MacIntyre Gleans ‘Rookie Of The Year’ Inspiration Dinning With Sam, Ken & Dougie

…… Dubai, UAE 

Top-ranked Scot Bob MacIntyre says the sheer delight in spending last Friday nigth at Sun City in the company of Scottish sporting legends Sam Torrance, Ken Brown and Dougie Donnelly was just the tonic to help steer him to ‘Rookie of the Year’ glory in Dubai.

MacIntyre, 23 caught-up with the trio for dinner shortly after a gut-wrenching Nedban Challenge second round 76 to slide down the board in South Africa.

A clearly inspired young Scot then went on day three posting a brilliant 65 on route to grabbing a share of eighth place and in the process go back ahead of nearest ‘Rookie of the Year’ rival, American Kurt Kitayama.

MacIntyre said:  “It was absolutely brilliant meeting-up with Sam, Ken and Dougie.  My state of mind I was in when I came off the golf course was not good and, though my head was clear by the time I went to dinner, to listen to some of the stories they had from their time on tour was brilliant.

Leading world ranked Scot Robert MacIntyre during Tuesday’s Pro-Am and with coach, Davy Burns acting as stand-in caddy. (Photo @tourmiss)

“I thought travelling for me was tough at times, but it is easy compared to some of the journeys they had to make.

“They didn’t treat me any differently. They just treated me as one of the boys. It was normal chat and was just what I needed, especially after the way I’d played on Friday. It was a bit of a reality before getting back down to playing golf the next day.”

Torrance, 66 is a Scottish golfing legend and aside from a 21-victory individual career and leading Europe to victory in the 2002 Ryder Cup he’s also just one tournament shy of contesting a remarkable 700 Tour events.

Torrance also is one of a dozen Scots to have been honoured in 1972 with the Sir Henry Cotton ‘Rookie of the Year’ award that MacIntyre this week seeks to attain.

MacIntyre said:  “Of course, Sam is a legend in Scottish golf but then I just try and treat everyone the same. I take people at face value. If someone is nice to me, I will be nice to them and most guys out here are great guys.

“Take Patrick Reed, for example as you hear all the stories about him in the background, but he was a great guy to play with in three rounds in Turkey.

“If someone is chatting on the way round, that helps me big time. I just try to be myself out there. If they like it, then great. If not, they give you a hint to suggest otherwise.”.

The last Scot to win the ‘Rookie of the Year’ honours was Marc Warren in 2006 and with MacIntyre ranked 11th on the Race to Dubai and Kitayama 12th, he needs only to finish ahead the American to earn the rookie honours

He said:  “It would mean a lot to end my season as ‘Rookie of the Year’.

“It would be another reward on the list. It is in my control on one hand but, on the other, it is also out of my control. If Kurt goes out and wins it, then hats off to him.

“But, if I go out and hit every shot the way I want to, then it might take care of itself. But I am not going to get ahead of myself. I’ve got the first tee shot to hit on Thursday morning and that’s all I am really worrying about just now.

“I’ve got to take care of myself, first and foremost. I feel as though I’ve been getting ahead of myself a bit due to the fact I’ve probably been thinking too much about landing that breakthrough win.

“You know what, I’m a great believer in the saying, ‘it won’t miss you if it’s for you’ and I am just going to commit 100 per cent to every shot this week and, if it’s this week then great. If not, we’ll have another 30 events next year to give it a go.”

MacIntyre’s only concern ahead of the season curtain-closer was the health of caddy, Greg Milne.

A stomach bug forced Milne to skip Tuesday’s Pro-Am and with the caddying duties falling to coach, Davy Burns.

MacIntyre said:  “We thought it best Greg take the day off and it worked as he’s feeling much better, so we’re right to go.”



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