New world No 6 Bob MacIntyre produces birdie blitz in California

Playing his opening round at the Nicklaus Tournament Course at La Quinta, the bridie blitz saw the Oban man sign for a nine-under-par 63 to sit alongside world No 1 Scottie Scheffler.

The eye-catching effort came after MacIntyre had signed off with a best-of-the-day 63 on Sunday to finish joint-fourth in the Sony Open in Hawaii in his first outing of the 2026 calendar campaign.

“Yeah, just drove it well off the tee and wedges were really good,” he said of this impressive start. “At the end of the day, you can't shoot that low without holing a lot of putts. Overall, a good round of golf and just a good start.”

In an event played on three different courses, former Genesis Scottish Open champion Min Woo Lee posted a ten-under 62 at the same venue to set the pace along with American Pierceson Coody, who also started on the Nicklaus Tournament Course.

MacIntyre plays his second round on Friday at the Pete Dye Stadium Course. “I know scoring will be tougher out there,” he admitted. “It's so firm on that golf course. Find the fairway and then find the green.

“If you're not finding the green, then make sure you're missing it in the right spots where you can somewhat control the chip. It's like concrete on the Stadium.”

‘Yeah, it’s good signs’

MacIntyre opted to start his 2026 campaign with back-to-back events on the PGA Tour instead of heading to the Middle East for the DP World Tour’s Dubai double-header.

It was a big early bonus to immediately jump a spot in the world rankings and he’s happy that some work on his wedges is paying off already.

“I wasn't hitting it close enough with a wedge,” admitted the Scot. “It's like anyone, the closer you are to the hole, the better chance you've got. Today and last week have been really good with the wedges and, yeah, it's good signs.”