Bob MacIntyre boosted for Birkdale despite 'brutal' damaging spell in Scottish Open
Scot feeling quietly confident heading into season’s final major after ‘decent week’ on home soil
Bob MacIntyre is feeling quietly confident that he can get himself in the mix in the final men’s major of the season despite describing a last-round disappointment in the Genesis Scottish Open as “brutal”.
The 2024 winner headed into the final round of the Rolex Series event sharing the lead at The Renaissance Club before becoming solo leader after raising a huge roar with a birdie at the par-5 first.
However, his hopes of becoming just the third player after Ian Woosnam and Ernie Els to become a multiple champion in this event were then derailed by four bogeys in seven holes as Korean Tom Kim went on to claim victory.
To his credit, MacIntyre rallied on the back nine to finish in a tie for third and, though he was looking for better, it was still a timely boost heading into The 154th Open at Royal Birkdale this week.
“Yeah, I can,” replied the 29-year-old to being asked if he can head to the Southport venue, where the action starts on Thursday, full of confidence after recording his fourth top-ten finish on the PGA Tour this season.
“I will,” he added. “No reason why not. No reason why I can’t compete and, hopefully, come Sunday, next weekend, I can be in the exact same position, have a chance on the back nine and that’s all we play for.”
MacIntyre was clearly frustrated as he briefly thought about his response to being asked by The Scotsman to sum up his day, having earlier signed for a 65 as the third round was completed before signing off with a 69 to finish with a 13-under total - four shots behind Kim.
“I’ll be blatantly honest, brutal,” he said. “Terrible start. Well, good start, birdie at the first but then too many mistakes, far too many mistakes. I was going ballistic after ten holes, so to actually get it back under par was a good effort and then just disappointed with that putt on the last. I didn’t really hole putts this week, it felt like my usual putting just wasn’t there, but, overall, a decent week.”
Though winning in front of his home fans again - he also did that in the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship last October - was his prime objective, the 29-year-old revealed he also had one eye on tying down a spot in the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta in August.
“Yeah, it’s a great week to go forward with, I just knew a top three would have guaranteed East Lake at the end of the year,” added MacIntyre. “I felt like I hit good shots out there, but I hit a couple of decent shots or good shots that were in the worst spots possible and I just feel like you can’t do that at this level, especially when you’re trying to win a golf tournament.”
The crowd in The Thistle hole sang Flower of Scotland as MacIntyre walked up to the green. “Yeah, brilliant again,” he said of the support from the home fans. “I mean, when I walked on that short par-3 and Flower of Scotland was going, I got goosebumps. I wish I could play here every week.”
A new attendance for the event was set as 91,128 fans turned out to support the tournament, surpassing last year’s figure of 88,735.
“The Scottish fans are some of the best fans in the world,” declared new champion Kim as he celebrated creating history as the first Korean to land the prize. “They applaud for really good shots and understand what a good shot is. It's the Home of Golf, so to be able to win a trophy here, it's awesome for me.”
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