WGC DELL TECHNOLOGIES MATCH PLAY

March 25, 2021

Robert McIntyre

Austin Country Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Robert, this is a tough question to ask moments ago, but you seem to be in that shadow emotional zone of I just tied the No. 1 golfer on the planet but I'm not very jubilant because three holes ago you probably dreamed of a little bit more. How are you feeling?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, you know, he holed putts when he had to hole putts. He does that to win numerous majors. I'm young. I've got plenty of time ahead of me. Obviously I was dying to win that match. I was in such a great position to do it. But he threw everything at me, and I can be proud of finishing there all square, but obviously inside I'm a little disappointed not to win. But once we walk away from here and get in the car and drive back to the house, it's going to be, you know what, I can compete with these best guys on the planet.

Q. How are you enjoying American professional golf so far? Are you having a nice time so far?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, it's been good. It's different from the European Tour. You're playing against the best guys in the world week in, week out. So the margins are finer. I haven't had my golf game for the last kind of three and a half weeks, but this week it showed up. I've got my coach out. We worked hard at Sawgrass last week. We played a lot of holes in practice this week. It's really shown. I'm committing to every golf shot I've got in front of me, and it's -- my tee-to-green game is finally back, and I'm putting it well. Just unfortunate the ball didn't go in the hole the last couple, but that's golf.

Q. When you face the challenge that you talked about of playing in America against some of the world's best players, does it make you hungry to say, okay, I want to prove that I belong here, that I can compete here?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, you see a lot of talk here and there that he's not ready to play against the best on the planet. Today was -- do you know what, before I even teed off I gave me a right good buzz before I teed off. I was like, you're the underdog, you're taking on the best player on the planet, just go out there and fight, fight until the end and see what happens. It showed. He had to fight for everything that he got in the end, and I can be proud of what I'm doing, and I feel that my golf game is good enough to be competing out here, and it shows.

Q. Whenever you think of match play, you think of the Ryder Cup, obviously. What did that tournament mean to you growing up and does this kind of make you dream a little bit, your success here?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, I've got a long way to go. I've only just tied against Dustin there today, but you know what, I'm going to play the same way I play with one of my friends if we're having a wee game back home. It's the same kind of fire. Nothing changes. If the Ryder Cup happens, the Ryder Cup happens. I can't control what the selectors do or if I'm going to get in that team. I think I have to get in it with no questions asked.

I've just got to go out here, play my golf and just now I'm playing some of the best golf I've played in a long time, and that's how I want to play.

Q. Was the Ryder Cup meaningful to you growing up as a kid?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, it was. I mean, you see the fight in the European guys, and you obviously want to be part of that at some point, and if I keep going in the direction I'm going, then hopefully I can. It's something you dream of as a kid. I've dreamed as a kid to play in this golf tournament just now, and the dreams become a reality if you put in the work and you get the right people around you, and I've done that, and we're here.

Q. Do you see yourself hopefully at one point soon playing both tours?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, a hundred percent. That's where I want to be. Me and my manager talk about it. It's a Tommy schedule, Tommy Fleetwood schedule. He tosses and turns on both sides and competes both sides of the planet. That's where I want to be. I've got plenty of time to do it. I'm only 24, so if it doesn't happen now, if I keep putting in the work and I keep playing the way I'm playing, it will hopefully happen at some point.

Q. Taking on world No. 1 Dustin Johnson and taking him to task. You had him against the ropes, fought back. You played extremely well. How did you feel about the match?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, I thought I played a great round of golf. He showed why he's world No. 1 in the end, holed putts -- holed a good putt on 17 there that I thought -- I always think, right, I've got to hole no matter where my opponent is. He holes that, and then honestly I thought that putt was in, but a half match against world No. 1, he had to work his very best in the end to match me, and that's something I can be proud of.

Q. You played a lot of match play growing up, I assume. Playing against world No. 1, though, it's kind of a different mindset because it's just one day, it's not four days. It's just one match, one day, anything can possibly happen. What was your mindset?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, it's really just about staying in the fight. I've played so many matches where I've been down early and then I can just back in at some point because I'm just staying in the fight the whole way. If you've got a chance with three, four holes to go, you never know what can happen. That's what I'll do tomorrow, as well, just stay in the fight as long as I can and when you've got a chance to close it out you've got to do your best. I can be proud of every shot, every moment out there.

Q. The putt on 16, you didn't give him the eagle putt even though you had already made par. He went on to make that and he almost seemed like he had a little momentum with that putt on 17. Looking back, would you have done anything differently?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Nothing at all. I feel like anything can happen on the greens. He could have run that three feet by and missed the return. I just wanted to see him hole out. He holed another great putt on 17. It's one of those games where it just wasn't quite enough to win the match, but at the end of the day a half match against the best player on the planet isn't bad, is it.