MYRTLE BEACH CLASSIC

May 10, 2024

Robert MacIntyre

Dunes Golf and Beach Club

Quick Quotes

Q. Bob, another solid round out there today. Maybe compare how the first two days have gone out here on this golf course.

ROBERT MACINTYRE: I think it's been really good. I think it's difficult to back up a good round yesterday. Felt like I done that really well. The front nine I was absolutely pretty much flawless golf. Missed a few chances. But when you keep giving yourself lots of chances, you're going to take some. Overall a good round today and a good one yesterday.

Q. The wind was obviously picking up there a little bit as you were finishing the round. What's your comfort level been out here so far?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, it's different. You've not got as much room to maneuver it. I like to shape the ball. Off the tees there's some funnels you've got to play it through. The golf course needs a bit of breeze, and I think it's a good test when it comes up.

Yeah, that last six holes I felt like it was just switching around a little bit there, so it made it a bit difficult.

Q. Yesterday I heard some of the things you had to say about really the decision to come to play on the PGA TOUR and with the family dynamic and all that entailed, if you could go through that, please.

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, look, I'm from a small town on the west coast of Scotland. A lot of people never leave Oban. They go on holidays and stuff, but they're born there, they work there, they ultimately die there. My whole family and friends are there. They're probably always going to be there.

It's just difficult when I come over here, me and my girlfriend. We're trying to make it home, and it's difficult when you've not got that family connection. We're giving it our best shot, but it's completely different to home life.

Obviously I got home there for three weeks and managed to have somewhat of a normal life for three weeks. I've come back out this stretch, obviously had a good week with Thomas Detry in Zurich last week, was just mad scoring, and then this week, to be honest, I'm just in a good mind frame going into these few weeks.

Q. What is your home life like? Obviously you're traveling a bunch. Where are you living in the U.S., and is it a permanent home?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: No, it's not a permanent home. Again, it's a trial period. We're trying to test out where home is going to be. Renting a place in Orlando, practicing out of Isleworth. The facilities are absolutely incredible.

I thought that moving to the U.S. was the only way of achieving my dreams in golf. I don't know if that's the answer.

I feel like a happy Bob MacIntyre is a dangerous Bob MacIntyre on the golf course, and home life makes me happy. That's why I'm probably going to go home after the next couple events. I'll go home to Scotland rather than go to Orlando.

Q. How long are you committed to playing on the PGA TOUR at this point? Are you considering one-and-done and going back to DP World Tour?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: I mean, I'm trying to keep my card out here. It's not easy. I've not had the greatest of starts, or after an alright start, I've not played the way I wanted to play. I want to be one of the best players in the world, so whatever I've got to play, I'll play, whether it's in the U.S., whether it's in Europe, whether it's further afield. It doesn't faze me. I'm used to traveling.

Q. Is that why you came to the U.S. and the PGA TOUR, to try to be the best in the world, and how difficult of a decision was it actually to make to actually pull the trigger?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: It wasn't a difficult decision. The World Ranking points, the financial gain and the practice facilities, it can only benefit me if I play good golf.

I can go back to European Tour anytime I want. I've obviously got that grace period with the 10 cards that we've got this year, and I've obviously got one in the back pocket from playing Ryder Cup. I'm comfortable. I'm just trying to become one of the best players in the world.

I don't know what limit I've got in golf. I don't know where my limit is. I'm just trying my best every day to accept what score I get and work harder.

Q. You mentioned the Ryder Cup. Did that fulfill a lifetime goal essentially of being a Ryder Cup member, especially on a victorious team?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Exactly. Getting in the team was part of it, but winning it was the main thing. That was my job was to go there and win the Ryder Cup, and thankfully I had guys on my side that were wanting to do the same, and we done it.

Every European that plays professional golf, that's a dream, and I got to live out a dream. It's as simple as that.

Q. How does it feel to from Oban, Scotland, get to McNeese State and how does it match up? Here's a guy with a Scottish accent, there's got to be some fun and games in that?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: It was different. I remember my first-ever class was a public speaking class and they didn't understand one word when I was doing presentations, so it was a bit different down there. But we play a European Team Championship, which is the main kind of junior event in Europe where the likes of Viktor would have played, a lot of the European guys, Ludvig would have played it, and that's where all the college coaches come. That's where the main hub for picking out the European guys to go to college out here.

The coach at McNeese seen me there and then offered me a great deal, and I thought -- well, I wasn't wanting to go, and my mom was like, you'll regret it growing up. You'll look later back on your life and you never made it in professional golf and you didn't give that a shot. So we gave it a go, and we lasted a year and a half, but it was a great learning curve.

Q. Being from the west coast of Scotland, what's your familiarity with Royal Troon? I'm sure you've thought about the Open Championship later this year. How far is Oban from Glasgow?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: Yeah, because of the way Scotland is, I'm a three-hour drive to Troon. I'm further north. I've never played Royal Troon in my life, which amazes a lot of people. I'm sure in the time off that I've got coming up or I've planned that I've got coming up, I was planning on going down there and playing a couple of rounds. I've got a couple of rounds out there and whatnot.

I'm looking forward to getting back on links golf.

Q. Yesterday you mentioned it was nice to play with Ryan Fox in the pairing. Right now you guys exchanged numbers. How does that play into having two nice rounds, someone you're friendly with?

ROBERT MACINTYRE: It's brilliant. Look, it's difficult for all the European guys, all the guys in Europe, coming out here this year. Obviously Foxy has got his family out with him. It's a completely different lifestyle in the U.S., and good or bad, some people love it, some people hate it. It's just a different culture, different style of life.

It's good to have people in the same boat as you. I've struggled out here with the lifestyle. I think the majority of the European guys have struggled since coming out here. It's been so different.

But it's good to have guys like playing with Foxy there that really couldn't care less about the golf when we were going around there. We were just having fun chatting. Out here I feel like there's less -- it's work; we don't need to chat; no one needs to chat to you. But out there with Foxy it felt like you were just playing golf with a mate, and Nick, his caddie, was there, as well, who we know well, and Scottie, my caddie. Yeah, when we're over the shots it's serious and when we're getting ready to hit the shot it's serious, but once that ball is in the sky, who cares, let's just go and have a laugh. It worked well the last two days for both of us.