Well, that’s the DP World Tour almost done and dusted for another year. But don’t worry. You’ve only got a week to hang on before the 2025 campaign gets going in Australia.
There’s barely time to draw breath in this crash, bang, wallop age of wraparound schedules and non-stop competition. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re actually struggling for breath just reading these frantic opening couple of paragraphs.
For Robert MacIntyre, the last 12 months or so have been jam-packed with adventure and accomplishment.
There was a Ryder Cup debut in Rome last September, a step up to the PGA Tour at the end of 2023, a maiden win on the circuit in the Canadian Open with his dad, Dougie, on the bag, and a thrilling victory in July’s Genesis Scottish Open as he became the first Scot to win the domestic showpiece since Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
“It’s been a hell of a year,” said MacIntyre as he reflected on the strides he has made ahead of this week’s season-ending DP World Tour Championship in Dubai.
“I probably couldn't have scripted what's happened to be honest. From the Ryder Cup until now has been an absolute roller coaster. I'd have dreams of having a season like this, but you never really think it will happen. It’s probably been the fairy tale situation.”
Rather like golf schedules that are bursting at the seams, there’s hardly any room for quiet reflection amid the here, there and everywhere of touring life.
“To be honest, I haven’t,” added the 28-year-old when asked if he’d kicked back in the rocking chair and mulled over his achievements. The memorable moments may have passed by in a flash but there’s always a constant reminder of them.
“When I look at my phone, things pop up because I'm scrolling,” he said of the wonders of modern technology.
“It's like, ‘wow, that happened, wow, that happened, and wow, that happened’. It is just incredible to think that I've achieved a lot of my dreams in one season, in one swoop. It's been brilliant. Hopefully, there's still more to come.”
In this game of tremendous strength in depth and daunting competition, you can’t afford to stand still. Rest on your laurels at this level and you may as well sit in front of a herd of stampeding wildebeest and let yourself be trampled into the turf.
“I’m trying to work out what to do now to get to that next page,” said MacIntyre, who currently sits 16th in the official world golf rankings and has certainly made the most of the 10 PGA Tour cards that are now awarded to the leading players on the European circuit.
“But it’s also about trying not to lose sight of what's got you here. You don’t need a revolution of your whole game. This can improve or that can improve. Stick to the basics and then just tweak little bits to get you to the next level and to major championships.
“I've now got to the top level of professional golf (on the PGA Tour). I’m in all the majors and all the top events and can now pick-and-choose. That's where you want to be.
“I said when these (PGA Tour) cards came about, what an opportunity it is to get as high up the world of golf as you can. I think the majority of golfers out here (on the DP World Tour) have got that dream too.
"Luckily, I got one of those cards. I've worked hard and I've got the breaks and I've got to where I am now. It’s career changing, one hundred per cent.”
As MacIntyre looks to finish his DP World Tour campaign with a flourish over the Earth course at the Jumeirah Golf Estates this week, the Oban lefty continues to learn on the job. You never actually stop learning in this endlessly fascinating pursuit.
“Something I've done well over the last year-and-a-half is learning from the mistakes,” added MacIntyre, who is joined in this week’s $10 million bonanza by his compatriots, Connor Syme and Ewen Ferguson.
“If I'm uncomfortable, why was that? If the game wasn't good there, then why was that? That just comes from experience and maturity and how you take the good with the bad. Yeah, you'll still be uncomfortable over certain shots or certain holes, but overall, we're far better than we were last year.”
And what a year it’s been.
