Robert MacIntyre of Scotland won his first PGA Tour title at the RBC Canadian Open. He got off to a slow start but held off a lot of strong competitors.
At Hamilton Golf and Country Club, MacIntyre shot a 68 in the last round to finish 16 under par, one shot ahead of Ben Griffin.
Griffin made things tough for his partner by making birdies on the 15th, 16th, and 17th holes to get within one of them, but he couldn’t get a fourth straight birdie on the last hole to possibly force a play-off.
At the end, Victor Perez came in one shot behind. Rory McIlroy and Tom Kim tied for fourth place at 13 under. When the day began, McIlroy was seven shots behind the leader. But after making three straight birdies through the sixth hole, he got within two shots.
When MacIntyre won by two shots from 10 feet away on the 18th hole, he was able to hug his father Dougie, who had been asked to caddie at the last minute.
MacIntyre talked about his dad while telling CBS, “Because of this.” This is why he was so upset when he won.
“To be honest, I can’t say anything.” This is everything for me, my family, my girlfriend, and my team. I’m shocked that I did it with him on the bag.
MacIntyre lost his four-shot overnight lead in just four holes when he bogeyed the first and Mackenzie Hughes, the home favorite, made three early birdies.
But MacIntyre reacted brilliantly by making birdies on the fourth, seventh, and eighth holes to take back control of the event. He had to ask several times for a drone being used for TV coverage to be moved before he finally got his way.
Another birdie on the 11th hole was followed by a wild tee shot into a water hazard on the 12th hole. Another mistake on the 13th hole let the players behind him get closer, but the Ryder Cup star birdied the 15th hole and made par on the last three holes to seal the deal.
MacIntyre hasn’t hid the fact that he’s having a hard time getting used to living in the US this season. He had a great three-week trip back to Scotland in April, where he competed in the Myrtle Beach Classic and came in eighth place at the US PGA Championship.
“I am a grass cutter, not a caddie,” said one of the MacIntryre pair after their emotional win.
There were clearly emotional scenes after the Scotsman’s win. His father started to cry as he thought about the time they had spent together as his son battled through tough times on his first year on the PGA Tour and came out on top.
In fact, Robert MacIntyre had to work hard to get his dad into the venue on the Monday morning before the event because he didn’t have the right credentials. This was just one example of how amazing their week was; MacIntyre’s dad’s caddie fee is now expected to pay off their parents’ home.
It’s unbelievable. Yes. Sorry, I’m not a golfer; I cut grass. “It’s really unbelievable,” MacIntyre’s dad said.
“I got called. You called me last Saturday night, right?” “Can I quit my job?” I ask myself as I sit on the couch at home at 8 p.m. on a Saturday. I had work to do.
“Of course you can.”
“Yes. The next morning at 8 a.m., I’m on a flight out here, and… wow.”
MacIntyre thought about how his foster brothers and sisters helped him become the person he is today and how much his parents and sisters had given up for him to follow his dream.
MacIntyre said after his win, “I think it makes you realize that hitting a white ball around a golf course isn’t the most important thing.”
“I mean, it’s made me cry that your kids are leaving you. They become family. Things have been hard for them. As a child, I wasn’t given everything. I was given a wonderful chance.
It was clear that my dad was a great athlete—he played football, golf, and shinty—but he didn’t have the money to really pursue it. I think that was something that both my mom and dad always wanted to do.
“Both of my older sisters love horses and horseback riding, but they gave up a lot of that to give me a chance.”
Since we didn’t have enough money, I couldn’t play in golf events when I was younger. I believe that not getting anything made me fight and never give up.
“I mean, they gave me a lot.” Even though they gave me the chance, I never took it easily. I always had to work hard for it.
This week, you can watch the Scandinavian Mixed and Memorial Tournament live on Sky Sports. With NOW, you can also stream the best golf on Sky Sports.