Family affair as MacIntyre seals emotional Canadian Open triumph with dad on the bag

McIlroy makes do with fourth as Scotland's 'Big Bob' claims maiden PGA Tour title with one-stroke victory and father Dougie wins hearts after tough week for sport

Mon, 03 Jun, 2024 - 00:22

Joe Callaghan, Hamilton

Robert MacIntyre and his father Dougie ensured that a week when the PGA Tour went through the emotional ringer ended on the most feel-good story of the season as he won the RBC Canadian Open by a single shot on Sunday evening.

The Scottish Ryder Cup star had his dad caddy for him for the first time since 2017 after an emergency call to home last Saturday evening, the same day that news emerged that Tour pro Grayson Murray had died from suicide.

The passing of Murray had cast a shadow and brought all sorts of perspective to Hamilton Golf and Country Club all week and the MacIntyre clan delivered a timely reminder of the power of family support as the man they like to call Big Bob came up with his biggest win of the season and quite possibly his career. Afterwards both father and son let the emotions flow.

"I'm speechless to be honest. I don't think I'm looking for a caddie, I think Glencruitten are looking for a greenkeeper," MacIntyre Jr. joked as he pinched back tears on the 18th green.

"I wanted to win this for my dad." ❤️

Robert MacIntyre spoke to our @Amanda_Balionis on what it meant winning the @RBCCanadianOpen with his father on the bag. pic.twitter.com/aMeTEgDdEz
— Golf on CBS ⛳ (@GolfonCBS) June 2, 2024

Dougie had put his greenkeeping duties at the family's local course in the West of Scotland on hold to carry his son's bag here this week, the first time he did so since 2017. The end result was a first Scottish win on tour for four years and a first father-son caddy-player combo for 19 years.

"I'm a grasscutter, not a caddy," Dougie said, delivering one of the more memorable lines of the season. "Honestly it was unbelievable."

A tournament which has had a knack for throwing up huge storylines and moments in recent years duly delivered another gripping Sunday with Rory McIlroy among those to find low scores as the rains fell and fog fell in over the rolling hills of Hamilton.
MacIntyre tensed up on his back nine with back-to-back bogeys on 12 and 13 looking like they'd open the door. By that stage McIlroy had surged just two behind thanks to a faultless and fluid round of golf.

Another birdie on 17 would help the Holywood man, who defeated MacIntyre in a playoff at the Scottish Open last year to a six-under 64 and clubhouse score of -13. In the end that was good enough for a tie for fourth for the two-time Canadian champion with MacIntyre's final pairing partner, American Ben Griffin, finishing second and France's Victor Perez in third.

"Goose bumps. It's incredible," added MacIntyre, who has fought home-sickness on his debut season in North America. "It's a dream of mine to play golf for a living. It's been a dream of mine to win on the PGA Tour. I just can't believe I done it with my dad on the bag.

"The guy's taught me the way I play golf. I play it with the heart on the sleeve, and we got a hell of a fight in the two of us and I just can't believe that I've won."

Victory brought immediate rewards: a $1.6m prize and a place in upcoming elevated events as well as the US Open at Pinehurst. MacIntyre said he'd skip the first of those $20m events, next week at Memorial, to return home to Oban and party.

GOING PLACES: Rory McIlroy tees off on the fourth hole during the final round of the Canadian Open golf tournament in Hamilton, Ontario, Sunday, June 2, 2024. (Nathan Denette/The Canadian Press via AP)

For his part, McIlroy was delighted to stitch together a very impressive weekend where he went 65-64. With a key eight-week stretch on the way including the US Open, Scottish Open and Open Championship at Troon, the 35-year-old again departs Canada with the vibes feeling positive.

"Three really good rounds of golf, one not so good one," said McIlroy who was frustrated by a second-round 72. "Overall, three rounds out of four were really good and just that one disappointing one on Friday. But overall after a week off where I didn't really feel like I prepared as well as I probably could have, yeah, it was a solid week.

"Going into a big stretch of golf here and obviously you want to come to tournaments and try to win every single one that you play in. But I think to build off especially the weekend here, going into Memorial next week, and then obviously the U.S. Open the week after, we've got a lot of golf coming up. It's really nice to see some good signs in my game."

Shane Lowry finished in a tie for 33rd thanks to a Sunday 68, the same score he carded in his second and third rounds on a day when playing partner CT Pan went through four caddies in 18 holes. First his regular bagman, veteran Fluff Cowan, slipped and injured himself as the rains fell. Then the Taiwanese pro plucked a punter out of the crowd to caddy for two holes before one of the club's own helped and later a local Tour caddy took over.

But in truth this latest feel-good Canadian Open Sunday was only about one caddy. Dougie MacIntyre may be one and done but it was one to remember.