Bob MacIntyre earned his first win on the PGA Tour just five months into his first full-season appearance on the US tour after winning the Canadian Open in style – with his father on hand for caddying duties.
The 27-year-old Scotsman, who admitted last month that he was struggling to be away from home and friends for so long, decided to ask his father, Dougie, a long-time conservationist. Scotland, will take the reins this week to give him a chance to lift him up after suffering a difficult life on tour despite a string of impressive performances, including an eighth-placed finish at the PGA Championship last month.
DAD IN THE BAG DOES A TRICK
And the decision to give dad the bag proved inspired, with MacIntyre Jnr winning the championship, with his 16-under total good enough to beat American Ben Griffin by one shot.
Holding five shots with seven holes to play, that comfortable lead was cut short by the chasing pack, which included Rory McIlroy, who closed with a 64, but MacIntyre, unbeaten in last year's Ryder Cup, showed great composure. power down to catch all comers, when the left-hander shot a two-under 68 to keep his head at the front at Hamilton Golf & Country Club and secure a $1.6m payday – the biggest of his career.
He said: “I was fighting badly. “I have been working hard on the mental side of this game because we have analyzed my golf game, we realized that my golf is not the problem, I am the problem. I've worked hard for that with my team, and it could have been achieved in the last four or five weeks.”
Asked what he would do with this good reward, Macintyre said he would use some of it to pay off his parents' loan as a small token of appreciation for the big role they played in bringing him to this point in his career.
“I couldn't play golf as a junior because we couldn't afford it,” MacIntyre said. “I think it did that. That makes me fight and not give up. My parents gave me a chance, but I was never spoon fed, I always fought for everything.”
“Dad will get a nice check for it. I think I have to cash out now for tax reasons, but you'll be fine with it. He deserves it. Mom and Dad will be debt-free now, and life is looking a little better on that side of things for them.”
THE STARS CAME DOWN ON THE 18TH
With both player and caddy in tears on the 18th green, the post-match interviews were emotional affairs.
“He was a player all week, but at the end of the day, he's my dad,” added MacIntyre. “He wants me to do well because I am his son, there are no angles, nothing. The emotion at the end, it was almost in disbelief that we did it with him in the bag. It just shows that I can compete at a high level. I knew I could, but until you do it, you never know.”
And his father's speech proved crucial to his win, with MacIntyre revealing: “He was rough on me when I walked from the tenth to the fairway. Look, he was a sportsman, he knows how to win, he knows how to lose, he has been through everything.”
The victory also earned MacIntyre a place in next week's Memorial Championship – which he plans to skip to celebrate with family and friends at home in Oban – and a place in next week's US Open at Pinehurst, which starts. June 13.
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