Robert MacIntyre and the three little-known Scots aiming to take The Open by storm – including star who is ‘top bet'
IT's been over a quarter of a century since a Scot won The Open Championship.
Depending on your age, Paul Lawrie's improbable win on home soil at Carnoustie is either a distant memory or something you've only ever seen on archive TV reels. But this week at Royal Portrush, perhaps some new memories will be made...
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Four Scots will be teeing it up at The Open Championship in 2025
Credit: AP
For the first time since the days of Colin Montgomerie, Scottish golf fans are looking ahead to The Open with a genuine contender for the Claret Jug flying the flag.
That man is Robert MacIntyre, the current world number 14 and a two-time winner on the PGA Tour last season.
While the Oban lefty hasn't topped a Sunday leaderboard this year, he came agonisingly close to winning the US Open - only to be denied by JJ Spaun's monster 64-foot putt on the final green.
The 28-year-old leads the Tartan charge on the Antrim coast going into this week but three other Scots will fancy their chances of springing a surprise on the Dunluce links.
All four have the advantage of being more accustomed to the changeable British weather conditions and the intricacies of links golf than say world number one Scottie Scheffler, big-hitting Bryson DeChambeau or US Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, all of whom have won on either the PGA Tour of LIV Golf this year.
So, let's get into the swing of things...
Robert MacIntyre
World ranking: 14
Career wins: 5
First round tee-time: 2.48pm
If there was any doubting MacIntyre's place among the golf world's elite, just look at who he's grouped with for the opening two rounds at Royal Portrush.
He'll be teeing off with American megastar Bryson DeChambeau and European Ryder Cup stalwart (and two-time Open runner-up) Justin Rose.
That's actually a perfect grouping for the Scotsman, too.
He's good friends with Rose and he had DeChambeau get on well too, with the long bombing American reaching out to personally congratulate him after his Scottish Open success last year.
Rose and MacIntyre are both accomplished links players and who knows, they might (secretly) revel in watching DeChambeau struggle to master conditions that he simply doesn't seem to have worked out how to yet, no doubt spurring them on together.
MacIntyre called the defence of his Scottish Open title "horrible" but in truth, his play over the weekend wasn't all that bad. He also attributed some of the errors to him still adjusting to his new clubs and with the fairways at the Renaissance Club much firmer than they are here at Portrush, he won't have that problem.
He's also declared Royal Portrush as his favourite links golf course in the world, which is perhaps no shock given he finished tied for sixth here on his major debut in 2019.
Six years on and MacIntyre's play this season puts him right in contention for a proper run at being Champion Golfer of the Year.
He ranks in the top 30 of PGA Tour players for strokes gained tee-to-green and strokes gained on approach to the green, two important metrics for success in links golf.
And when it comes to greens in regulation, which was a big factor in Shane Lowry's win here six years ago, MacIntyre comes in at 24th.
If you watch some of MacIntyre's play at the 2023 and 2024 Scottish Opens you'll see how skilled he is with a wood or hybrid in his hands on a links course and for the season so far he ranks fifth in the world in approaches from 250-275 yards, another stat that will stand him in good stead.
If he manages to stay out of trouble with the driver and brings out his best on the greens, expect him to go mighty close this weekend.
Daniel Young
World ranking: 472
Career wins: 1
First round tee-time: 4.05pm
MacIntyre's closest compatriots in the world rankings are Ewen Ferguson, Callum Hill and Connor Syme but none of them have qualified for The Open.
So the next man up is the unheralded Daniel Young, who currently plays the majority of his pro golf on the second-tier Hotel Planner Tour (or the Challenge Tour to those of a particularity vintage).
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Daniel Young is the second pro among the Scots quarter here at Portrush
Credit: Getty
The Perth golfer has quietly gone about his business this season and is well-placed to earn a spot on the DP World Tour for next year if he keeps it up.
He's had two top-three finishes in his last two tournaments and came through Open qualifying ahead of the likes of former European Tour veteran Marc Warren and 2014 Ryder Cup hero Jamie Donaldson.
Young is a member of Kingsbarns Golf Club, one of Scotland's top links courses so he'll be relishing the chance to test himself against the best among the dunes of the Dunluce.
His only professional win came at the 2019 Eagle Orchid Scottish Masters at Macdonald Spey Valley Resort in Aviemore, where he led from start-to-finish to claim a maiden EuroPro Tour title.
Cameron Adam
World ranking: 29 (amateur)
Career wins: 3 (Two amateur, one collegiate)
First round tee-time: 3.54pm
Left-hander Cameron Adam topped the Open Amateur Series rankings to secure his place in the field at Royal Portrush.
Adam, who played collegiate golf in the USA for Northwestern University, won the coveted St Andrews Links Trophy at the start of June and also competed in the R&A's Amateur Championship, held at Royal St George's and Royal Cinque Ports in Kent later in the month.
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Cameron Adam has some fine form on British links courses
Credit: Getty
He then rounded off the series with a top ten finish at the European Amateur Championship at Vasatorps Golfklubb in Sweden to formally punch his ticket to Northern Ireland.
It caps a strong 12 months for the 21-year-old, who won his first career collegiate title this year with a three-under-par 207 (67-70-70) at the Clerico in Oklahoma.
The 2024-25 campaign was his best to date on the ultra-competitive college circuit this year with four top-fives and five top-tens in addition to his Clerico win.
He was ranked one of the best players in the US, earning First Team All-Big Ten Conference honours.
Adam has now graduated and is attached to the prestigious Royal Burgess Golfing Society in Edinburgh, which claims to be the oldest continuous golfing society in the world. He also won the Scottish Men's Amateur Championship in 2023, hosted at the famous Royal Dornoch.
So he's no stranger to playing at historic venues and on competitive circuits, making him a solid bet to claim to Silver Medal as the top amateur.
Or maybe more, just remember Justin Rose announcing himself to the world with a top five finish at Royal Birkdale in 1998...
Connor Graham
World ranking: 40 (amateur)
Career wins: 0
First round tee-time:
Connor Graham, like Adam, was a late entry to the field for The Open.
But that hasn't stopped him being the most popular bet to finish as the top amateur at Royal Portrush (according to Oddschecker).
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Connor Graham made it to Royal Portrush through as a qualifier
Despite being ranked lower than countryman Adam in the world amateur rankings, the 18-year-old from Blairgowrie's stunning performance in Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links has clearly made punters sit up and take notice.
Graham fended off YouTube golf star Peter Finch and then defeated fellow Scot Paul O'Hara to earn his spot.
He joined Texas Tech University last year (the same school that NFL superstar Patrick Mahomes attended) and enjoyed a fine freshman season, leading his team in scoring and being named to the Golf Coaches Association of America (GCAA) All-Freshman Team.
Graham has been a name to watch on the golf scene for quite some time now, ever since he reached the semifinals of the Scottish Amateur at just 14 years old to become the youngest player to reach the last four of the historic championship at Murcar Links.
He's without doubt the least experienced of the Scots who'll be teeing it up this week but his four-under-par score on what is a testing course at Dundonald should give him plenty of confidence he can make an improbable run here.
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