HAMILTON, Ontario — Robert MacIntyre captured his first PGA Tour win at the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday with a final-round 68, finishing at 16-under-par.
As he sank his par putt on the 18th to clinch the title by one, thunderous applause ensued. He embraced his dad, Dougie, who was his caddie this week.
As MacIntyre waved to the crowd, tears streamed down his face. Scotland fans cheered with pride from the gallery as the native son won. One spectator started singing, “No Scotland no party,” waving a Scottish flag.
MacIntyre, a PGA Tour rookie, became the third Scottish-born golfer to win the Canadian Open.
“I’m speechless,” MacIntyre said on CBS. “It’s just everything for me and my family.”
When CBS’ Amanda Balionis asked Dougie, a greenskeeper back home, the meaning of this moment, he began crying.
“Unbelievable,” Dougie said. “I’m a grass cutter,” before struggling to speak, overwhelmed with emotion.
“I want to win this for my dad.” ❤️
Robert MacIntyre spoke to our @Amanda_Balionis on what it meant winning the @RBCCanadianOpen with his father on the bag. pic.twitter.com/DCeQU878GI
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) June 2, 2024
Dougie was MacIntyre’s fourth caddie change in the last 18 months. Robert called it an “emergency phone call” last Saturday, offering his dad the chance to caddie for him this week.
“How would you fancy coming to Canada and caddie for me?” Dougie recalls his son asking him.
The next morning, Dougie said he got a direct flight to Toronto. He and Robert had to fly to Ottawa Monday night to get a work visa. Dougie said he didn’t get back to Hamilton until Tuesday night.
MacIntyre had nine holes of preparation — the back nine — before teeing it up Thursday. A week later, MacIntyre won Canada’s national open — a tournament with illustrious past winners like Arnold Palmer, Lee Trevino, Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy.
“So over the moon, I can’t actually believe it,” Dougie said. “I caddied my son and he won the Canadian Open.”
MacIntyre bogeyed the first hole, which brought several golfers closer to the lead. With Rory McIlroy and Tom Kim making Sunday charges and Canadian Mackenzie Hughes birdieing three of his first four holes, MacIntyre’s lead dwindled. MacIntyre and Hughes were tied for the lead at one point on the front nine.
But Hughes bogeyed Nos. 5 and 9. McIlroy and Kim ran out of holes. MacIntyre responded to his bogey on the first with birdies on Nos. 4, 7 and 8. He made the turn leading by three. He sank a 21-foot birdie putt on No. 11 — the most difficult hole on the course — and gave a convincing fist pump.
It wasn’t all straightforward for MacIntyre on the back side. He hit his tee shot on the 12th in the water hazard, resulting in a bogey. On the par-3 13th, known as “The Rink” hole for a hockey-board-style setup around the tee box, MacIntyre hit his tee shot left of the pin, which trickled down the slope into the rough. He left his chip shot short and couldn’t make the par save, leading to a second-consecutive bogey.
With MacIntyre on No. 15, he had a one-shot lead over Frenchman Victor Perez, who shot a bogey-free 64. But that quickly changed when MacIntyre striped his lob wedge to five feet from the hole. He sank the birdie and sealed the win. American Ben Griffin finished second at 15-under-par.
It’s been a year of change for MacIntyre, who moved to Orlando, Fla. when he got his PGA Tour Card. The 27-year-old was candid about the difficulty adjusting to life on the PGA Tour. MacIntyre leaned on other DP World Tour golfers, like Ryan Fox, who are dealing with a similar transition.
“We’re all competitive,” MacIntyre said. “We’re all wanting to beat the hell out of each other when we’re on the golf course, but I think off the golf course it’s a lot more tightknit.”
MacIntyre credited his resilience this week and not putting expectations on himself.
“I’ve been in a good mindset from the get-go and had zero expectation at the start of the week,” MacIntyre said. “A bit of luck, a bit of myself being staying in the moment, staying calm.”
Leader by FIVE!
@Robert1Lefty is fired up 🔥 pic.twitter.com/dBvpfbCqAc— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 2, 2024
MacIntyre shot four rounds in the 60s (64-66-66-68). With the win, MacIntyre qualifies for the remaining two signature events of the year on the PGA Tour: the Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship.
MacIntyre turned pro in 2017. He earned his card on the DP World Tour in 2019 after he finished 12th in the Challenge Tour Order of Merit. MacIntyre has two DP World Tour victories, the Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown (2020) and the DS Automobiles Italian Open (2022).
MacIntyre’s prominence grew after losing by a shot at his home tournament, the Scottish Open, in 2023 to McIlroy, after shooting a final-round 64. He also was on Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup, where he went 2-0-1, including a Sunday singles victory over 2023 U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
In addition to MacIntyre’s win Sunday, he has three top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2024.
Required reading
(Photo of Robert, left, and Dougie MacIntyre: Minas Panagiotakis / Getty Images)
