed to qualify for the next two stagings. MacIntyre returns for the 89th edition as the 17th-ranked player in the world.
“A Green Jacket,” MacIntyre says. “Imagine taking a Green Jacket back to Glencruitten … boy, it would get ripped off me I think. I am a big dreamer. I see things and believe in them. I just want a chance … I picture the 18th hole, standing on that tee and what I would do. I still don’t know what I would do. It would be nerve‑racking but that is why you build a team around you.
“That’s why I have one of the best caddies in the world to help me. I would be shaking like I have never shook before on that tee but it is your job, go and execute it. I just want to have that shot.”
MacIntyre has cause to think big. The Scottish Open was a lifetime goal; one he realised by winning in East Lothian last July. The previous month, he had become the Canadian Open champion with his father on the bag. In his own words, it was the stuff of “absolute fairytale”. Storied, magical moments seem to attach themselves to the 28‑year‑old. He is well within his rights to contemplate Masters glory. The first major of the year, after all, has a tendency to favour left-handed golfers.
“It is my favourite place in the world to play in a golf tournament,” MacIntyre says. “It is where I want to be, it is something I want to win. It is not just playing in it, it is trying to win the tournament. I have played well to get there; you have to be in it to win it. I am looking forward to it, I cannot wait to be back out there competing. It is a special place, a kid’s dream.
“Every time I pitch up there, it has been a dream and I try to enjoy that. When you are not at something so special, you are disappointed, but that just made me work harder. I watched almost every shot. Even if I am not playing golf I will watch it.”
Shinty, though, is his first love. MacIntyre played in goals for Oban Celtic during a pre-season fixture – he reckons that is marginally safer than an outfield role – and was on FaceTime with squad members immediately before his third round at the Arnold Palmer Invitational. He adores the sport and the environment keeps him grounded. “I go in there with a lot of young guys, a lot of my mates, and they just treat me as Bob,” he says. “If I wasn’t playing this game, I would be on the tools with my mates. Simple as that.”
Scratch deeper into MacIntyre’s backstory and you will find no silver spoon. Indeed, he was absent from many of the leading amateur events that elite golfers participate in before turning professional.
“I didn’t play because I couldn’t afford it,” MacIntyre says. “I played in the odd Lytham Trophy and maybe two British Amateurs but I couldn’t afford to go to others. I remember the year Bradley Neil won the British Amateur [in 2014 at Royal Portrush], I won the Sir Henry Cooper. I could have got into the British Amateur but I was going to the Henry Cooper with Scottish Golf because they were paying for it. I had two older sisters, mum and dad were working regular jobs, so I couldn’t fly to Ireland and spend three or four grand on a week when we were just trying to get by. It was just about finances.
“I think that makes me fight harder. I am just from a regular background, I have been given an opportunity by my parents and others around me … I am determined to make the most of it. I have fought for everything. Playing shinty was the same, it was about fighting. It doesn’t need to be pretty, it can sometimes be an absolute dogfight and that’s when I do my best.”
Against this backdrop, it feels even more impressive that MacIntyre has adapted so well to golf’s prime events. His home base remains Oban, not Florida. “Winning on the PGA Tour makes you believe. I know Canada didn’t have the strongest of fields but I am still being chased down by Rory McIlroy at the end. The Scottish Open had a strong field. I am a big believer that on my day I can compete with the best of them. When you are in the top 20 in the world, that is how you have to think every week.
“It is not so much performing, it is about the standards you set yourself. Since Mike [Burrow] has been on the bag, my standards of practice, preparation, eating have been raised. This is my job, man, I have to give it my absolute best.”
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The American tendency to have the last word can irk MacIntyre. Drones on golf courses have caused irritation. But MacIntyre is self‑deprecating. Perhaps that, and a refusal to seek publicity, is why he has not really received the sporting prominence he deserves in the UK.
The Ryder Cup is understandably on his radar. He formed part of the winning team in Rome last time. “That is exactly the same as the Masters. You taste it once and you want it for ever. I know that if I play well, I will be there. That is in my hands.”
MacIntyre arrived in Georgia having undertaken a “boot camp” at Isleworth in Florida. He did likewise before the Arnold Palmer Invitational and Players Championship, where he posted high finishes. This time, green speeds and pin positions were set up to mirror what MacIntyre will encounter at Augusta.
“It was a massive benefit,” MacIntyre says of the first trip. “That was the first time I have done it, as a team we decided to give it a try and I didn’t know how it was going to work. I had everyone out there with me; a proper, proper camp over four days. I pitched up at Bay Hill on the Monday and was knackered. That is when you taper off because you have prepared as hard as you can.
“It worked brilliantly. You know where you are with your short game. Otherwise it would be two weeks off back in Oban, chipping on to greens that are six on the Stimpmeter. I enjoy that, it is part of my life, but to prepare to compete against the best players on the planet, that is not working.”
Lofty targets, perfectly happy in his own skin and playing well. MacIntyre’s Masters chance is a live one. “I want to prove to myself and other people that I belong at the top end of golf,” he insists. “OK, where I come from and how I have gone about it might be different but there is more ways than one to skin a cat. You have got to shoot for the stars.” It feels impossible not to root for him.
