Bob MacIntyre has admitted his head was “completely gone” during his second round at The Open – especially when he shot eight on the par-five fourth hole. The Scot started his second round on one-over but slipped to eight-over after his first four holes. He was later nine-over at the seventh tee.
Winner of the Scottish Open last weekend, it appeared the 27-year-old might be destined for the lowest of lows at Royal Troon just days after the highest of highs. But MacIntyre didn’t make a single bogey after hole four as he turned things around.
Four birdies, three coming on the back nine as winds settled in South Ayrshire, saw him narrowly dodge the cut at five-over. He became the first golfer in history to make the cut after carding two double-bogeys in a second round.
Yet MacIntyre says he very nearly lost his composure altogether – before an intervention from his caddie Mike Burrow. Describing his second round as “carnage” after carding a 75, he told journalists: “I was actually nervous going out today, and I said it to the whole team.
“They’re like why? Because that front nine was going to be carnage for me. It’s difficult. When I made that eight on four, my head was completely gone. You could see me getting angrier and angrier and angrier. The golf game was going away from me. I was hitting stupid shots, hitting terrible shots.
“Then you’re standing on five going between a four-iron and a rescue. And you’re honestly trying to make bogeys instead of doubles and triples that I was making. I didn’t think I was going to make the weekend but Mike said, ‘Look, fans are here to watch. Just give them what they want, a severe dig and fight.’
“And that’s what I done. He started to talk sense to me. We discussed what just happened. When we peeled it back, we actually didn’t hit that many bad tee shots. In fact, we didn’t hit any bad tee shots.
“Once he started to talk sense to me, I started to realise, you know what, you actually haven’t played that bad, and you’re shooting gazillions here, and that’s where we kind of calmed down and got closer down into the left wind where we could actually play some golf.
“After four holes, I was staring 90 in the face. I just tried my best and managed to turn it around.” There were several big-name victims of the gusty conditions at Royal Troon with Rory McIlroy, Bryson DeChambeau, Tiger Woods and Ludvig Aberg among those unable to make it through to Saturday.
MacIntyre added to Sky Sports Golf: “The attitude was just to try and break 80 after the start. Once we started getting momentum it was free-flowing again. It was horrible [weather at the start]. It was difficult for everyone overall.
“I was glad when I got to that 10th tee and could just unload the driver. I was just like ‘Let’s go now.’ It’s something I’ve been working hard on. I could’ve let that really get away from me.
“It could’ve ended up being a really embarrassing score. But I’ve got a lot of pride in myself, a lot of fight. With the fans behind me, I didn’t want to let them down and I fought until the end.”
MacIntyre trails leader Shane Lowry by 12 shots but he said: “To be honest, anything’s possible in links golf, especially with the weather. I think it’s going to be raining tomorrow.
“I’m just proud of the way I fought, making this cut, especially after last week. The support I had out there was unbelievable.
“With that start, I felt like I was letting everyone down, not just myself, but my team and the fans. But it was just about fighting, and they helped me a long way.”