Robert MacIntyre reveals ‘uncomfortable’ moment with Tiger Woods

Robert MacIntyre says “it doesn’t feel real” as he prepares to tee up in this week’s Hero World Challenge.

Speaking to The Scotsman, the 28-year-old admitted he has always watched this off-season hit-and-giggle in the Bahamas, which is now in its 25th year, and dreamed of one day receiving an invite from tournament host Tiger Woods.

And with two wins in his first full PGA Tour season moving MacIntyre up to 15th in the world rankings, that dream has become a reality.

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“You watch these events, not even just as a kid but a couple of years ago, and go, ‘How cool is that?’ The top 20 or 30 guys on the planet playing in one event in a beautiful place,” MacIntyre said.

“And I have managed to get here this week, having done so through a lot of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication – not just from me but everyone else.

“It doesn’t feel real, to be honest with you.”

MacIntyre, who was speaking before joining Justin Thomas and Jason Day, among others, for the pre-tournament Hero Shot event at Albany, admitted he was “a wee bit panicked” about meeting Tiger Woods for the first time.

“For me, he is the best I have seen and he was freakishly good at the game,” MacIntyre said. “It is unbelievable to be here and it is unbelievable to have a guy like that hosting this event. I am obviously going to meet him at some stage this week and I’m just going to have to put on my big boy pants.”

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MacIntyre’s only previous encounter with the 15-time major champion had been at the Masters when he was playing in the group in front of Woods and was forced to return to the tee after finding his ball in an unplayable lie.

He explained: “That day at Augusta, I hit it in the trees at the 11th and said to Mike [Thomson], who was my caddie at the time, ‘I am going to take a couple of swipes at this.’ And he said, ‘You can’t as you can’t move that ball.’

“I said to him, ‘Tiger is on the tee behind me, I can’t go back to it.’ But I went back.”

Then, with a laugh, added: “Yes, it was uncomfortable.”

While Woods has failed to recover in time from his latest surgery, MacIntyre is joined in the field by Thomas and Day, as well as world number one and defending champion Scottie Scheffler, Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, Swedish wunderkind Ludvig Aberg, and Englishman Aaron Rai.

Alex Perry is the Associate Editor of bunkered. A journalist for more than 20 years, he has been a golf industry stalwart for the majority of his career and, in a five-year spell at ESPN, covered every sporting event you can think of. He completed his own Grand Slam at the 2023 Masters, having fallen in love with the sport at his hometown club of Okehampton and on the links of nearby Bude & North Cornwall.

Associate Editor