What PGA Tour victory means for Bob MacIntyre as huge cheque, US Open reprieve and Masters berth among many spoils

The 27-year-old from Oban held his nerve amid pressure from a host of challengers to finish top of the leaderboard in Hamilton, Ontario. It is MacIntyre’s first title on the PGA Tour, adding to the two he won on the DP World Tour before switching to the States six months ago. But with the greatest of respect to Aphrodite Hills Cyprus Showdown, claimed in 2020, and the DS Automobiles Italian Open he won in 2022, this is much bigger. Only being part of the victorious 2023 Ryder Cup team eclipses this achievement.

MacIntyre had his father Dougie on his bag and that will make this win especially emotional. The Oban native is the personification of a family man. That is why it has been challenging for him to swap life in Scotland for Florida. Based out of Orlando, MacIntyre admitted in an interview earlier this year with The Scotsman’s chief golf writer Martin Dempster that he was struggling to adapt to his new surroundings. He misses home. So to have his dad – normally a greenkeeper at Glencruitten GC – by his side will have meant the world to him. The support from his partner Shannon cannot go without mention either, a rock next to him as he migrates his professional world across the pond.

A recent trip home for three weeks where he allowed himself to unwind clearly did MacIntyre the power of good. This title has been in pipeline, challenging at the Myrtle Beach Classic and then finishing eighth at the US PGA Championship. He played well from start to finish in Canada and made sure his nerve was spot-on when under pressure from Ben Griffin, Victor Perez, Tom Kim and Rory McIlroy – the man who pipped him at the post for last year’s Scottish Open title.

This is a game-changing moment for MacIntyre, though. Let’s talk about the bank balance first. He pockets a cheque for just over £1.3million, the largest amount of money won by a Scottish golfer in any single event. It is more than double what he earned on the PGA Tour previously. It is financial justification for making the switch from Europe to the US.

But conquering Canada has serious sporting consequences. MacIntyre now rises to No 40 from 76th in the Official World Golf Ranking. He is confirmed as a PGA Tour player for the next two-and-a-half years and can now compete at every Signature Event for the rest of the season. In the immediate term, he can now play at the US Open at Memorial the week after next. And after missing out on the Masters this year, he will be allowed to play in 2025 at Augusta. He is back rubbing shoulders with the cream of golf’s crop.

Will his father be on his bag at the US Open? MacIntyre has changed his caddie on more than one occasion in the past two years. Mike Thompson, Greg Milne, Mike Burrow and Scott Carmichael have all been by his side of late but it was dad’s touch that made a big difference. When asked if Dougie was now a permanent fixture on the bag, MacIntyre added: “No, dad’s on the flight home on Monday and I think me and my girlfriend might go home as well and just have a hell of a party because this is incredible.”

His old man also played it down. “I’m a grasscutter not a caddie,” he said. “I got phoned last Saturday night, I’m sitting on the couch at home eight o’clock Saturday night and I’m (thinking) can I leave my job here, I’m busy at work. Eight o’clock the next morning I’m on a flight out here and wow.”

Asked if his dad would receive the standard 10 per cent of his winner’s cheque of £1.3million, MacIntyre joked: “Yeah, he’s going to get a nice paycheck out of it. I think I’ve got to get rid of some money just now for tax reasons. But he’ll do nicely out of it. He deserves it. And my mum and dad will be mortgage-free now, and life’s looking a little bit better on that side of things, but he just wants me to do well because I’m his son, and there’s no angles to it, there’s nothing.”

MacIntyre’s parents have fostered children for a number of years and the 27-year-old was asked how that had influenced his approach to life. “I think it makes you realise that hitting a white ball around a golf course isn’t the most important thing,” the Ryder Cup winner said. “I mean, I’ve been in tears over it, kids going away from you. They become family. They have been in a tough spot.

“I wasn’t given everything as a kid. I was given a great opportunity. My dad was obviously a really good sportsman, football, golf, shinty, (but) didn’t have the finances to really chase it, and I think it was something that my mum and dad always wanted to do. I’ve got two older sisters who are right into their horses, horse riding and stuff, but they even sacrificed quite a lot of that just to give me a chance. I mean, I couldn’t play in golf tournaments as a junior because we couldn’t afford it. I think that makes me fight and never give up, I think not being given anything. I mean, they gave me quite a bit. They gave me the opportunity, but never was I spoon fed, I was always fighting for every bit of it.”

Those that have spent time with MacIntyre speak in glowing terms of him. He is becoming an increasingly popular member of the sport and there is still so much scope to grow. Given his early challenges on the PGA Tour – on and off the course – this win will now allow him to relax. The pressure is off, he can swing freely. Speaking recently, he said: “I feel like a happy Bob MacIntyre is a dangerous Bob MacIntyre on the golf course, and home life makes me happy.” More trips back to Oban are clearly in the offing. But as he proved over the weekend, the PGA Tour is feeling more and more like home for him.