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DUBAI, United Arab Emirates – Justin Rose has warned Robert MacIntyre not to get complacent just because he’s the 2019 European Rookie of the Year.
The 2016 Olympic champion says the Scot “has to prove himself still.”
Rose played with MacIntyre in the final round of the $8 million DP World Tour Championship, Dubai as the left-hander a wrapped up the Rookie of the Year award.
MacIntyre shot a 3-under-par 69 Sunday to finish T-14 and beat former UNLV player Kurt Kitayama for best newcomer. Kitayama finished 48th.
The 2017 Great Britain & Ireland Walker Cup player is the first Scottish golfer since Marc Warren in 2006 to win Rookie of the Year. MacIntyre also won the Challenge Tour Graduate of the Year trophy.
Rose, who was five shots worse than MacIntyre in the final round with a 73, says this is just the beginning for the man from the seaside town of Oban on Scotland’s west course.
“He’s got to prove himself still,” Rose said. “This is just chat. He’s still got to win and he’s got to learn things. He’s got a brilliant journey ahead of him. Keep working hard. This is the first little nugget. This should be a quick pat on the back, Christmas, don’t take your eye off the ball and he’s got to kick on. Hopefully it makes him hungry.”
MacIntyre has been hungry since taking a week off after missing the cut in the Hassan Trophée in Morocco in April.
“I wasn’t enjoying golf,” MacIntyre admitted. “Everyone knows I wasn’t enjoying golf, everyone on my team. I didn’t even want to be playing golf, if I’m honest with you.
“So, took the week off. Went and played some Shinty, and that made me realize what life was about. It was an away game on the bus with the boys enjoying ourselves, and it made me realize that the job I’m doing isn’t a job. You’re doing it because you enjoy it, and that’s the mindset I’ve had for the last 17 events and has made me realize, I don’t find it a chore. Go and enjoy it every week, every day, and that’s what I’ve done. And here we are.”
Rose will endorse the mindset MacIntyre left Dubai with for a well-earned winter break.
“I’ve been shooting at the top 50 in the world for the last four or five weeks,” MacIntyre said. (He arrived in Dubai ranked 69th). “We’ve fallen just short, but the season’s opened up doors for me.
“Next year, if I keep continue to do what I’m doing on the golf course, in my own head, it’s a matter of time.”
Not many, Rose included, would bet against the gritty Scot jumping into the world top 50 next year.
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