Bob MacIntyre baby privacy was rightly respected - although one question was wide of mark
Scottish superstar wanted to keep his big piece of news under wraps
It wasn’t exactly the best time to be asked the question and I’ll admit that it took me aback. “Is Bob MacIntyre’s partner pregnant?”, I was asked in the Media Centre at Bethpage Black on the eve of the 45th Ryder Cup last September and it wasn’t from someone random.
“Not that I know” was my honest response and it certainly wasn’t something to be asking about in that particular week, even though I obviously spoke to MacIntyre on more than one occasion and also spent time out on the course with his partner, Shannon Hartley, and his parents, Carol and Dougie, as well.
It might even have been after he’d won the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship the following week that I had it confirmed that Bob and Shannon were, indeed, due to become parents but, at that time, it was a private family matter.
As has been the case with every single top golfer who has come through the ranks in Scotland in particular over the past few decades, it’s been an absolute pleasure getting to know MacIntyre and covering his career so far has been very rewarding indeed.
There’s no way, though, that I’d ever feel I need to put a story out there just to try and get a few clicks knowing that it could have an impact on a relationship, hence why I went four months aware of what was happening with someone who is now a Scottish sporting superstar but not writing about it.
Towards the end of last year, MacIntyre was on BBC Radio Scotland’s Saturday Show with Amy Irons and Steven Mill and I was convinced it was going to be mentioned. But it wasn’t.
Shortly afterwards, I met him face-to-face for the first time since the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship as we sat down for a lengthy chat at the DP World Tour’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship at Jumeirah Golf Estates in Dubai.
After talking about the Ryder Cup, finishing second in the US Open and this, that and the other, I ended with something along the lines of “anything exciting to tell me about 2026?” “Aye,” he replied, smiling, “but you’re not getting it for this!”
People are perfectly entitled to privacy
Which, I have to say straight away, I had no issues with whatsoever because, let’s face it, it has nothing to do with golf and people are perfectly entitled to keep family matters private, if that’s what they prefer.
What was funny, though, was his reaction to something else I said to him that day. “Congratulations on your engagement,” I commented, having remembered that I’d spotted something about that on social media, only to be told by MacIntyre, laughing loudly, that it had been ‘false news’.
It had already been a fantastic start to 2026 for MacIntyre, of course, as he climbed from seventh to fifth - he’s now back down to sixth after Justin Rose jumped seven spots to third following his wire-to-wire win in the Farmers Insurance Open - after his first two events of the year on the PGA Tour.
His social media tracker and a couple of others were in touch with me early last week to ask if I knew why he hadn’t stayed on for the event at Torrey Pines and also wasn’t in the field for this week’s WM Phoenix Open, but all I said was that it was down to a “family matter”.
Which led to one person soon being in touch to say “you kept that quiet” after MacIntyre had posted on Instagram on Friday evening to reveal that Findlay MacIntyre had been born last Wednesday, describing the new arrival as “our new world #1”.
As you might expect, the reaction to that announcement has been quite incredible and that’s because the Oban man has built up a huge army of fans in a relatively short period of time. Parenthood, of course, will bring its challenges, especially when he now spends so much time in the US, but one thing for sure is that MacIntyre will be a great dad.
When he first started out on the DP World Tour, he’d often talk about the quality time he enjoyed back home with foster children in the family house. More recently, he had also told us stories about spending time with his two nieces, Lottie and Penny, and it was lovely to see him lifting them up in his arms after that sweet success at St Andrews last autumn.
‘He’s a real family man’
In short, he’s a real family man and, though an exciting 2026 campaign lies ahead, it will take time for him to get used to being away from home while Shannon and Findlay are back in Scotland.
Just over a week ago, I watched Grant Forrest and his lovely wife, Christy, spending time with their one-year-old son, Spencer, on a hotel beach in Dubai. My first reaction was to feel old as Grant was probably only 14 - maybe even younger - when I wrote my first story about him and he is now 32, but that was terrific to see.
As has been seeing the likes of David Law, Scott Jamieson, Richie Ramsay and Marc Warren all out on tour at different times with their young children. Before them, it was Stephen Gallacher and Paul Lawrie, with their offspring now being young adults.
Having been told by him, Calum Hill is also set to become a new dad this year along with his wife, Miranda. Though he’ll be hurting at the moment after letting a chance to win in Bahrain on Sunday slip through his grasp, Hill will soon discover that a little bundle of joy can be a welcome distraction at times from golf and, as a relatively new first-time grandparent, I can vouch for that being a good thing.
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