Robert MacIntyre didn’t expect much to be expected at the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship this week.
The last time we saw Scotland lefty, he was celebrating the historic victory of the Ryder Cup, while European teammates left Bethpage Black on the bus. So if he didn’t bring his A game to the old courses in St Andrews, Canosti and Kings Barn, he would be forgiven for not getting close to the level of preparation he would normally do this week.
“I laughed when we drove back to the clubhouse,” MacIntyre said on the old course on Sunday. “I did everything with the book this week, starting with the preparations, and I stuffed it on Wednesday afternoon. I know the golf course. I hit 12 holes on Wednesday. The week’s diet wasn’t good; I can confirm. I’ve had a lot of takeout, fish and chips, and a lot of them.”
On paper, everything points to MacIntyre is not a factor in Dunhill. But golf often brings unexpected things.
The 29-year-old finished with 66 points in three consecutive rounds, ending in the Under-18 game and won four-shots on his Ryder Cup teammate Tyrrell Hatton.
“It’s incredible that whenever you can win golf games on these shores, it’s special, but it makes me happy the way,” McIntyre said. “It was really good to play over three days, yes, we’re here.”
The secret to excellence in the European Ryder Cup? 5 words storytelling
go through:
Josh Schrock
A week after helping the European team win the New York Ryder Cup with a 1-1-1 record, the No. 9 player in the world skillfully navigated around the link courses of the wind strike, avoiding the hassle.
“It’s just the biggest thing to do is to be able to overcome golf, don’t be afraid,” McIntyre said. “The biggest thing on three golf courses is to stay away from the pot bunker, especially on the tee. I’m doing a great job.”
MacIntyre now won the Scottish Open at Genesis, and his homeland won Dunhill. With the deposits for both trophys, the Oban man hopes to win his first major by winning his first place in St. Andrews, which will hold another Open Championship in 2027.
“It’s special to win anywhere in the world, but for the Scots, I won the Scottish Open. To win the Dunhill link at Golf House, you don’t have any other place to want to win the golf championship, and the only potential champion would be the open title from St Andrews.” “But no, it’s a special win, and for me as a Scots, it just elevates that. It’s no secret. A major champion is what I need or want.”
MacIntyre finished second at this year’s U.S. Open and played a T7 at Royal Prothush’s Open. He knew the next step he had to take and thought he was close to kicking the door to his first major championship.
“But look, if I play every professional game over the next decade, it’s 40 chances, and I wish I could get into the trouble number of times, if I did it earlier, instead of doing it later, we’d add to that. But I know I already have the game. I know I already have the game. Now, it’s all pieced together, yes, next year it’s Augusta.
But this is the focus of the future.
Currently, McIntyre will enjoy some downtime and continue to celebrate the whirlwind for two weeks, which makes him part of Ryder Cup history before winning at the Golf House.
“We will do our best,” McIntyre said of his upcoming celebration. “I don’t know if it will be tonight, but in the next few weeks we’ll have a nice celebration. Look, it’s hard to win any time, and yes, it’s just a great ending for a good week.”
