Robert MacIntyre opens up on PGA Tour ‘challenges’

Robert MacIntyre has opened up on the ‘wild’ few months he has faced after swapping the DP World Tour for the PGA Tour.

The Scot has made the US-based circuit his priority this year after securing one of the ten cards available through the 2023 Race to Dubai.

So far, Ryder Cup winner MacIntyre has made 12 starts this season but has struggled for consistency and currently lies 115th on the FedEx Cup standings.

He’ll be hoping a return to home soil for this summer’s Genesis Scottish Open can revitalise his fortunes and set him up for a strong finish to the season.

The 27-year-old finished second to Rory McIlroy at The Renaissance last summer and, confirming his participation in the event once again this year, he revealed some of the challenges he has faced since swapping Oban for the States.

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“It’s been wild to be honest,” said MacIntyre. “It’s completely different. When you’re on the DP World Tour, it’s very friendly. Everyone is together. We’re all traveling the world. If we’re struggling with certain things, we speak to folk around us.

“You come out here to the PGA Tour, and it’s all so unfamiliar There’s less chatting. There’s less dinners. There’s just less of that big family feel that you get on the European Tour.

“It is what it is. You’ve got to get on with it. There are a lot of other things. New golf courses. Obviously, in Europe, I’ve played the majority of them now. Over here, they are pretty much all new, and then you’ve got the different grasses. Obviously, I was not brought up playing a lot of Bermuda, grainy grass, pitching, putting. It’s just completely different. But it’s a learning curve.”

He added: “It’s just basic stuff to be honest with you that you take for granted back home in Europe. It’s just simple things. Sitting in player dining, you do it in Europe and you’ve got all the Scottish boys, you’ve got all the British boys. A lot of the European guys, if you’re sitting on you’re own, they will come and join you.

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“Out here, because you don’t know many folk, you don’t know them in that same kind of depth, they don’t come to sit with you. It does become a lonely place at the golf side of it.

Not that MacIntyre is complaining, describing his new circumstances as “part and parcel” of the path he’s chosen. He has also had his girlfriend, Shannon, for company most weeks, with his coaching team, friends and manager Iain Stoddart also spending a considerable amount on the road with him.

“It’s a great place to play golf,” he added. “It’s obviously where the best players in the world are. It’s where you can make more money.

“For me, it’s all about work life balance. I’ve not quite worked that out yet over here. Obviously, I went home for three weeks there recently and felt like I came out a far happier man because it does get on top of you.

“It’s a different environment for me but I’m just trying to enjoy it as much as I can and learn as much as I can, week in and week out.”

Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor