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Canada News.Net
18-07-2025
- Sport
- Canada News.Net
Reflective Robert MacIntyre counting memories before defense of Scottish Open
(Photo credit: Sandra Mailer-Imagn Images) Robert MacIntyre returns to the Scottish Open exasperated by the year gone by since he birdied the final hole to win his home country's national championship in North Berwick last July. But even with the condensed PGA Tour schedule -- which MacIntyre detailed as prompting the belief he can never take a week off - the Oban, Scotland, native said he's energized planting his feet on home soil to defend his tournament title. 'As a kid growing up, I watched The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and dreamed of playing in it,' he said Wednesday, 'and once I got playing in it, I'm thinking, let's win this thing. And obviously coming close. But last year, when that putt drops -- I keep watching it over and over again. I was struggling. My putting was up-and-down like a roller coaster. And when I struggle, I look at these moments, and I remember the highs when the putter does come, it really turns it on.' MacIntyre defeated Adam Scott by one stroke, making up three shots over the final five holes to extend momentum he brought to Scotland last July after winning the Canadian Open with his dad on the bag. There is a little less in the way of a positive current behind MacIntyre this week. Still, he's 14th in the Official World Golf Ranking the day before teeing it up at The Renaissance Club in arguably the headlining grouping of the first round with Scott and World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler (3:28 a.m. ET Thursday). 'It is surreal to know the path that I've gone on and the results that I've had,' said MacIntyre of the awe factor of coming home to take on the world's best in a spotlight tee time. 'As a kid growing up, you hit putts on putting greens to win this, win that, and I mean to actually be in the tournaments and have chances to really live the moments is all I can ask for. Whether you win it or not, it's like you've got the chance and they are special.' MacIntyre said he'll be aided by having the Scottish Open trophy on a shelf but made it clear he's planning to be aggressive, take risks and play to win again this week. 'I think the pressure is off, obviously, with me saying how much I wanted this golf tournament and we wanted to win this tournament,' MacIntyre said. 'I think the pressure is off on that side of it because I have won it now, but the expectation is not from me, (it's) from outside, the fans. No people within my team because they know it's a process and we do certain things. From the outside, the expectation is through the roof.' Beyond defending his title, motivation will not be hard to locate come Thursday. By car, MacIntyre's hometown of Oban is around a seven-hour drive to Royal Portrush Golf Club in Northern Ireland. This week, it's closer to three hours and under 150 miles to reach the site of the Scottish Open on Cowden Hill Drive in North Berwick. 'I want to keep this trophy every year until I stop playing. But again, I pitch up here, and I want to win,' he said. 'It's the Scottish Open, and it's my almost flagship event, I would say, after the majors. I want to win it. I hope if I don't win it, a Scottish player wins it. It's just a special, special golf tournament with an unbelievable field.' There's enough fuel and energy from the support of the home crowd this week and next for MacIntyre to keep it in high gear. Eventually, he's looking forward to taking a long break and perhaps more time for reflection. 'This season is log-jammed. If you looked at the locker room on the Sunday at the Travelers, everyone was dying to go home because it was just a long stretch. For me, I was out there 11 weeks, played 10 out of 11, was just running on empty,' MacIntyre said. 'It's such a big golf tournament; you're trying your best. It's difficult with how kind of condensed the season is now on the PGA Tour, especially. It's just log-jammed and you just feel like you can't take a week off because if you take a week off, you're going backward. It's difficult -- that side of it. But you've got to trust your schedule. You've got to trust that you're going to get your run. 'But it is very, very tiring.'
Daily Record
10-07-2025
- Sport
- Daily Record
Scottie Scheffler learning from Bob MacIntyre as Scottish Open enthusiasm rubbing off on World No 1
World No.1 pays ultimate compliment to Scots star Scottie Scheffler admits he's learning lessons from Bob MacIntyre. The World No.1 and the Scot are paired together with Adam Scott on the opening two days at Renaissance. Scheffler beat the defending champion by a shot in round one, but still picked up some links tips from the Oban star. He said: 'It's always fun playing with Bob. He's a great guy. I feel like I learn some stuff from him out there. It was a good day. Bob was definitely the crowd favourite, but I felt like the crowd did a great job of supporting all three of us and it was a fun day.' Padriag Harrington played alongside Scots star Calum Hill and he also had good things to say about the local crowds who packed the place. The Irish legend explained: 'They do get a great crowd here, full stop. Obviously the weather is bringing them as well. People are enjoying themselves. 'There's a buzz around the place, you see people eating ice creams and things. It's a nice atmosphere. It's a really good. It's nice when people are out there feeling like a festival and enjoying it and that's the way The Scottish Open should be. 'The weather adds a lot to it. The people come out, but if it's a miserable day, people are miserable. It's sunny, people are out there enjoying it. "The claps are going up. The cheers are going up. Wherever you hit the golf ball, you can tell by the reaction of the crowd. It's the way we want to play golf, so it's nice to see it. "As I said, whenever we come to these National Opens and the weather is good, the people come out and it really makes it all the more exciting for the players.' You can get all the news you need on our dedicated Rangers and Celtic pages, and sign up to our newsletters to make sure you never miss a beat throughout the season. We're also WhatsApp where we bring all the latest breaking news and transfer gossip directly to you phone. Join our Rangers community here and our Celtic community here.
Scotsman
09-07-2025
- Sport
- Scotsman
Defending Scottish Open champ Bob Macintyre in 'here to win' vow
Scotland's top talent paired with world No. 1 in star-studded field at Renaissance Club Sign up to our daily newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to Edinburgh News, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... One eye on the Claret Jug? That's a fair assumption to make about most of the leading contenders at the Genesis Scottish Open teeing off in East Lothian tomorrow, with the world's elite golfers naturally viewing four good rounds here as preparation for next week's Open Championship at Portrush. Ask defending champion Bob MacIntyre about his priorities over the links at the Renaissance Club, however, and he'll quickly dispel any notion of using this week as any kind of warm-up. The Scot, runner-up in last month's US Open, is a lifer when it comes to chasing this uniquely important title. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Biggest golf tournament outside of Majors' MacIntyre, who describes last year's winning putt on the 18th hole as 'the most special thing to happen to me in my golfing career', said simply: 'I'm coming here to win The Scottish Open. I mean, it's the biggest golf tournament, I would say, outside of the major championships for me. I've won it once. But every time I pitch up, I want to win it again. 'So yeah, I'm not looking at next week. I'm looking to try to and defend this title. 'I want to keep this trophy every year until I stop playing. I pitch up here, and I want to win. It's the Scottish Open, and it's my almost flagship event, I would say, after the Majors. 'I want to win it. I hope if I don't win it, a Scottish player wins it. It's just a special, special golf tournament with an unbelievable field. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'As a kid growing up, I watched The Scottish Open at Loch Lomond and dreamed of playing in it. And once I got playing in it, I'm thinking: 'Let's win this thing.' Last year, when that putt drops, I keep watching it over and over again.' Having been denied victory by Rory McIlroy's stunning finish in 2023, MacIntyre prompted scenes of wild celebration among home galleries with last year's triumph. He was the first Scottish winner of the tournament since Colin Montgomerie in 1999. Given everything he's achieved, including tournament wins on both sides of the Atlantic, the 28-year-old is rightly considered one of the leading contenders every time he tees up. On this particular patch of coastline, he's been a major draw since being paired with Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler in his very first outing. Scottie Scheffler playing alongside local hero MacIntyre, who will play alongside world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott in the opening two rounds here, recalled: 'My first year in 2019, I got paired with Rory and Rickie first round. The nerves on that first tee with the crowd and the expectation, somewhat, that I had in myself, I mean, the nerves were unbelievable. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'But I remember how I responded. I birdied the first hole and it just kind of … I try and take everything in my stride as much as I can. 'When you're doing this, you can't shy away from anything. If you get an opportunity, the way I do it, I go straight at it. If you've got a chance, just straight at it. 'What's the worst that can happen? You fail. I feel like that's the way I've done it my whole career. 'But it is surreal to know the path that I've gone on and the results that I've had, as a kid growing up. I mean to actually be in the tournaments and have chances to really live them moments is all I can ask for. Whether you win it or not, it's like you've got the chance, and they are special. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Yeah, I think the pressure is off, obviously with me saying how much I wanted this golf tournament. I think the pressure is off on that side of it because I have won it now. 'But the expectation, not from me but from outside, the fans … the expectation is through the roof. But again, I can't control that. 'Hopefully come Sunday on the back nine, we just have to kind of flip the coin or roll the dice, however you want to say it, and if it falls your way, perfect, like it did last year. You just keep giving yourself opportunities and you're going to fall across line at some point.' The famously understated Scheffler, who expects to see some bumper galleries when his group tees off at 8.28 tomorrow morning, is looking forward to reuniting with a local hero he knows from their days as amateur rivals on Walker Cup duty, the American saying: 'Definitely excited for the week. Got a good pairing to start the first couple days, and both guys played well in the tournament last year. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Bob got a tough break two years ago with Rory birdieing the last two holes in pretty challenging conditions to beat him by one. For him to bounce back and win last year was nice for me to see, and I was happy for him. 'He's a guy that works really hard, and he's one of the great guys out here. So it was nice to see him get it done at his home tournament. 'I think any time you're able to win a tournament on the PGA TOUR or DP World Tour, I think you've done something very special. It's very challenging to win out here. 'It would be very special to win at the Home of Golf, and like you said, it's a different style of golf that we play throughout the year. So to be able to win a tournament on this golf course, or next week, says a lot about a player, especially if they are coming over from the States.'
