Robert MacIntyre knew the stakes on Saturday night walking off the course at The Renaissance Club.
After growing up just a few hours west of the course in a small town on the coast, the Genesis Scottish Open has been MacIntyre’s favorite event since he was a kid.
So on Sunday, after making a huge 22-foot birdie putt on the final hole, MacIntyre erupted as if he had won a major championship. At long last, MacIntyre had won his national open — which made him the first Scot to do so in the last 25 years.
“My reaction when the ball dropped on 18 said it all. I almost lost my voice now,” he said after his win. “It’s the one I wanted and it’s the one I got. It’s just, I’ve watched it as a kid growing up, and it meant a lot. It was really the only one that I could go and watch.
“Yeah, it’s just, I can’t believe it’s happened.”
MacIntyre entered Sunday behind Ludvig Åberg, who has been on a remarkable run that pushed him to No. 4 in the Official World Golf Rankings just a few months after he made his first major championship appearance. Åberg, after consecutive 64s to open the week, posted a 5-under 65 to grab his two-shot lead.
Åberg, however, finished with a 3-over 73 and dropped to T4. He made four bogeys on the day, two of which came on par 5s despite the fact that he entered the day having gone 9-under on par 5s through the first 54 holes of the tournament.
MacIntyre, after his 7-under 63 on Saturday, had his eyes on Åberg from the jump.
“I’ve not been shy in saying it: The Scottish Open is the one I want,” he said on Saturday night. “It’s not going to change tomorrow.”
A sprinkler head eagle sets up final birdie putt
After a very average start to the round — MacIntyre carded a 3-under 37 on Sunday — he got incredibly lucky at the par 5 16th.
MacIntyre, who still wears metal spikes in his shoes, sent his drive deep rough off to the side of the fairway. Once he reached his ball and took a few practice swings, thanks to his spikes, he realized he was actually standing on a sprinkler head. That prompted a free drop, which allowed him to land his approach from nearly 250 yards out within just a few feet from the cup.
MacIntyre then sank his eagle putt, which brought him into a share of the lead with Adam Scott at the time.
“I mean, I’m shouting and I’m swearing when I’m getting up to the ball because I know that that’s my chance to really make birdie coming in,” MacIntyre said. “I got over the ball, looked at it, thinking, I’m in a bit of trouble here … So I could take the practice swing, like a foot, foot and a half from the ball, and just a step back. I just heard the clunk … It was just a lucky break. You use the rules to get advantage. You stand on a sprinkler, you’re due relief. That was just the one kiss I needed.”
MacIntyre, after a par at the 17th, then hit his approach at the final hole about 22 feet from the cup to set up his final birdie putt and eventually seal the win.
“It was incredible to have my whole family and friends there,” he said. “Everyone that was supporting me were there. It’s a lifetime dream.”
MacIntyre, 27, picked up his inaugural PGA Tour win earlier this season at the RBC Canadian Open. He’s now won three times on the DP World Tour, and his win on Sunday will move him up to No. 16 in the Official World Golf Rankings — which is more than 20 spots higher than his previous career high.
Scott, who hasn’t won a tournament since the 2020 Genesis Invitational, finished a shot back of MacIntyre at 17-under. Romain Langasque finished in third, and Rory McIlroy — who made his return this week after his brutal U.S. Open loss last month — finished among the group in fourth.
MacIntyre and most of the field in North Berwick will now head about 100 miles west for the British Open, which kicks off on Thursday at Royal Troon. Though that’s a quick turnaround for MacIntyre after his win, he’s not trying to reset. He wants to “just try and ride the wave,” even if that means he has to adjust his schedule a bit.
“I don’t think I’ll be in a fit state to get to Troon [by Monday],” MacIntyre said, laughing. “I don’t think I’ll be legally able to drive.”
