HAMILTON, Ontario — Rookie Robert MacIntyre claimed his first PGA Tour title at the RBC Canadian Open. He did so with his father, Dougie, serving as the emergency caddie this week. It was a cool story for the two-time DP World Tour winner and member of the winning European Ryder Cup team in Rome.
But it also comes with a sweet seven-figure check. MacIntyre took home $1.692 million from a purse of $9.4 million. Not bad for a week’s work and for the 27-year-old pride of Oban, Scotland. In fact, he more than doubled his earnings for his previous 15 starts in which he had banked $1,133,146.
HAMILTON, Ontario – Dougie MacIntyre was sitting on his couch at home in Oban, Scotland. It was 8 o’clock on a Saturday night when “Bob” popped up on his phone for a FaceTime.
His son, the professional golf Robert MacIntyre, was in Dallas and had missed the cut the day before at the Charles Schwab Challenge. Having parted ways with his fourth caddie in the last 18 months, he asked, “How would you like to come to Canada and caddie for me at the RBC Canadian Open?”
Dougie was busy at home, where he is the greenkeeper at Glencruitten Golf Club. But his wife, Carol, gave him a look and said he needed to go be there for his son. Robert admitted he had asked a few others to be on the bag but no one wanted a one-week gig.
The next morning at 8 a.m., Dougie was on a direct flight to Toronto and seven days later they were embracing on the 18th green at Hamilton Golf & Country Club as Robert closed in 2-under 68 to win the 113th edition of Canada’s national championship. It marked the 27-year-old rookie’s maiden PGA Tour title, a one-stroke victory over Ben Griffin. MacIntyre became the first player to win with his father as his caddie since Heath Slocum had father Hack on the bag at the 2005 Sanderson Farms Championship.
“We’ve got a house between where you cross the road for four holes at Glencruitten and we used to go out every night in the summer, no matter the weather, we would play four holes every night,” Robert said. “He taught me the game of golf.”
The last time Dougie was on the bag was seven years ago at DP World Tour Q-School and that worked out well, too. MacIntyre won twice on that circuit and was a member of victorious Team Europe at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome. But living in Orlando and playing on the PGA Tour has been a big adjustment. He’s talked openly about his homesickness and loneliness. Rory McIlroy, MacIntyre’s Ryder Cup teammate, said he could relate.
“It’s a big culture shock compared to the place where he grew up in Oban. You know, traveling around America, it’s a different world. Some people adapt a little quicker than others. Everyone has to try to find their right rhythm,” McIlroy said. “It looks like Bob’s still figuring that out.”
He seemed right at home north of the border. MacIntyre opened his week with a 64 and after back-to-back 66s, he held a four-shot lead after 54 holes. Dougie had given Robert the tough love that he needed when he had fallen four strokes back on Saturday. Walking down the 10th hole on Saturday, he reminded him he had 27 holes to go.
“I don’t know what happened on the back nine yesterday, he just went daft,” said Dougie of the three birdies and an eagle run that catapulted Robert into the driver’s seat.
On Sunday, Dougie woke up, looked out the window, heard the patter of rain and groaned, “Oh, big bag.” He had carried a lightweight bag for the first three rounds but for the final 18 he lugged a tour bag for the extra space to handle the rain gear. Anything for his son, right?
The lefthander would need his dad by his side as the final round unspooled on a crisp, gray, rainy afternoon. His four-stroke edge was gone before he left the third tee as he opened with a bogey and Canadian Mackenzie Hughes tied him at 13 under. MacIntyre’s swing felt fragile enough that he had messaged his coach that morning in search of a quick-fix.
His putter proved to be his sword and savior. While ranked 103rd in Strokes Gained: putting for the season, he led the field at the Open. MacIntyre carded three birdies to push his lead back to four at the turn. He grew agitated by a television drone, backing off several shots and calling for a rules official to come to his aid.
“If it didn’t go away, I was going to start throwing my clubs at it,” MacIntyre said. “That’s how annoyed I was getting. … I meant, it’s a big wasp. I asked them to get rid of it. They did.”
“He gets grumpy. That’s his downfall. When he gets grumpy and mad at himself the game goes,” Dougie said.
Not on this day. He canned a 21-foot birdie at No. 11 and looked to be coasting to victory. Neither bogeys at Nos. 12 and 13 nor a late charge by Griffin (65) and Victor Perez (64), who finished third, dimmed his spirit. Dougie made sure of that.
Robert MacIntyre poses with two Canadian Mounties and the trophy after winning the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. (Photo: Dan Hamilton-USA TODAY Sports)
“He just kept telling me, ‘We just stay in the fight,’ ” Robert said. “With four or five holes to go, he goes, ‘If we play this in 1-under par, they got to come get ya.’ He knows what to say, when to say it,” Robert said.
MacIntyre blinked away tears when he knocked his second shot at 18 to 12 feet. He finished with a 72-hole total of 16-under 264 to become the fifth player from Scotland to win on the PGA Tour since 1940, joining fellow countrymen Sandy Lyle, Paul Lawrie, Martin Laird and Russell Knox.
With leaky eyes, Dougie took a call from his wife while Robert was busy doing interviews. They have a foster son, who boasted that he blew Robert’s ball in the hole.
“Good man, you are some boy,” Dougie told him. “I was trying all day myself.”
Dougie joked after they shared the 36-hole lead that he needed to negotiate a fair wager with his son. Robert said he planned to pay his father the typical winner’s share, or 10 percent of his $1.638 million paycheck, and his parent’s wouldn’t have to worry about their mortgage anymore. Would Dougie be on his bag at the Memorial this coming week, the U.S. Open, which Robert is now qualified for, the week after, and the Travelers Championship, another Signature event, after that?
“One and done,” Dougie said. “I’m going back to cutting grass.”
HAMILTON, Ontario – Not all heroes wear capes, but some wear bibs.
That was the glib tweet on the RBC Canadian Open social media on Sunday.
It was a reference to fan Paul Emerson, who was watching the third hole of the final round at Hamilton Golf & Country Club when veteran caddie Mike “Fluff” Cowan took a spill on the wet grass going down a hill.
Cowan, 76, is beloved for his fluffy moustache and long run as a caddie for the likes of Tiger Woods, Peter Jacobsen and Jim Furyk for the past 25 years. Cowan joined C.T. Pan this season as Furyk dealt with injuries. But when Cowan went down on Sunday, Pan helped him to get medical attention while Shane Lowry picked up his own bag and his caddie grabbed Pan’s temporarily.
— RBC Canadian Open (@RBCCanadianOpen) June 2, 2024
That’s when Emerson offered to lend a hand and donned a bib for two holes as Pan’s relief caddie.
“I helped Fluff get the bib off, threw it on and started walking up the hole,” Emerson told PGA Tour.com.
Pan made a birdie and a bogey during Emerson’s two-hole gig before he was replaced by Mike Campbell, who works in caddie services at the club. He took over until the turn when Al Riddell, Paul Barjon’s caddie, became Pan’s fourth caddie of the round.
Pan shot 1-under 69 and finished T-35 for the week.
🚨 C.T. Pan’s caddie, the legend Mike “Fluff” Cowan slipped coming down the hill on the 3rd hole and was unable to continue caddying. A random fan was asked to carry his clubs the rest of the day. 😲
“I don’t think anybody could have dreamed when that idea was brought forward that it would have grown to what it is today”
HAMILTON, Ontario – Mackenzie Hughes arrived at the par-3 13th hole at Hamilton Golf & Country Club on Saturday and described the scene as pandemonium.
Before he could hit his tee shot, the fans at The Rink, the hockey-themed hole wrapped in boards on both sides of the tee, goalie helmets as tee markers, a goal on the tee, and an ice-resurfacing machine nearby, serenaded him with Canada’s national anthem.
“The hair on the back of my neck stood up,” Hughes said.
They sang “Hey, Baby!” before Trace Crowe teed off and John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” in between groups, while Rory McIlroy was treated to a Ryder Cup-esque Ole! Ole! Ole! Ole!
It was a hair-brained idea that debuted seven years ago and is now part of the fabric of the RBC Canadian Open. Credit goes to the executive director of Golf Saskatchewan, who suggested a hockey-themed hole to combine Canada’s most popular pastimes, golf and hockey. It debuted originally in 2017 at Glenn Abbey.
The first year, rowdy fans lined the hockey-style boards, which replaced traditional roping, on one side of the seventh hole. The next year, at St. George’s it was both sides of the 16th hole, which created a different vibe, and it just keeps growing with a double decker tent lining the left side of the hole.
The Rink, the hockey-themed hole at the RBC Canadian Open, has become part of the fabric of the championship. (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
RBC Canadian Open tournament director Bryan Crawford told PGA Tour.com, “I don’t think anybody could have dreamed when that idea was brought forward that it would have grown to what it is today.”
It creates an electric atmosphere that is shades of the infamous 16th at TPC Scottsdale’s Stadium Course during the WM Phoenix Open, only these fans tend to be buzzed rather than three sheets to the wind and while they slap the boards and singalong to their heart’s content, it becomes quiet enough to hear a pin drop before a player tees off.
The pros have bought into putting a slice of Canada’s national pastime into the act, wearing their favorite hockey jersey. Mike Weir has worn a Detroit Red Wings jersey. Dustin Johnson, a past champion before departing to LIV, used to rock an Edmonton Oilers jersey of his father-in-law, “The Great One,” Wayne Gretzky. Former touring pro Graham DeLaet used to sport a Calgary Flames jersey.
The hockey helmet tee box marker at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. (Photo: Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
Two years ago, Golf Canada introduced The Rink at the Canadian Women’s Open, with Brooke Henderson donning a sweater of her hometown Ottawa Senators and Nelly Korda a Chicago Blackhawks jersey, the team that her boyfriend played for at the time. The volunteer marshals dress as referees too, and have dubbed the area around the tee “The Penalty Box.” And just like at a hockey game, the fans booed and chanted “Referees suck,” when one of them confiscated a plastic hockey puck that was being toss in the stands. It’s fast become one of the more unique experiences at a professional golf tournament without feeling too contrived or the fans getting out of control.
“On that Rink, there’s like no space. It’s just like the boards are right there on the tee and they’re banging and they’re screaming,” said Hughes, who wore a Durham 360 Painting jersey of a late friend as a tribute. “Walking on that tee, again, just a total hair-raising moment where, I mean, I’m trying to play it pretty cool, but inside I’m thinking this is really, really cool.”
“I generally tell him to get his head out of his ass.”
HAMILTON, Ontario — Adam Scott possesses one of, if not the most, beautiful swings in golf. But even a Maserati needs a tune-up every once in a while.
On Saturday afternoon, having posted a third-round even-par 70 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club that left him T-49, Scott headed to the range to work on his driver after hitting just 3 of 14 fairways.
“I drove it a step into the first cut on nearly every hole. It was quite remarkable,” said the 43-year-old past Masters champion, pursing his lips in dissatisfaction.
Scott had a second set of eyes checking his every move – CBS’s lead golf analyst, Trevor Immelman, who didn’t have to go on air until 5 p.m. The two longtime friends had dinner Friday night and made an appointment to meet on the range after Scott’s round. Scott currently is without a coach, having parted with his brother-in-law, Brad Malone, around October. Lee Trevino always said he wouldn’t take a lesson from someone who couldn’t beat him. Immelman, the 2008 Masters champion, qualifies.
“I’ve enjoyed talking golf with Trevor and it’s just good to have someone that kind of knows me and my game so well so he can go, ‘You’re getting off base, what are you doing?’ ” Scott said. “He’s got a good eye and knowledge.”
Scott said that Immelman has encouraged him to shorten his swing for months but it has been easier said than done.
“It’s good to have a purpose and work on stuff instead of aimlessly fiddling around to find something,” Scott said.
From the sound of things, Immelman was pleased with the length of Scott’s swing as he kept saying, “Yes,” as Scott took turns driving straight as a needle, with a slight fade and a draw on command.
“Adam is one of my best friends and we’ve known each other since we were teenagers,” Immelman wrote in a text. “He’s an amazing human being, all class. I fully believe that he still has what it takes to win at the highest level, and I really hope he does.”
Hitting balls next to Scott with a head cover placed under his right arm pit was veteran pro Nate Lashley, who stopped to ask Immelman, “Are you trying to give the most perfect swing a lesson?”
Immelman smiled and replied, “I generally tell him to get his head out of his ass.”
Nate Lashley (front) asked Trevor Immelman, right, “Are you trying to give the most perfect swing a lesson?” (Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
Scott tabbed the session with Immelman “very productive,” and it could come in handy for the final round. He could use a low round on Sunday to move up the standings at the Canadian Open. He entered the week at No. 58 in the Official World Golf Ranking. A missed cut at the PGA Championship last month knocked him out of the top 60 in the world for the first time in nearly six years and cost him a berth in the U.S. Open at Pinehurst in less than two months. A T-12 at the Colonial last week bumped him back inside the top 60, where he will need to remain following the conclusion of next week’s tournaments to gain a spot in the U.S. Open field. He hasn’t missed a major since the 2001 U.S. Open at Southern Hills, a span of 91 straight starts in men’s golf’s big four.
In 2018, the last time he slipped outside the top 60, he played in a 36-hole qualifier in Columbus, Ohio and earned his way into the field. But Scott said he won’t be playing at Final Qualifying on Monday. He signed up for a site in Ohio — he wasn’t originally planning to play north of the border — and said he’s won’t be there. He also isn’t in the field for next week’s Memorial. That means Sunday’s final round of the RBC Canadian Open is his last chance to make his case. It’s down to the wire, but as Scott noted, “Some weeks you don’t play and you move up in the rankings,” he said, before adding, “I know the situation. It will be what it will be.”
North of the border, they refer to it simply as “The Putt.”
HAMILTON, Ontario – Step right up, folks, and see if you, too, can make a 72-foot putt!
Here, north of the border, they refer to it simply as “The Putt.” Amid a steady rain, the 72-foot eagle bomb at Toronto’s Oakdale Golf and Country Club by Abbotsford’s own Nick Taylor on the fourth hole of a sudden-death playoff ended a 69-year drought of a Canadian not winning its national open.
“Still can’t believe it’s been a year,” Taylor said on Wednesday in his pre-tournament interview ahead of his title defense at Hamilton Golf & Country Club. “It’s been a fun ride.”
When his long-range bomb dropped, Taylor tossed his putter into the air and leaped into the arms of caddie Dave Markle, a former teammate on Canada’s amateur team, after the longest made putt of his PGA Tour career.
The 72-foot putting challenge for fans attending the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. (Photo: Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
“My distinct memory is seeing Dave charge at me, kind of his face. Then the rest of it is kind of a blur,” Taylor recalled. “I’ve seen the replay enough now that I kind of have that visual almost now instead of my own perception. Yeah, I’ve seen so many angles now, it’s really cool to see different people’s reaction. I feel when my wife and I see it we find a different person to look at and see how they reacted, which is pretty fun.
Golf Canada is giving every spectator at this week’s RBC Canadian Open a chance to see if they can duplicate Taylor’s feat.
So, yes, step right up and try your luck at the RBC Community Junior Golf 72-Foot Putt Challenge. For $20, fans receive two chances to hole a putt of the same length as Taylor’s iconic championship winner. Nail it like Nick and you’re rewarded with a new Scotty Cameron putter and upgraded passes for that day at the Open. (At press time, 22 contestants had holed it, including nine on Friday!)
Proceeds from the contest benefit the First Tee program that brings golf into elementary and middle school phys-ed classes in Canada.
The 72-foot putting challenge for fans attending the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. (Photo: Adam Schupak/Golfweek)
After Taylor finished his pro-am round on Wednesday, he stopped by the challenge hole to help some First Tee kids give his long-range bomb a shot. One nearly made it.
Then it was Taylor’s turn. His first attempt slid right and a little long. His second stopped about a foot wide to the left. Turns out 72 feet is as hard as it looks.
“You don’t have a whole lot of 72-footers in practice or in tournaments,” Taylor told the Hamilton Spectator. “It was a one-in-a-million type shot.”
While he couldn’t pull it off this time, he rediscovered the magic at a charity event back home in his native British Columbia a few months ago.
Hamilton G&CC, a par-70 track measuring 7,084 yards. The purse at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open is $9.1 million with $1.638 million going to the winner. The champion will also receive 500 FedEx Cup points.
Here are the tee times and TV and streaming info for the third round of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. All times listed are ET.
HAMILTON, Ontario – DP World Tour graduates Robert MacIntyre and Ryan Fox are taking advantage of earning PGA Tour privileges this season north of the border. MacIntyre, a Scotsman who represented Team Europe at the Ryder Cup in Rome, and Fox, a New …
HAMILTON, Ontario – DP World Tour graduates Robert MacIntyre and Ryan Fox are taking advantage of earning PGA Tour privileges this season north of the border.
MacIntyre, a Scotsman who represented Team Europe at the Ryder Cup in Rome, and Fox, a New Zealand native, were among 10 DP World Tour pros who graduated to the PGA Tour this season for the first time. Earlier this year, Frenchman Matthieu Pavon won the Farmers Insurance Open and Finland’s Sami Valimaki finished second at the Mexico Open.
The agreement to give cards to DP World Tour pros was one of the final deals produced by former DP World Tour commissioner Keith Pelley, a Canadian, who must love seeing this leaderboard. When Pelley announced he was taking a new post outside of golf back in his native country with Maple Leaf Sports Enterprises, MacIntyre was asked what his legacy would be. “He got me to the PGA Tour, didn’t he?” MacIntyre said. “He’s given me a pathway to achieve dreams I’ve always wanted to achieve.”
The Scotsman is bogey-free through 36 holes and shares the lead with Fox with a total of 10-under 130 — and that much closer to achieving that dream of winning on the PGA Tour.
Here’s four more things to know about the second round of the RBC Canadian Open.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre is bogey-free through 36 holes with dad, Dougie, on the bag as his emergency caddie.
“He jumped at the chance,” the PGA Tour rookie said of his old man, who serves as a greenkeeper back home at Glencruitten Golf Course in Oban, Scotland. “It’s good to just spend an extra week with loved ones.”
MacIntyre, who fired a 4-under 66 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club on Friday, parted ways with his previous caddie after missing the cut last week. He called his father Saturday to ask him to fill in this week and he hopped on a flight the next day. It’s the first time MacIntyre has had his dad, who he tabbed a good golfer in his own right, on the bag since he caddied at DP World Tour Q-School seven years ago. For more on this story, click here.
Nick Taylor ended the 69-year drought without a Canadian native winning the RBC Canadian Open. Wouldn’t it be funny if they had back-to-back champions?
Mackenzie Hughes, who grew up nearby and took lessons at host course Hamilton Golf & Country Club as a junior, thrust himself into the conversation, ridding a sizzling hot putter to a 6-under 64 on Friday.
“I walk around this place often and think about myself as a young kid. I was here a lot as a young kid watching these tournaments in 2003 and 2006. I remember thinking how cool it was back then. I wanted to get close to the players, get autographs and all that,” Hughes said. “Yesterday on the first tee when they announced me and they say Dundas, Ontario, like just knowing how close that is to here it kind of hit me that it was really, really special. Doing it here does feel different. Being in Toronto is obviously still home, but I spent time here as a kid.”
After an opening 1-under 69, Hughes, who started on No. 10, birdied three of his first six holes and holed a 60-degree wedge from 79 yards at No. 12 to shoot 5-under 30 on his first nine and join the fray. After another birdie at No. 1, Hughes attempted to tee off first in his group but it was Shane Lowry’s honor.
“You got to give me that tee at least once today,” Lowry said.
Lowry wouldn’t have the tee for long because Hughes canned a 12-foot eagle putt at the fourth.
Hughes needed the oven mitts for his sizzling putter. He took just 22 putts and leads the field in SG: Putting through 36 holes. The Canadian faithful were loving it and Hughes was feeding off their energy.
“Those putts just seemed to be going in the middle of the hole and it got loud and it got really exciting there. I know the weekend will be even more amped up than that and I’m excited for it,” he said.
After the eagle at four, Hughes, who figures he’s played Hamilton some 50 times, realized he could shoot a special number.
“I knew standing in 7 fairway if I birdied the last three holes it was 59 too, so I was definitely aware of it coming down the end,” he said.
But Hughes made what he termed “two mental mistakes” at Nos. 7 and 8 that resulted in bogeys and left him settling for 64, the best round of the day.
“While the finish was disappointing, I look at the whole body of work,” he said. “Starting today if you told me I was going to shoot 64, I would have taken it. So it gets me into contention for the weekend and that’s all I can ask for.”
Hughes is low Canadian through two rounds at 7-under 133 and T-4, and his words from the pre-championship press conference are starting to ring true.
“I’m here to win this trophy, it wouldn’t matter if it was for a thousand bucks or a million bucks, I’m here to play well and win this tournament,” he said.
Joel Dahmen hadn’t played in the Canadian Open in five years, but the PGA Tour Canada Player of the Year from a decade ago is happy to be back. He fired a 5-under 65 on Friday and sits in third place, just two shots back of the lead.
“I came here on Tuesday and I just kind of had great vibes again,” Dahmen said. “I almost felt bad I hadn’t been back. The schedule didn’t work out previously. It is, it’s a really special place.”
And special for Dahmen for good reason: he played 45 events over five seasons on PGA Tour Canada (2010-2014) and won twice in 2014 to earn his Korn Ferry Tour card.
Asked what has been working for him this week, Dahmen, who ranks No. 119 in the FedEx Cup standings, said, “Kind of done everything well.” Indeed, he ranks 22nd in SG: Tee-to-Green, fifth in proximity and fourth in SG: Putting.
Dahmen credited the pre-shot visualization work he’s been working hard on to commit to each shot.
“Having a clear plan, which sounds weird that I’ve played golf a long time without a clear plan,” he said. “But, yeah, it’s doing the same thing over and over again and it’s worked out great.
Harry Higgs talked about it a lot the last two weeks, and it’s kind of the same thing, really, you accept where it goes and you go and you do it again. It frees me up to play golf and let my body take over. My body knows what to do if I just kind of stay out of the way.”
So far, so good.
New Zealand’s Ryan Fox sunk a 12-foot birdie putt at the ninth hole, his 18th hole of the day, to tie for the 36-hole lead.
Fox fired a 6-under 64, tied for the low round of the day, to tie MacIntyre.
“I drove it great, I hit may irons really good, and had a few more putts drop today. It could have been really silly,” Fox said.
It marks Fox’s first 36-hole lead/co-lead on the PGA Tour.
“Golf course kind of suits my eye,” Fox said. “Similar grass to what we play at home. Similar kind of old style, tree-lined golf course, which is what I grew up on.”
At No. 63 in the Official World Golf Ranking, is the highest-ranked Tour member that has not played in a Signature event this season. He entered the week No. 8 in the Aon Swing 5 standings and is currently projected to move to No. 1 and earn a spot in next week’s Memorial Tournament.
Fox is seeking his first Tour title, but the 37-year-old pro counts four DP World Tour wins on his resume.
In addition to having his dad on the bag, Robert MacIntyre will enjoy being paired with Ryan Fox, a friend from there DP World Tour days.
“He’s a great kid,” Fox said. “We get along really well. Played together a bunch of times in Europe. Played together the first two days at Myrtle Beach this year. We both went pretty well there. Hopefully, we can have a bit of fun tomorrow and feed off each other and be in that final group again on Sunday.”
Speaking at the Myrtle Beach Classic earlier this month, MacIntyre explained why it’s tough traveling alone on the Tour.
“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,” he said. :It’s good to have people in the same boat as you. I’ve struggled out here with the lifestyle.”
“I think I might need to negotiate a wage this week,” said MacIntyre’s dad.
HAMILTON, Ontario – Father knows best.
That’s been the case for the first 36 holes of the RBC Canadian Open for Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre, who is bogey-free through 36 holes with dad, Dougie, on the bag as his emergency caddie.
“He jumped at the chance,” the PGA Tour rookie said of his old man, who serves as a greenkeeper back home at Glencruitten Golf Course in Oban, Scotland. “It’s good to just spend an extra week with loved ones.”
MacIntyre fired a 4-under 66 at Hamilton Golf & Country Club on Friday to improve to 10-under 130 and take the early lead during the second round of play.
MacIntyre had been using caddie Mike Burrows while his usual boss Danny Willett was sidelined with injury earlier this season and did a five-week trial run with Scott Carmichael, but they parted ways last week after MacIntyre missed the cut. He called his father Saturday to ask him to fill in this week and he hopped on a flight the next day. It’s the first time MacIntyre has had his dad, who he tabbed a good golfer in his own right, on the bag since he caddied at DP World Tour Q-School seven years ago.
“We did all right there,” MacIntyre said. “He’s learning on the run and I’m kind of trying to stay as calm as I can. When I do miss a shot, I’m not trying to get too annoyed.”
There hasn’t been too much to be annoyed about so far. He birdied three of his first four holes en route to 64 on Thursday, and said he kept things simple for his dad. “He’s a bit out of his depth,” MacIntrye said.
Aware that Hamilton is a hilly golf course, he was able to secure for his father a lightweight bag with a kickstand from Titleist after walking nine holes on Monday in the rain with his usual Tour staff bag. MacIntyre said his 59-year-old father is fit enough to do 18 but he also plans to play in the upcoming U.S. Open qualifier in Toronto this coming Monday. (Dougie MacIntyre declined to speak for this story, saying, “I’ve been instructed by Bob not to.”)
Robert MacIntyre plays his shot from the 18th tee during the second round of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open at Hamilton Golf & Country Club. (Photo: Vaughn Ridley/Getty Images)
“I thought 36 holes for my dad carrying that tour bag ain’t going to be pretty, so I’ve gone a bit easier on him,” he said.
MacIntyre also is going a bit easier on himself. He’s found the adjustment to playing on the PGA Tour a lonely existence and he’s only been home three weeks since January 3, so having his father by his side has been a benefit on multiple levels this week.
MacIntyre has recorded three top-10 finishes this season, most notably a T-8 at the PGA Championship earlier this month. MacIntyre has credited his strong play of late to an attitude adjustment. When asked why he needed one, he said, “Because I think my golf game’s not changed in the last, I don’t know, four, five years. Nothing’s changed. Only thing that’s changed this year is the environment that I’m in on the PGA Tour instead of the DP World Tour. So, I’ve got the golf game to compete anywhere in the world, and I knew that, from playing obviously Open Championships and the Masters my first time. There was something stopping me. There was something stopping me from competing. I felt like I had a terrible start to the year. [He missed three of his first four cuts.] Something was stopping me.
“We dug in deeper into stats and whatnot and we’re like, ‘Everything’s all right here, what is it?’ And then you got to look at yourself, you got to look yourself in the mirror and go, ‘You might be the problem.’ We sat down, we spoke about it, and I think my attitude was a problem. Just now I’m working hard on that, trying to just stay as even-keeled and just deal with whatever comes.”
So far, the Canadian fans have adopted the lefthander as one of their own.
“Lefties rule!” a fan bellowed.
“Right on!” another said.
Right to the top of the leaderboard and with his father doing his best to keep up with his son. As they walked off the last green after a tidy up-and-down par, Dougie turned to his son and said tongue firmly in cheek, “I think I might need to negotiate a wage this week.”
The purse at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open is $9.1 million with $1.638 million going to the winner.
The PGA Tour is north of the border for its annual Canadian visit.
The 2024 RBC Canadian Open is being contested this week at Hamilton Golf & Country Club in Hamilton, Ontario.
Two-time winner and world No. 2 Rory McIlroy — who admitted he was “groggy” after his first round — is joined in the field by defending champion and countryman Nick Taylor.
Fellow Canadian Adam Hadwin is there as well. A year ago, he was tackled by a security guard known only as Mr. X, who finally broke silence about the 18th hole takedown but did so without identifying himself.
The purse at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open is $9.1 million with $1.638 million going to the winner. The champion will also receive 500 FedEx Cup points.
From tee times to TV and streaming info, here’s everything you need to know for the second round of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open. All times listed are ET.
