MacIntyre Eyes Open Championship Glory at Royal Birkdale
Robert MacIntyre, Scotland's top-ranked golfer, will compete at Royal Birkdale for the first time in a competitive setting. Reflecting on his debut at the Open Championship in 2019 at Royal Portrush, MacIntyre notes significant improvement since then.
That initial major appearance saw the 29-year-old finish sixth, trailing behind local favourite Shane Lowry. Since that event, MacIntyre has risen to become a top 20 player globally and enters this week's Open Championship following a third-place finish at the Scottish Open.
"In 2019, I felt like I was just being part of the tournament," MacIntyre said. "I was making up the numbers. I was just seeing how well I could do in this event.
"Whereas now, I come here and I know that if I play well, I've got a chance to win.
"That's all I'm trying to do. If I play the golf I know I can play, I'm going to have a chance to win come Sunday - and that's the difference.
"In 2019, I didn't know how good I was. I didn't know how good I could be. I was just playing with zero expectation and had a good finish.
"Now there's an expectation and demand on me, but it's not pressure. I know if I play well, I'll have a chance."
First Competitive Appearance at Royal Birkdale
MacIntyre, a two-time European Ryder Cup participant, is making his first competitive visit to Royal Birkdale. He anticipates the course to be a challenging test, especially given the current hot weather and strong winds that have caused the fairways to run fast.
"I played nine holes, the back nine, on Monday afternoon in strong winds and it was brutal," he added. "It's tough but I've had a bit more time to work it out since then, so we'll see.
"There's a lot of short clubs off the tee, just to stay out of the pot bunkers, get it on the green from there and try to take your chances.
"It's a very strategic golf course. You've really got to stay disciplined to your gameplan and trust it's right.
"The ball was running out fully 50 yards on some tee shots, even with a six or seven iron. Some guys will flip a coin and go with driver anyway, but then you run the risk of bunkers and all the other trouble.
"For me, hitting greens in regulation is the key, so it's about playing smart golf and hitting fairways."
Scottish Open Performance and Field Representation
MacIntyre regards his recent third-place finish at the Scottish Open as a positive lead-up to the Open Championship. Among the 156 players in this year's field, the only other Scot is Jack McDonald from Ayrshire.
McDonald, aged 33, earned his place through qualifying at Dundonald Links three weeks ago and will be competing in his second Open Championship, having debuted at Royal Troon last year. Unlike MacIntyre, McDonald has chosen not to pursue a full-time professional tour career and currently works as a trainee PGA professional at Whitecraigs Golf Club in Glasgow.
"I made a decision last year that I wasn't going to pursue the kind of tour life," McDonald explained. "I don't know if that would change or not, potentially.
"But I don't know. I just need to wait and see. Respect to them. They're absolutely amazing at what they do. I wrote down the pros and cons and then I made that decision."
MacIntyre and McDonald share a history from playing together on the Challenge Tour. MacIntyre hopes Scotland's representation at future Open Championships will increase.
"It's a shame that there aren't more of us," MacIntyre commented. "But I've seen Jack a few times. I've travelled with Jack quite a bit on the Challenge Tour, so we get on great.
"Jack's obviously gone to work at Whitecraigs, taking a different avenue now, but he's a great guy and a great player."
Additional Tournament Highlights
Recent tournament news includes a late birdie securing victory for Kim at the Scottish Open, as well as notable moments such as tears of joy and a text from Tiger Woods marking the end of a three-year title drought.
