MacIntyre glory inspires homegrown heroes taking on world-class field in Genesis Scottish Open
Grand Slam king Rory McIlroy and world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler among favourites in East Lothian
Bob MacIntyre may well, as the modern idiom goes, be doing a lot of the heavy lifting. But the handful of Scots providing back up over the East Lothian links this week are all eager to shoulder their share of the burden.
As Connor Syme puts it, there is definitely a degree of “pressure” to be borne by any golfer lucky enough to have the Saltire next to their name on a leaderboard anywhere in the world. In the Genesis Scottish Open teeing off at The Renaissance Club on Thursday, the weight is increased – and focused on the few home hopes good enough to tee up in a world-class field.
So, while defending champion MacIntyre will inevitably draw major focus, especially after his barnstorming runner-up finish in the recent US Open, compatriots Callum Hill, Richie Ramsay, Ewan Ferguson, Grant Forrest and Syme himself will be well supported. And expected to repay that support.
Syme, who picked up a first DP World Tour title by winning the KLM Open just last month, knows that this is traditionally the season for examining the strength – or otherwise – of Scottish golf. Bolstered not just by his own recent triumph but the inspiration provided by MacIntyre, he feels reasonably good about the state of this nation.
‘Home of Golf’ tag adds to expectation
“Yeah, obviously with this being the Home of Golf, it definitely carries its pressures and stuff with that about trying to live up to that,” he admitted, adding: “Bob is obviously doing absolutely brilliantly, and we are all trying to get, hopefully, to where he gets to.
“I think, I guess we are probably kind of getting it back probably. Certainly when I was coming through amateur golf, the talent that we have in Scotland for whatever reason didn't end up making it on Tour, certainly, at that point.
“I think a few of those guys probably still could do it but it's obviously nice to have, certainly, from my age group growing up, there's quite a lot of us have managed to get on Tour and have won on Tour, which is awesome. So yeah, I think we're all pushing each other on where we can all get to, who knows.
“Yeah, obviously growing up playing golf with Bob, he always had that kind of tenacity and willingness to do really, really well in tournaments. He's always kind of won big tournaments growing up.
“It's not that surprising. But obviously seeing him actually going and doing it is really impressive, and you know, obviously the results he's had here, certainly, the last couple years … he basically won it two years in a row, barring Rory finishing the way he did a couple years ago!
“But yeah, I guess it shows it's possible, and he's doing just absolutely brilliantly, and it is really good to see. Obviously watched all the US Open, and he looked like the guy that was going to win it to be honest. It's very inspiring.”
Winning on home soil the ‘dream’ for Scots
Decades spent covering this tournament, in one guise or another, includes having heard virtually ever Scottish golfer ever to tee it up declaring that winning this one would be like claiming a Major title. The look on MacIntyre’s face when he got the job done last year said it all, right?
Syme, asked if he’d allowed himself to dream about enjoying that sort of moment here on Sunday night, admitted: “Even when I won in Holland, it was like taking you back as a kid to when, in your mind, you’re always putting to win tournaments. That's what I was thinking about to be honest when I had that putt to win.
“And obviously for us, being Scottish, those are the ones you think about more, The Open, The Scottish Open, The Masters. That’s the stuff you dream about.
“Obviously having got a win, it's definitely given me a lot of belief that I can do that. You find yourself trying to start like the night before, you're imagining it. Sometimes even at the start of the week on Thursday, you have a good round, and you think about Sunday; it's far away because there's so much golf.
“But obviously that is a dream to have that sort of moment. But you've got to play so much golf to get to that point. And that's the kind of work we're doing out there, to try and make moments like that possible.
“It’s been four or five weeks since my win. Time to sink in and stuff like that. Very, very happy to finally get it done. It's been great.
“I love this golf course. We've been coming here for obviously quite a few years now, and it always gets better every year.
“It gets more linksy, there's something added to try and make it, enhance it each year. So yeah, it's one I like and hopefully I can kind of feed off the good performance last year and build on that.
“When I went back to practise, the week leading up to Italy and into Munich, it doesn't become any easier just because you've won. Still working on the same things in my swing and the same stuff with my chipping and my putting.
“Obviously the confidence is there, and the evidence that you can do it, in a high-pressure situation to get a win. But golf is just as difficult as it was before. It's nice to enjoy it but it's kind of back to work in a way.”
Open Championship places at Portrush up for grabs
Syme has made the cut every year in this event, with last year’s 15th-place finish his best ever. Having once shot a 62 just along the road at Gullane, he’s clearly comfortable with the feel of the links on this gorgeous stretch of coastline.
With places at next week’s Open Championship up for grabs, three for the leading non-exempt players who make the cut, Syme has two targets to chase over familiar territory. Having qualified for the 2019 Open at Portrush, he’d dearly love to get another crack at the Claret Jug.
“Yeah, it would be cool,” he said, adding: “It would be awesome to go back. You know, obviously looking at this as the last opportunity to try and get in, would be cool.
“But I was chatting to a few people about it yesterday, this is obviously such a massive tournament and that's the dangling carrot, too. I'm trying to focus as well as I can and do as well as I can in this tournament - and hopefully I can play well enough to tick off a lot of things.
“But the thing with golf, there's always something. You always want something more. You know, this is a great tournament. I'm going to try my best to do as best I can here and hopefully I can get some nice rewards from that.
“My history has been good here. That's been a really pleasing thing. Again, obviously courses we're used to and growing up playing in.
“So yeah, hopefully I can kind of keep building on that. Yeah, it's just … I think the familiarity, I suppose, of links golf, helps. And being in front of home crowds, family, friends, it's always a nice feeling. Not that you try any harder, but obviously probably keeps you going through difficult moments that little bit easier, probably.”