Bob MacIntyre made an emergency cellphone name to usher in his caddie this week.
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It hasn’t been an simple run for Robert MacIntyre, right here in his first 12 months as a full-time PGA Tour participant. He practically gained his house open in Scotland final summer season, triumphed within the Ryder Cup within the fall, then moved to Orlando for a brand new {golfing} life in America … and hasn’t cherished it.
He’s felt loneliness like by no means earlier than. He’s felt homesick like by no means earlier than. And he’s been looking for the appropriate caddie all all through.
MacIntyre modified caddies final fall, proper earlier than the Ryder Cup, after which caught together with his looper — Mike Burrow — by means of the start of 2024. Burrow has been across the block a bit on the PGA Tour, caddieing for Danny Willett, Haotong Li and quite a few others. But between the Masters and the PGA Championship, MacIntyre seemed to maneuver on, providing his bag to Scott Carmichael.
For about 5 weeks Carmichael carried for MacIntyre, however had a marriage dedication in the course of the PGA Championship, so Burrow jumped again in. Sure sufficient, MacIntyre contended for a little bit of that week, too. But now he’s parted methods with everybody and wanted a full reset forward of this week’s Canadian Open.
Caddies have loads of methods of serving to their participant, however MacIntyre doesn’t want a lot, he says. It’s extra about simply having chats on the course and retaining him comfy, so he picked up the cellphone and called some of the comfy loopers he’s ever had and begged them again into motion: his dad, Dougie.
“I’m trying to work it all out,” MacIntyre mentioned Thursday. “Yeah, it was an emergency phone call on Saturday, and he stepped up to the plate. He’s a good golfer himself, but this kind of level, he’s a bit out of his depth. I thought he did a great job and kept it so simple. The numbers are what they are. Go and add a good shot to that number, and the results should be half decent.”
That’s the humorous factor about golf typically. Their outcomes have been approach higher than half first rate. The MacIntyres simply performed 36 holes with no bogey, and earned the 36-hole lead within the course of.
“We’re just kind of learning on the run — well, he is — he’s learning on the run and I’m kind of trying to stay as calm as I can,” Bob Mac mentioned. “When I do miss a shot, I’m not trying to get too annoyed. Yeah, we’re just trying to have as much fun as we can.”
It’s been largely clean to this point for the 2, with Bob securing a lighter, carry bag for his father, then hitting 72% of greens and scrambling for par each single time he’s missed. It actually helps he completed within the prime 10 of every spherical in placing. All collectively, it’s the primary 36-hole lead of the 27-year-old Scotsman’s Tour profession.
“It’s cool,” Bob mentioned after the second spherical. “Look, it’s something that he can always say he’s led a PGA Tour event at some point. What happens over the next two rounds, who knows. I’m going to go out there and do the same stuff, hit as many fairways as I can, hit as many good shots as I can, just keep doing the same stuff. As I keep saying, it’s not rocket science, it’s a golf course. It’s you versus it. I think I’ve done a good job so far.”
MacIntyre after all adopted that up by making his first bogey of the week on the first gap within the third spherical, all whereas the likes of Rory McIlroy and Tom Kim and others chase after them, with loads of golf remaining. Whatever occurs, MacIntyre appears to be counting this unplanned competition as gravy.
“Look, I’m out here just now playing, I’ve only been home really three weeks since January the 3rd, so I don’t get to see my dad much. Obviously, I phoned him, emergency phone call to come here last week. He jumped at the chance. It’s good to just spend an extra week with loved ones.”
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