It’s back to the day job for Robert MacIntyre as he resumes his European Tour duties in Denmark this week. The Oban left-hander may just be glad of the rest.
“That has been the busiest week of my life,” gasped MacIntyre of a hectic few days that followed his joint runners-up finish in the British Masters just less than a fortnight ago.
In the wake of that sterling effort, the 22-year-old met his local MP, Brendan O’Hara, who had raised an early motion at Westminster to honour MacIntyre’s golfing achievement in the Houses of Parliament.
As a keen shinty enthusiast, he was also asked along as guest of honour to pluck the names out of the hat at the draw for the second round of the Camanachd Cup.
If MacIntyre goes on to actually win an event, he’ll be handed the keys to the entire county of Argyll and given a ticker tape parade along Glencruitten Road.
“I’m not complaining about having been in demand,” he said. “It’s been different to what I’m used to. I’ve had so many people sending me messages and also coming up to me in the street to offer their congratulations, so it’s good to know that you’ve got that support.
“The attention won’t change me, though, because I actually try to hide from that at times as I don’t really like all the fuss. More than anything, I just want to play golf.”
READ MORE: Brave MacIntyre goes close at Hillside
MacIntyre gets that chance again today when he tees up in the Made in Denmark event at Himmerland. The former Scottish Amateur champion’s Hillside heroics, which earned
him more than £224,000, thrust him up into 37th place in the tour’s Race to Dubai.
“I’ve not treated myself to anything yet but I will,” he said. “You work so hard to get here, not just over the year but over the last six or seven, so to get that reward is nice.”
With a run of events on European soil coming up, MacIntyre is looking to go on the offensive as he seeks a maiden win at the top table.
“The best thing now is that I have secured my tour card for next year,” added the young rookie. “The pressure is off. You can play golf differently. You can be a bit more aggressive.
The 18th fairway. 205 yards. You need to get up-and-down...
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 12, 2019
The stage is yours Robert MacIntyre... pic.twitter.com/GRBUIFaS6p
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“It’s relaxed me more than anything but I’ll just stick to what I’ve been doing as it’s been working so far.
“The ultimate goal, of course, is to win. I’d made all those cuts at the start of the year but although I was there I wasn’t knocking on the door.
“It was good to prove to myself and everyone else at Hillside that I can knock on that door and get in contention at this level. That puts me in a good place knowing I can compete with these guys on my day.”
MacIntyre’s forthcoming golf schedule includes the 36-hole US Open qualifier at Walton Heath while the Scottish Open at the Renaissance, which will be headlined by Rory McIlroy who officially confirmed his entry yesterday, is being eagerly anticipated. “That’s the main one of the year,” said MacIntyre.
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