Try as he might, with a narrative of wayward shots, slow play, and distraction by broadcast camera drones and fans, Robert MacIntyre of Scotland overcame all that to win the 113th playing of the RBC Canadian Open.
MacIntyre is certainly not the first Scotsman to find success in Canada; and in the Canadian Open, but for the Oban golfer who swings from the left side, it marks his first win on the PGA TOUR.
He’s not a surprise victor; he entered the week as the 76th ranked player in the world (he’ll move up to 39th), has won twice on the DP World Tour, and was a Ryder Cup team member for Europe last Fall.
But those credentials don’t make winning on the PGA TOUR any easier.
Starting the day with a four-stroke lead. Macintyre watched that evaporate as he stumbled out of the gate in round four with a bogey on the first holes while his pursuers went on runs to close the gap.
You could see both the relief and joy on the face of Robert MacIntrye as his tears fell moments after enjoying a victory hug with his father, Dougie, who served as his emergency caddy this week.
“I’m speechless to be honest,” It’s just everything for me an my family, my girlfriend, my team,” said the younger MacIntyre.
He added as he stood on the 18th green at the Hamilton Golf and Country Club in front of a supportive crowd, “I’m crying with joy, but I’m laughing because I didn’t think this was possible.”
Macintyre gave himself some self-talk as he played his way down the final holes with a slim lead. He wanted to win it for his dad, the head greenkeeper at Glencruitten Golf Course in Oban.
And he did, but not without some trials, both mental and physical.
“…it was difficult, the 27 year-old maiden tour winner described of the test he had faced and conquered. “At the turn there I missed a couple of chances. I was rolling it unbelievable all week. Honestly, I didn’t seem to miss any putts and at 9 and 10, I was like, these are getting buried. I missed ’em and I was like, that’s fine. And then I started getting heckled a bit from the crowd, and I rolled that putt in on 11, I think I let my emotion go a bit too much, and I kind of lost the focus, but it was one that I was just — I was getting back at the guys that were heckling me for a few holes.
I was in a dog fight there. Obviously, Ben (Griffin) made it difficult coming in the stretch. He played well. It’s just incredible to do this with my dad on the bag and have my girlfriend here and I’m sure there’s a party going on back home in Oban.”
MacIntyre’s -16 total, including rounds of 64-66-66-68, was one better than a surging Griffin, his playing partner on Sunday. It required the Scotsman to keep separated from his pursuers with a birdie on the 15th and a unplanned extrication from the trees on the 17th.
“Look, it’s been a hell of a ride and this has been, the mental side of the game pulled me through today. It was like, I could see my dad getting a little bit edgy at times, and he kept saying, Keep going, keep going. And I was just, I was full focused one step at a time, and I managed to birdie 15 and I didn’t react, I just, head down and keep fighting, because you never know what’s going to happen.”
And now, with the support of his dad in an unlikely role, he adds the title of PGA TOUR winner to his growing resume.
“It’s incredible. It’s a dream of mine to play golf for a living. It’s been a dream of mine to win on the PGA TOUR, when I got my PGA TOUR card, and I just can’t believe I done it with my dad on the bag. The guy’s taught me the way I play golf. I mean, I don’t, I never make it easy, and he said that, when I was 16 or 17, he’s going, You never make this easy. And that’s the way I play golf, I play it with the heart on the sleeve, and we got a hell of a fight in the two of us and I just can’t believe that I’ve won on the PGA TOUR, to be honest.”
Canadians Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes both made a run on Sunday but fell short of repeating Nick Taylor’s success of last year. However, each walked away with something from the week.
Conners, who finished 6th, earned the Rivermead Challenge Cup for being the Low Canadian.
“Obviously disappointing to not win the big trophy, but, yeah, it’s a cool honour,” said Conners who also claimed the low Canadian honours in 2022 when the tournament was held at the St. George’s Golf & Country Club.
As his consolation prize Hughes qualified for the 152nd Open Championship at Royal Troon. The top three players not already exempt gained that privilege. Hughes joined Ben Griffin and Maverick McNealy as the qualifiers.
After having a share of the lead early in the final round, Hughes was not feeling that upbeat by the end of the day. This one hurt, a lot.
“Pretty gutted,” he shared when he was asked about his performance playing just a few kilometers from his hometown of Dundas, Ontario. “Yeah, I wanted this one pretty badly. I don’t know, this one will sting for awhile. I obviously got off to the start I needed to get off to and — but I — I just didn’t, like besides yesterday — yesterday I felt pretty good with my swing and I would say the other three days I really fought it. I just didn’t feel like I had my stuff. It was a struggle just to kind of get comfortable and to kind of get myself set. Yeah, disappointed to finish the way I did. I had a chance going into that last nine and just couldn’t put anything together. Pretty bummed.”
Eight Canadians made it to the weekend at the tournament, which proved a success my many metrics. Despite a dreary Sunday marked by rain, attendance was strong all week and players and caddies raved about the renovated venue.
And importantly, whether it was for the television broadcast interview or not, Royal Bank of Canada President David McKay was effusive in his praise for the tournament as well as the state of golf in Canada. That’s a positive sign with the future sponsorship of the championship being its only question mark at this point.
If that gets tucked into place the most recent editions of the RBC Canadian Open will have set the table nicely for 2025 when the TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley (North course) will serve as the host. It’s located in Caledon, Ontario, which, conveniently, is the short form for Caledonia, the original Latin name for Scotland.
Sounds like a perfect spot for a man name Robert MacIntyre to defend a title.
The Canadian leaderboard:
