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.
“If in doubt, phone dad,” MacIntyre said.
A FaceTime Mom will never forget 🥹
@Robert1Lefty gave her a call right after his first PGA TOUR win @RBCCanadianOpen. pic.twitter.com/ErI6eyJmqn— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) June 3, 2024
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.
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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.
“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.”
But what a week it was for the MacIntyre boys.
