Golf
The clubs Robert MacIntyre used to win the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open
After a third-round 63, Robert MacIntyre did not hide how much winning the Genesis Scottish Open would mean to him.
“I’ve not been shy in saying it,” he said Saturday. “The Scottish Open is the one I want. It’s not going to change tomorrow. I’m in that position. I’ve been doing good things. I’ve been playing well. Not just this week but for the previous kind of eight weeks, I feel like my game has been in good shape. Tomorrow is just another round of golf, and I’ve just got to control me and if I do that well, then I’m going to be in with a chance.”
A 41-footer for birdie at the par-3 14th kept him within shouting distance of Adam Scott, but that chance appeared in jeopardy when he drove into the tall grass at the par-5 16th. But after receiving a drop from a sprinkler head, MacIntyre proceeded to hit a 7-iron out of the hay from 247 yards to six feet and dropped the eagle putt to knot Scott at 17 under. Then at the last, a pitching wedge from 167 yards finished 22 feet from the hole and he dropped one final putt to become the first Scot to win this championship since Colin Montgomerie in 1999.
“I just said ‘take your chance, take your chance’ and I took it and I can’t believe it,” said MacIntyre.
A lot went well for MacIntyre, but his work on the greens, particularly on Sunday, was a difference-maker. Ranking 16th in strokes gained/putting while averaging 92 feet of putts made per round, MacIntyre was four-plus strokes better than the field average for the week. MacIntyre’s putter is TaylorMade’s Spider Tour T3 mallet, a model similar to that used by Scottie Scheffler and Rory McIlroy.
Which is fitting. Prior to this week Scheffler and McIlroy were the only players with multiple PGA Tour wins to their credit this season. Now MacIntyre joins that pair as well.
The clubs Robert MacIntyre used to win the 2024 Genesis Scottish Open
Driver: Titleist TSR2 (Graphite Design Tour AD DI 7X), 9 degrees
3-wood: Titleist GT3, 14.5 degrees
Hybrid: TaylorMade Stealth 2, 19 degrees
Irons (4-9): Titleist 620 CB
Wedges: Titleist Vokey SM10 (46 degrees); Titleist Vokey SM9 (50, 56, 60 degrees)
Putter: TaylorMade Spider Tour T3