Robert MacIntyre was living a comfortable life last year on the DP World Tour.
In five years on the former European Tour, the 27-year-old had two wins and four runner-up finishes, played in 12 major championships and a Ryder Cup, and earned more than $7.35 million Euros.
Perhaps most importantly, he was able to continue living in his small hometown of Oban, Scotland with his girlfriend, surrounded by family. And family has been essential to his happiness.
“My whole family and friends are there,” MacIntyre said. “They’re probably always going to be there.”
MacIntyre decided to become uncomfortable this year.
He joined the PGA Tour, rented a house in Orlando with his girlfriend and began traveling on the tour about a week after his arrival in the states in early January.
He has struggled to find the same success in the U.S. that he enjoyed in Europe on a tour that is less fraternal and an ocean away from his loved ones, but he has rediscovered his game in Myrtle Beach, and has found comfort inside the ropes at The Dunes Golf and Beach Club.
MacIntyre had a share of the lead in the Myrtle Beach Classic following an opening-round 64 and followed it up with a 4-under-par 67 Friday to sit a shot out of the lead at 11-under 131.
“I think it’s difficult to back up a good round [Thursday]. I felt like I done that really well,” MacIntyre said in his Scottish accent. “The front nine was absolutely pretty much flawless golf. I missed a few chances. But when you keep giving yourself lots of chances, you’re going to make some.”
University of Oklahoma alumnus Chris Gotterup, 24, closed with birdies on four of his final five holes on The Dunes Club’s back nine late Friday afternoon to shoot a 64 and overtake MacIntyre by a shot.
“We were really just executing shots pretty solidly down the stretch there,” said Gotterup, one of the tour’s longer hitters. “It got pretty windy, so definitely a good finish for me today.”
Gotterup won the Haskins and Jack Nicklaus awards in 2022, recognizing him as the top college golfer that year, and moved up from the Korn Ferry Tour following the 2023 season. He tied for fourth in the John Deere Classic after turning pro in 2022 for his best PGA Tour finish in 26 starts.
Jorge Campillo of Spain is third at 10-under 132, while Duke alumnus Alex Smalley, Davis Thompson, Alistair Docherty and first-round co-leader Beau Hossler are tied for fourth on the leaderboard at 9 under.
A move for betterment
MacIntyre said it wasn’t a difficult decision to join the PGA Tour.
“The World Ranking points, the financial gain and the practice facilities, it can only benefit me if I play good golf,” he said. “I want to be one of the best players in the world, so whatever I’ve got to play I’ll play, whether it’s in the U.S., whether it’s in Europe, whether it’s further afield. It doesn’t faze me. I’m used to traveling.”
MacIntyre got off to a slow start on the PGA Tour with three missed cuts in his first four events prior to a tie for sixth in the Mexico Open at Vidanta. He then went five straight starts without a top 30 and decided to take three weeks off so he could return to Scotland and take a break.
“It’s just difficult when I come over here, me and my girlfriend. We’re trying to make it home, and it’s difficult when you’ve not got that family connection. We’re giving it our best shot, but it’s completely different to home life.
“Obviously I got home there for three weeks and managed to have somewhat of a normal life for three weeks. . . . I’m just in a good mind frame going into these few weeks.”
The trip home seemed to be an elixir for his game, as he returned to team with Thomas Detry of Belgium to tie for eighth in the Zurich Classic of New Orleans, missed the cut last week despite shooting 5 under in two rounds, and is atop the Myrtle Beach Classic leaderboard at the halfway point.
“I thought that moving to the U.S. was the only way of achieving my dreams in golf. I don’t know if that’s the answer,” said MacIntyre, who plans to return to Scotland for a few weeks following next week’s PGA Championship. “I feel like a happy Bob MacIntyre is a dangerous Bob MacIntyre on the golf course, and home life makes me happy. That’s why I’m probably going to go home after the next couple events. I’ll go home to Scotland rather than go to Orlando.”
MacIntyre recorded a runner-up finish on the PGA Tour last year, but it came on his home turf in the Scottish Open, which the tour began to sanction in 2022, in his only non-major tour start of 2023. He finished a shot behind Rory McIlroy and four shots clear of third place.
MacIntyre’s resume already includes the victorious 2023 European Ryder Cup Team, for which he went 2-0-1 in the competition. He’ll now pursue his next team while in the U.S.
“Every European that plays professional golf, that’s a dream, and I got to live out a dream,” he said.
This year is MacIntyre’s second stint in the U.S. He was recruited to play college golf at McNeese State in Lake Charles, Louisiana, while playing at the European Amateur Team Championship, and his mother had to convince him to go. He remained for three semesters.
“I wasn’t wanting to go, and my mom was like, ‘You’ll regret it growing up. You’ll look later back on your life and you never made it in professional golf and you didn’t give that a shot.’ So we gave it a go.”
His accent in the Bayou wasn’t exactly a match. “I remember my first-ever class was a public speaking class and they didn’t understand one word when I was doing presentations, so it was a bit different down there,” MacIntyre said.
It was like old times in Europe for MacIntyre in the first two rounds, as he chatted it up with playing partner and fellow former DP World Tour member Ryan Fox of Australia, who shot a 66 Friday and is tied for 19th at 6-under 136.
“When we’re over the shots it’s serious and when we’re getting ready to hit the shot it’s serious, but once that ball is in the sky, who cares, let’s just go and have a laugh,” MacIntyre said. “It worked well the last two days for both of us.”
Putting has been a key for MacIntyre this week. The 2019 DP World Tour Rookie of the Year has needed only 50 putts in two rounds and has made 202 feet of putts through 36 holes.
“I’ve been rolling the ball really nice on the greens. The greens are absolutely perfect out there on the course,” MacIntyre said Thursday.
A victory this week comes with a two-year exemption on the PGA Tour, which would allow him to set a schedule and take trips back home.
Taking the weekend off
The cut to the low 65 scores and ties was made following the second round at 2-under and better, and a total of 70 players qualified for the weekend.
Among the notables missing the cut were Wesley Bryan, George Bryan IV, Bill Haas, Martin Laird, D.J. Trahan, Ryan Moore, Aaron Baddeley, Kevin Kisner, Richy Werenski, Ben Martin, Jonathan Byrd, Tommy Gainey, Russell Knox, Brandt Snedeker, Nick Watney, Monday Qualifier medalist Braden Thornberry, CCU alum and Dunes Club assistant pro Morgan Deneen, and Jimmy Stanger, who won both the General Hackler Championship and Southern Amateur at The Dunes Club in 2016.
Saturday’s tee times begin at 6:50 a.m. and Gotterup and MacIntyre tee off in the final twosome at 12:50 p.m. TV coverage on Golf Channel is from 3-5 p.m.
