Robert MacIntyre ready to refocus after ‘wild’ Scottish Open celebrations

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Robert MacIntyre admits he went “absolutely wild” after winning the Scottish Open last weekend but is now fully focused on success at Royal Troon.

The Scot fulfilled a long-held ambition at the Renaissance Club on Sunday when he triumphed in his home championship after a remarkable finish.

The 27-year-old from Oban celebrated long into the night, and expects to do so again as he revisits his victory in future, but his thoughts are now completely on this week’s Open in Ayrshire.

MacIntyre said: “I’m not a big drinker, but when you get moments like that that’s a childhood dream and a lifetime goal, and you’ve got family and friends there that have backed you since you were a young kid, I think it was quite right to go absolutely wild. I think we did a good job of that.

“After this week’s over, I’ll sit back, sit down with my team, and we’ll reflect on it and probably celebrate again because, again, it was a lifetime goal of mine.

“But it’s all about coming here this week. I’ll put last week behind me quickly. Before I peg it up tomorrow, that will be gone. I’m on to a new week.

“I’m going to give 110 per cent. Hopefully I can perform well and give it my best and I’ll have a chance coming in Sunday.”

It has already been a fine summer for MacIntyre, who claimed his first PGA Tour title at the Canadian Open last month.

The left-hander’s career has progressed since he narrowly missed out to Rory McIlroy at last year’s Scottish Open and then went on to make his Ryder Cup debut in Rome last autumn.

He said: “It wasn’t really until I won in Canada that I really felt like I can compete out here fully. I think it’s just an attitude thing.

“You’re not given anything out here, you’ve got to earn it. You’ve got to earn the respect of the guys you’ve looked up to for many years.

“I feel like the Ryder Cup was an eye-opener for me. I realised the majority of those guys, all of them, are just normal guys.

“It wasn’t until probably then I realised, you know what, if these guys can do it, I can do it.”

MacIntyre feels the secret to success is not thinking about the end goal.

He said: “I’m not going out there trying to win a golf tournament. The minute I try to win a golf tournament, if you bogey the first, you’re thinking the golf tournament is getting further away from you.

“The minute you think that, your emotions are all over the place. You lose all control of yourself. You lose thought process, touch, everything.

“There’s no expectation for myself or from my team around me other than to give 110 percent. It’s about staying in it and hopefully come Sunday I’ve got a chance. That’s all I want.”