Bob MacIntyre admitted he wasn't nice to himself and was running hot before he turned his round around at Royal Birkdale. Now the Scottish golfer believes he couldn't be in a better position in his bid to win The Open after stopping issues from getting out of hand.
Difficult Start Turned Around
MacIntyre scrapped to get back into the title race after a challenging start on Friday. Having dropped a shot on the third hole, he appeared angry during an animated conversation with caddie Mike Burrow as they made their way down the next hole. However, the Oban star kept his patience to superbly turn things around, and a brilliant eagle at the 17th firmly drove him back up the leaderboard.
MacIntyre dropped a stroke at the last, but still carded a 69 to sit inside the Top 10 and just four shots behind leader Lucas Herbert with 36 holes remaining. It was a display of fighting spirit after he gave himself a talking-to.
MacIntyre's Self-Criticism and Patience
He said: "I mean, I'll be honest, I'm not nice to myself. That's just the standard I set, when I make a mistake. I felt like for a couple of holes we switched off. I've talked about patience and discipline and the shot [at third] was hit the heart of the green. I was being a bit aggressive, trying to get it in tight to that back right pin, knowing that just long was okay, but it ran that couple yards further on into the rough."
"The minute I had it where it was, I thought, I've got to land this into that bank. You're too scared to hit it too hard in case it goes 15, 20 feet high. I was running hot there, but it was about getting back in the game."
"A nice okay shot into the par-three [fourth] misses on the left side, get that up-and-down and then just staying disciplined. Hit a short club off the drivable par-four [fifth] and a wedge. It's just patience."
Challenges with the Rough
MacIntyre also commented on the difficult conditions: "You're not really getting fliers out of this rough because it's not green, it's not lush. I feel it when I'm picking the stuff up to throw the grass up, you've hardly got any of it in your hand. It's just like dust."
"I think it was six, it was just a fraction of green. First thing I said: This is going to fly and I didn't trust it. That was when I really had to reset what I was doing. We really had to switch on, to be honest, because it was getting, it got out of hand."
"I think it was a great round of golf. I don't have any other words. It was a great, great round of golf."
Eagle at 17th and Final Hole
MacIntyre’s raking 39-foot putt for a magnificent eagle on the par-five penultimate hole powered him to within three of Herbert at one stage. He smiled: "It was lovely. I don't know what I done. I think I was actually trying to hit it straight at the bunker on the left side just over the hump and then almost deal with it from there. You miss it on the right, you're in trouble, or you're making par, so I think I got lucky. I think it's landed up the left, bounced round the bunker and then come on that way."
"The putt was going like a steam train, but it was dead centre. So it was a nice one to get a cushion going up the last."
A failed up-and-down attempt from the side of the final green on that last hole dropped the Scot back to four-under par. MacIntyre was caught on a broadcast clip having a pop at the 18th on Thursday, but after Friday's round, said deadpan: "Great hole. Great hole. It's bunkers. That's all you're seeing, bunkers everywhere. Thick rough off the left. It's a great hole."
Looking Ahead to the Weekend
MacIntyre believes he is where he needs to be going into the weekend and stated: "Yeah, great spot. Can't really be in a better spot going into the weekend. It's where I want to be, especially after last week with the game. I feel like the game's in a good spot. I'm missing it in the right spots, the short game sharp, putting's decent. Just maybe hit a few more greens when it's like this and make life a little bit easier."
