'It was cool' - Bob MacIntyre on playing with idol Phil Mickelson for the first time

“It was great,” admitted Bob MacIntyre of finding himself walking the fairways of Royal Troon with fellow left-hander Phil Mickelson in the final round of the 152nd Open. Carding a 74, MacIntyre beat him by two shots, but that didn’t really matter.

Dougie, who was outside the ropes on this occasion, is easily MacIntyre’s biggest sporting idol, but, having been inspired by Mickelson while others wanted to be Tiger Woods, this was definitely a special experience for the 27-year-old.

“To get to play with an idol, someone that you've shaped your golf game around. If it wasn't watching my dad play golf, it was watching Phil Mickelson play golf, and it was cool to walk the fairways with him and get chatting to him,” he added.

Mickelson enjoyed it, too. “It’s great to see another left-handed player and then to have the success he’s had,” said the LIV Golf player. “In the Ryder Cup, he played great and he’s won a few times now. To win his national championship was really cool.

“He hits the ball hard, he’s got a lot of clubhead speed, he is strong with just a great touch and great shot-making skills. He’s just a tremendous player and it’s fun for me to have another good young lefty to pull for.”

Before heading out, Mickelson had congratulated the Scot on winning his national Open, the American having claimed that title himself at Castle Stuart in 2013 before winning The Open at Muirfield the following weekend.

“He introduced himself on the range at Torrey Pines at the US Open,” replied MacIntyre to being asked if he’d had any interactions with the six-time major winner. Today was obviously a special day just to get to do that. But again, I was out to do a job, and I didn't quite do that.”

After pulling off a sensational fightback on Friday to be involved in the weekend action on the Ayrshire coast, the final 36 holes were a bit flat for the Scot, who, having taken a double-bogey 7 at the 16th in the final round, finished on nine over, two shots ahead of Mickelson.

“Brutally honest, terrible,” he said of his week overall. “It was summed up by the 16th hole there. We won't be back here in a hurry. There's certain golf courses that suit left-handers and right-handers, and this one didn't suit the left-hander with a more southerly wind.

“If we got the usual westerly wind - I spoke to Phil about that out there - it was probably perfect for a left-hander, where the front nine was playable for a lefty, whereas this week it was absolutely brutal for me.”

After taking a two-week break, MacIntyre will return to action in the Wyndham Championship before heading into the FedEx Cup Play-Offs - the FedEx St Jude Championship, BWW Championship and, providing he’s in the 30 on the points list, the Tour Championship.

“Physically I'm fine, but mentally I'm gone,” he admitted. “Sunday night probably took a lot out of me. It was worth it. You've got to celebrate special wins. That was outrageous.

“This week, to be honest, has just gone straight in the bin, and last week is the one that we'll reflect on because there's no real point in reflecting on this one when it's been absolute carnage from start to finish. Preparation wasn't the best, obviously, coming off of last week, but we'll sit back and reflect and look to see where we can keep improving, and just keep moving forward.”

The Scottish Open win lifted him to world No 16, but his sights are set on something higher than that. “Right now I'm fresh off a disappointing finish here,” he said. “Top 20 in the world is really good. I've got ambitions in the game that I want to go further than 16th in the world. Playing in these tournaments is what you need to do and competing in them. Yeah, 16th in the world is great, but there's a long way to keep going.”