Golf champ Robert MacIntyre: ‘If in doubt, phone dad’

Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre has spoken of his joy at winnning the PGA Canadian Open, saying he wanted to win for his dad.

The father and son team were in tears as they struggled to take in the win on Sunday.

The 27-year-old called his dad Dougie in Oban last week, asking for help when he could not find a caddie for the event.

The left-handed golfer takes home a £1.33m prize – the biggest financial win by a Scottish golfer at a single event – and invitations to major tournaments including the US Open and the Masters.

Wiping his tears on his shirt after his win, Robert said having his dad with him had driven him to the win.

“This is just everything for me and my family, my girlfriend and my team,” he said.

“I wanted to win this for my dad. This is the guy who has taught me the game of golf and I just can’t believe I have done this with him on the bag.”

MacIntyre senior was also in tears when he described his son’s win as “unbelievable”.

“I’m a grasscutter not a caddie,” he said.

“Last Saturday night, I’m sitting on the couch at home and I’m [thinking], can I leave my job here, I’m busy at work.

“Eight o’clock the next morning, I’m on a flight out here, and wow.”

After his arrival, There was a rush across Canada to sort visas and a struggle to get Dougie credentials for the event.

Speaking after the win, Robert admitted: “Everything was just carnage until we actually stepped on the golf course on Thursday.”

“[Dad] thought that being here was a bit easier on his own mental health with watching the scores but I don’t think this week’s done him great with the head because of the stress.”

He added that he could not thank his dad enough for his help, adding: “He’s the guy that’s taught me the game of golf and he knows my game inside out.”

Robert grew up playing at Glencruitten Golf Club, which now proudly states their “local hero” honed his skills on its hilly course, complete with “tricky blind shots”.

His dad Dougie tends the greens and fairways as head greenkeeper, and spent his evenings coaching a young Robert, who had his first hole-in-one on the course at the age of 12.

“We used to go out every night in the summer, no matter the weather, we would play four holes every night,” Robert recalled.

While he was growing up, Robert’s parents also fostered children who had “been in a tough spot”.

“I think it makes you realize that hitting a white ball around a golf course isn’t the most important thing,” Robert said.

“I wasn’t given everything as a kid. I was given a great opportunity.

“My dad was obviously a really good sportsman – football, golf, shinty – but didn’t have the finances to really chase it, and I think it was something that my mum and dad always wanted to do.

“I’ve got two older sisters who are right into their horses, horse riding and stuff, but they even sacrificed quite a lot of that just to give me a chance.

“I couldn’t play in golf tournaments as a junior because we couldn’t afford it. I think that made me; that makes me fight and never give up.”

Back at home, Robert’s mum Carol was on a video call in the early hours of Monday morning, greeting her son with a thumbs up and blowing kisses before telling him the win was “incredible”.

“Guess what Mum, that might be the mortgage paid off” Robert told her.

The support from his hometown has also spurred him on, with his early successes and his win as part of last year’s Ryder Cup team being celebrated in Oban.

Robert joined the US-based PGA Tour earlier this year but has spoken of his difficulties with home-sickness.

He said there was “no chance” he could have won the Canadian Open if he had not addressed this with a three-week trip home to Oban.

Both generations of MacIntyre men have played shinty with the local club, Oban Celtic, and their friends there were among the first to congratulate them on social media.

At a press conference after his win, Robert was asked by the Canadian press how it compared to their national sport, ice hockey.

He described it as “rough and tough”.

“It’s a lot of body contact,” he said.

“I would say it’s more like field hockey with no rules.

“It’s what I’ve been brought up doing. My dad was a really good player and I stupidly still play, but it’s part of me.”

Dougie was heading back to Scotland on Monday, leaving Robert without a caddie once more.

“To be honest, I tried to get other people, but they didn’t want to do a one-weeker,” Robert admitted, and said he had no caddie lined up for the next tournament.

“My dad’s not going to do that full-time. He’s going to go home and get back on the mowers and work at Glencruitten.

“But, yeah, if in doubt, phone dad,” he said.