BETFRED BRITISH MASTERS HOSTED BY DANNY WILLETT

May 4, 2022

Robert MacIntyre

The Belfry

Press Conference

TOM CARLISLE: Welcome back to the 2022 Betfred British Masters hosted by Danny Willett, and we are joined by Robert MacIntyre. It's your first hit out since the Masters and obviously another great week at Augusta. How have things been since then and what sort of shape is your game in at the moment?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: : It's been good. I've not done an awful lot. Obviously I played in Zurich, and then first event back over here. But place is looking great out there. Game is in decent shape. Just looking forward to getting going.

TOM CARLISLE: Scotsman, obviously playing on home soil here in the U.K., British Masters. How much do you enjoy playing at courses like here and The Belfry and also playing in front of these fans as well?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: It's brilliant. Brilliant to be back in Britain. The course playing longer than it was last year. I'm not sure what's happened. I think there's a couple new tees that are getting used. Last year we had bad weather and some tees had to be moved up. It's a great venue to be competing at and ready to get going.

TOM CARLISLE: How much does that help you when you have the support of the home crowd in an event like this, the weather is not too great and you still have guys following you around in the Pro-Am?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: It's brilliant. Obviously the group I have in the Pro-Am is absolutely brilliant as well. They are not only out there to see me, they are out there to McGinn and Terry and Alex. It's brilliant, the support I've had back home in Scotland has been unbelievable.

I think down here this week, they will be following Lee Westwood rather than Bob MacIntyre, but it's always good.

Q. Was it a real chance to win here last year, do you feel?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Hundred percent. Last year I feel like it got away from me. We pushed at probably the wrong times, that 10th hole, sucker. Sucked me in a wee bit and we attacked it. This year we've looked at some stats and we used to play holes, and we'll rein it back. But as I said, it's playing a little bit longer, so the scoring is probably not going to be as low.

Q. The joke at the Masters, playing with Lee Westwood again and you're playing with Lee again now. You have to find birdies first?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: That's my only goal for the week is make a birdie. I've got to get used to playing with him. I don't know what it is. It's more mental than physical.

But yeah, I get on well with him. It's just about going out there and playing golf and hopefully I can get the duck off my back early on and just enjoy myself. At the end of the day I'm here to play golf. Here to try to win a golf tournament. So he's just a playing partner.

Q. Tell us what happened at the Zurich. Did you lose a ball up a tree?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Still a sore point. We just always moan to Mike that we are always unlucky. And we started off in a divot on the first hole. Second hole under a lip in a bunker. Third hole, fine.

Fourth hole, I had a tee shot, but watch it bounce, we think, oh, it's fine, later just have a shot around the tree and chip it out. Get up there, no sign of the golf ball. And there was a tree root with holes in it. The big tree, no sign of the golf ball. I mean it literally was in a three-yard space and couldn't find it.

So it was safe to say, that I wasn't too happy.

Q. Obviously a lot of your golf at the moment is in the States, but when you come back to Britain how determined are you to put in a strong performance at a venue like this?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, I want to win every week I pitch up, whether it's America or in Europe. It's not -- I don't play golf to make friends or -- I mean, obviously everyone is playing and you've got money on the line but I want to win golf tournaments. That's the reason I play. It's just -- it's only way to drive yourself is to be competitive and try and win.

Q. Is it fair to say that you're maybe a wee bit underplayed this year in terms of tournaments played and are you looking to get a stretch going now?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: That's the problem is I don't know where I'm going or where I can -- I'm in a position, exact same last year. I didn't know -- I'm in a position in the World Ranking that has me tosses and turning. I'm one good event from way to going to all the good Invitationals in the States. I'm trying to plan a schedule but it's not easy at all.

I personally feel like I've played a lot of golf. Just travelling is not easy to travel back and forth. It's just the way it is just now. I moaned last year about it to Stoddy about not having a set schedule, not knowing where I'm going. But he said to me at the start of this year, "Are you ready for the year?"

I'm like, "Aye, but where are we playing?"

And he's like, "We know where we're playing the first to the Masters."

And then, I mean, I don't have a clue what I'm doing in the next -- I know I'll take next week off, play PGA, and after that, I mean, it's back to Oban and back to the drawing board.

Q. Do you have any interest at all in this event at Centurion and LIV Golf?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: I won't be there. Simple as that, I won't be there.

Q. Do you think there's a difference between a certain age of guy who might want to play that? Lee was talking about asking for a release today, and the younger guys like yourself maybe aren't as motivated by the big money there?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Potentially. But for me, again, I'm just starting out my career. I'm playing on both sides of the planet, America, DP World. So I'm in a great spot. I'm enjoying my golf. Just got to get on with it.

Q. You asked this question of Collin Morikawa last week: Are you interested or intrigued about anything else that's going on in golf?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: First time I've been asked about this. At the end of the day, there's crazy, crazy money getting thrown at it. If you ask me, it's obscene money to be throwing at sport. There's only so much money that a human needs.

So for me right now, I'm comfortable. I've got a house, a home, my family is healthy. I've got a car I can drive. I have clothes I can put on and I can still treat myself and my family. What do I need? Just now, I'm as happy as I can be in the life of Robert MacIntyre.

Q. Somebody at Stevie's dinner last week paid 12 grand to play golf with you at Loch Lomond. Do you still pinch golf that somebody is prepared to do that?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Absolute madness. Had you said that, I'd go, what are you they expecting?

I get when you do well in sport, especially the recognition that you get, I'm out there playing with John McGinn, I was nervous today playing with him and when you get talking to him, he is nervous to play with me or play in events. It's just different. People think you're something that you're not. They expect you to be something special. But at the end of the day, we use the same toilet.

Q. There's only one John McGinn though.

ROBERT MacINTYRE: (Laughs).

Q. If you mentioned the difficulty with travelling back and forth to both sides across the Atlantic. Does the money there for not text you to go play the LIV Golf, win formally, buy a private jet, solve all your problems? Kind of a facetious question.

ROBERT MacINTYRE: The travel's difficult and I'm two hours from the airport, but when I go home, I'm relaxed and I know what's going on.

As I said to Martin there, I'm comfortable in everything that I do in life. I've made quite a bit of money on Tour already. I've got brilliant sponsors and more importantly I've got one of the best teams around me that I could ask for. What happens in golf happens in golf, and outside of that, I just go and live my life.

TOM CARLISLE: Thank you very much.