Robert MacIntyre’s stock is rising so fast, he’ll soon be appearing on the FTSE-100 index.
A plum draw with star attractions Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler in the first two rounds of the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open has simply underlined the Oban lad’s growing stature.
“You’ve got to be thrown in at the deep end at some point,” he said with a smile of this marquee grouping.
In the sink-or-swim environment of the European Tour, MacIntyre is certainly not grasping for a lifebuoy and, with a couple of runners-up finishes to his name this season and earnings of over £600,000, he’s doing more than simply treading water.
At just 22, the former Scottish Amateur champion and Walker Cup player is taking it all in his stride as his rookie campaign continues to offer up new experiences and moments to savour.
“It’s going to be a thrill to be chatting with them down the fairways talking golf,” he said. Perhaps he can convince McIlroy to have a hit about at Glencruitten one of these days?
“It’s where you want to get to,” added MacIntyre, who has enjoyed pairings with leading lights like Tommy Fleetwood and Ernie Els on his outings this season.
“It’s another step in the progression of my golf career and hopefully it keeps going the way it’s going and I can maybe battle with these guys down the line. I suppose people are seeing that I’ve been doing well so this draw is like, ‘well done, here you are’.
“I’m a young up-and-comer. I’m not the finished article, far from it.
“I’m only 22 years old so it’s about learning from these guys and hopefully, when I’m their age, I can be one of them.”
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MacIntyre has already enjoyed something of a head-to-head with world No.14 Fowler this week in a 14 club challenge match as part of the European Tour’s social media drive.
“I snuck a wee win there,” he said of a bit of light entertainment in which two players play a par-3 with every club in the bag.
“I was a bit nervous, with Rickie being a world-class player and me being a wee Oban boy. The shinty stick was in the bag. It was there as the 15th club.”
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