It’s the Personalities: Neglected by Lonely PGA Tour, Robert MacIntyre Suffers Another Bizarre Setback

The Ontario greens have been fairing quite well for Robert MacIntyre! The Oban native remains completely bogey-free for the first 36 holes of the RBC Canadian Open. After the second round of the event, the Scottish pro has managed to secure the top spot on the leaderboard along with Ryan Fox with a score of 10 under par.

MacIntyre’s 2024 season has been quite inconsistent. Out of the 15 events he has played so far, the 27-year-old has missed the cut in seven of them. One of the main reasons for the irregularity in performance could be his constantly changing caddies. However, this week things are looking up for the PGA Tour pro, especially with his father as his looper.

Robert MacIntyre and his caddie troubles

During the post-second round presser, MacIntyre revealed that he had parted ways with his previous caddie. The PGA Tour pro came forward and addressed the whole caddie situation and iterated, ” I’ve been going through a transition of caddies in the last, had Mikey Burrow, who caddies for Danny Willett, he came and caddied for me. I had Scott Carmichael, we done a trial run for the last kind of five weeks. He missed the PGA because he had a wedding. So I had Mikey Burrow back on the bag for the PGA. Then we parted ways last week.”

The Scotsman divulged deeper as to why he saw such rapid changes in his caddies in such a short time: “Look, it’s difficult. Caddies for me are, it’s more of a — it’s not so much doing the job for me, it’s not so much the caddieing part, it’s the personalities.” Robert MacIntyre was caddie-less a week before the RBC Canadian Open. The 27-year-old turned to his father for help.

Dougie MacIntyre previously caddied for his son back in 2017, when the Oban native was in DP World Tour Q-School. The PGA Tour pro further highlighted the positive impact of having his father by his side and the importance of forging connections: “like this week, my dad’s doing very little. He’s doing stuff to help me, but he’s doing very little. It’s just about having chats on the golf course.”

Robert MacIntyre earned his PGA Tour card back in 2023. However, his rookie season on the PGA Tour has not been all rainbows and sunshine. The shift across the Atlantic has not been easy for the 27-year-old. He found himself grappling with loneliness on the American circuit. 

What Made MacIntyre Feel Different in America Compared to Europe?

Away from his home, Robert MacIntyre found the PGA Tour to be “lonely” and described it as “all so unfamiliar” for a European golfer. Robert MacIntyre started his professional career in 2017 and earned his DP World Tour card in 2018 for the 2019 season. In the next five years, the Scotsman was able to bag two wins on the European circuit. The two-time DP World Tour winner praised the atmosphere and the environment of the European circuit and said, “When you’re on the European DP World Tour, it’s very friendly – Everyone is together. We’re all travelling the world. If we’re struggling with certain things, we speak to folk around us.”

Although not complaining about the PGA Tour, he pointed out the lack of a friendly environment there. He pointed out that everyone on the PGA tour is more self-reliant, But, coming to terms with and respecting his decision to be a part of the PGA Tour, he said, “Again, I keep coming back to, it’s part and parcel of what I’ve chosen and what I’m doing. I mean, I wouldn’t expect someone to come and sit with me.” With his father by his side, will Robert MacIntyre finally earn his maiden PGA Tour victory at the RBC Canadian Open? That will be known after the end of the remaining two rounds!