By ASSOCIATED PRESS
TROON, Scotland (AP) — Any other year, Robert MacIntyre would have wasted little time coming across his native Scotland for the British Open to begin preparations for the final major of the year.
But that would have meant interrupting his celebration.
And this was a big one.
MacIntyre hit one of his top goals for the year when he won the Scottish Open at The Renaissance Club. He was not shy in saying he desperately wanted to win it. And then he delivered a magical ending Sunday with an eagle-par-birdie finish to win by one shot.
And then it was time start the party.
“Look, I’m not a big drinker, but when you get moments like that, a childhood dream and a lifetime goal and you’ve got family and friends there that have backed you since you were a young kid, I think it was quite right to go absolutely wild,” he said Wednesday, July 17.
He smiled before adding, “I think we’ve done a good job of that.”
MacIntyre was scheduled for a Monday afternoon press conference. He immediately moved that to Wednesday, wondering what kind of shape he would be in. So he arrived Monday evening, played nine holes on Tuesday and headed out to play the back nine on Wednesday afternoon.
It doesn’t sound as though he is putting much effort into the major that means the most to him. But then, that’s been the secret to his breakthrough year.
It’s entirely about effort, minus the expectations.
“I’m not going out there trying to win a golf tournament,” he said. “I’m just going out there trying to play the best golf, coming up with a score at the end. Whether it’s good or bad, it’s not going to affect what I’m doing. I think that’s the answer for me now is just commit to the shot, accept the outcome and go on to the next one.”
It was a lesson learned at the Myrtle Beach Classic this year, when he was in the mix going into Sunday and let an early double bogey unsettle him. He fell apart quickly.
MacIntyre won his first PGA Tour title at the Canadian Open — with his father filling in as his caddie for the week — and then kept fighting through a tough back nine in the Scottish Open until he produced the winning birdie putt.
His two wins this year have moved him to No. 16 in the world and raised hopes of a Scot winning the British Open in Scotland, something that has happened just twice in the last 100 years of golf’s oldest championship.
The last one to do it was Paul Lawrie at Carnoustie in 1999, the Open best remembered for the follies of Jean Van de Velde making triple bogey on the final hole to lose a three-shot lead, and then losing in the three-man playoff.
The other was Scottish-born Tommy Armour winning at Carnoustie in 1931.
Might he be the next?
“It’s possible,” MacIntyre said. “Tomorrow we’ll start off from level par. I’ve got as much chance as everyone else in the field. It’s just about getting in that position on Sunday and seeing where the cards fall. Obviously, last week they fell my way. My job is to go out there, fight as hard as I can, try my best, and hopefully get in a position where I can just have a chance.”
MacIntyre is finally ready to move on and see if he can land a rare double — the last player to win the Scottish Open and a British Open in Scotland in the same year was Phil Mickelson in 2013.
But it sure sounds like it was some kind of celebration. He only smiled when asked how many bottles of whisky filled that trophy from the Scottish Open.
“It was a great celebration, and it’s one that I would do all over again, to be honest with you,” he said. “It was a great night. It was just special, and it’s a memory that I’ll have forever. It was the one I wanted, and I’m glad I got that one.”
