NORTH BERWICK, Scotland — The sixteenth inexperienced at Renaissance Membership sits effectively under the sloped fairway simply off the Firth of Forth, low sufficient that not a soul surrounding it might see the golfer standing within the Scottish dune grass taking 5 minutes to hit the ball. They knew nothing of metallic spikes or hidden sprinkler heads. To them, Robert Macintyre was practically out of the Scottish Open, two photographs again of Adam Scott with three holes to go. The dream of a Scotsman profitable his nationwide open must wait one other yr. But right here they nonetheless stood across the inexperienced, patiently ready, hanging on to some mixture of courtesy and hope.
In order a ball appeared from the darkish, cloudy sky and bounced earlier than the par-5 inexperienced’s up-slope, confusion ensued.
“Is that Bob?” one fan requested.
“Bob?” shouted one other.
Scotsman Ross Grey was the volunteer who discovered the tee shot within the dune grass within the first place. That ball had no likelihood. He then walked to the inexperienced to arrange for the following shot. As he noticed the ball bounce and slowly roll up, up, as much as inside 6 ft from the pin, even Grey mentioned, “That must be his fourth, dunnit?” However one after the other, the belief unfold by means of the semicircle of followers like a wave that it was Macintyre till an out-of-proportion roar erupted alongside Scotland’s east coast.
“Bobby! Bobby! Bobby!” they chanted as Macintyre lastly appeared, strolling down the hill with a hand within the air.
Identical to that, Bob from Oban eagled the sixteenth gap to tie the lead. From that second ahead, there was just one method this might finish. Bob Macintyre needed to win his nationwide open. Thirty minutes later, he was screaming so loud he practically misplaced his voice.
“I’ve been introduced as much as battle for all the pieces,” Macintyre mentioned, “and I simply fought for it.”
Dougie Macintyre didn’t drive down from Oban till late Friday evening. “My dad is a unfavorable man,” Macintyre joked — a lot in order that the top greenskeeper at Glencruitten Golf Membership doesn’t decide to the drive from Scotland’s west coast till he’s certain his son will make the lower. It wasn’t till across the second spherical’s fifteenth gap that Dougie, who caddied for his son throughout his Canadian Open win final month, felt comfy.
Dougie is a proud however shy man, a talented shinty participant and golfer in his personal proper who by no means had the chance to chase these goals additional. He and his spouse, Carol, raised a household simply off Glencruitten’s twelfth tee trying up at hills and fairways so just like those Macintyre simply eagled Sunday. That they had 4 kids of their very own. Many extra foster kids too, together with a boy they’ve watched for the previous six or seven years. And Dougie handed the video games he loves all the way down to his kids.
GREAT SCOT!!! 🏴
@Robert1Lefty wins the @ScottishOpen with a roar heard throughout Scotland! pic.twitter.com/Fe20zt6lcv— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) July 14, 2024
Possibly, simply perhaps, they’d have the ability to chase these goals greater than he might. Bob was a particular expertise, the type who members knew was totally different when he was outdriving adults and hit his first ace by age 12. However Dougie and Carol couldn’t afford to ship Bob throughout Britain to play numerous junior tournaments the best way most of his friends have been.
Generally membership members and mentors helped out financially. Macintyre’s sisters have been expert horse riders, and the household owned a horse for them to compete with. They needed to promote the horse, Molly, for sufficient cash to ship Bob to the few tournaments he might attend.
He was by no means the horny younger prospect. He didn’t have the hype from novice wins or faculty exploits. He slowly made his method up the ranks, and even when he routinely certified for the 2023 Ryder Cup, it was met with skepticism.
“Your face doesn’t match precisely since you’re not a central constructed man,” Macintyre mentioned, “and I simply should graft at it. The largest factor for me was by no means hand over. Lots of people would possibly say, ‘He doesn’t fairly have this, he doesn’t fairly have that,’ however I’ve received battle, and that’s all I want.”
However there Macintyre was, standing on the 18th tee field with an opportunity to win the Scottish Open. In contrast to the yr earlier than — when Macintyre birdied the ultimate gap, just for Rory McIlroy to snag it from his palms one group later — the preventing Scotsman managed his future. He entered the 14th gap three photographs again and seemingly out of this factor. However he made the 41-foot birdie putt on 14. He made the epic eagle out of the dune grass on 16 because of free aid from a hidden sprinkler underneath his ft. The rating was tied.
Macintyre isn’t probably the most imposing-looking particular person. He has a sort, pale face that welcomes you, however he doesn’t appear like an elite athlete. He started the day taking part in within the closing group with 24-year-old rising phenom Ludvig Åberg, watching because the 6-foot-3 Swede gave up a two-shot lead on the again 9 and swiftly fell out of rivalry. The good-looking Australian veteran, Adam Scott, the opposite man at 17 underneath par, waited within the scorer’s tent after lacking his 14-foot birdie putt on 18. It was Macintyre’s to take.
Once more, Macintyre discovered himself simply off the golf green in some gentle tough. A pitching wedge was all he wanted. He hit a high-arcing left-to-right draw that landed within the middle of the inexperienced, leaving a double-breaking 14-foot putt for Scottish immortality. He felt unusually comfy standing over it, too.
And when it went in, grown males hugged and cried. His complete household embraced. Quickly the grandstands sang “Flower of Scotland” in unison.
Macintyre dropped his membership and shouted along with his complete physique, thrusting his hips and pumping his fists. He walked over to his caddie to let Åberg end his putt, then regarded up within the sky with palms over his brow in disbelief. He crouched down as he fought again tears.
Macintyre grew to become the primary Scottish golfer to win the nationwide Open in 25 years.
“That is the one I needed,” he mentioned.
It’ll be a “good west coast cèilidh” at Glencruitten, as Oban natives wish to say.
“It might be an extended few days to recuperate, and we count on Bob up tomorrow with the trophy,” member John Tannehill mentioned Sunday evening.
A reporter then talked about to Macintyre that he’s scheduled for a 3 p.m. information convention at Royal Troon on Monday for the Open Championship, additionally in Scotland. He paused for a second and mentioned rigorously:
“I feel there is perhaps a change of schedule. I don’t assume I’ll be in a match state to get to Troon. I don’t assume I’ll be legally in a position to drive.”
Robert Macintyre is the primary Scot to win the nationwide Open in 25 years. (Luke Walker / Getty Pictures)
Oban took in Bob and helped propel him to the large time. In flip, he’s introduced the city into the limelight. Reporters typically make the trek to inform Bob’s story. Glencruitten has acquired an inflow of enterprise with folks eager to play Macintyre’s dwelling course. Indicators are up throughout city: “The House of Bob Macintyre.”
So when he moved to Florida this yr to play on the PGA Tour and put together year-round like most nice golfers ultimately do, he wasn’t joyful. He talked typically this summer time about shedding his “mojo” and the way totally different life was on the PGA Tour in comparison with the European golf circuit.
It wasn’t till Wednesday that Macintyre divulged he wouldn’t be re-upping his hire in Orlando. It’s not price it. He’s transferring again to Scotland and can journey again to the States when the time comes.
So, the week he formally recommitted to his dwelling and internal reality, Macintyre gained the nationwide Open in opposition to a subject together with lots of the high gamers on the earth. He left dwelling to turn into nice. He got here again to show he already was.
This all comes simply 5 days after two Scottish males made their method up Glencruitten’s steep twelfth fairway and onto the inexperienced and circled to level to the house Macintyre grew up in. These have been the boys who flew with Macintyre to Rome to look at him within the Ryder Cup and performed a spherical with him the Tuesday after he gained the Canadian Open in June.
One of many males, Declan Curran, joked that Macintyre is downplaying the stress, however they need him to drag off the double, to go win the Scottish and the Open Championship in back-to-back weeks of their dwelling nation. They laughed, however they believed it.
Macintyre is midway there, however he’ll be pleased with this one perpetually.
(High picture: Octavio Passos / Getty Pictures)
