Golfer Robert MacIntyre and his father wept for joy when he won the RBC Canadian Open, his first PGA Tour title, with his dad serving as his caddie.
MacIntyre, 27, who is without a regular caddie, brought in his father at the last minute when he couldn’t find anyone else.
His father, Dougie, the head greenkeeper at Glencruitten Golf Club in Oban, Scotland, said: “It’s unbelievable. I’m a grasscutter, not a caddie.”.
‘I wanted to win for my dad’
“I’m crying with joy, but I’m laughing because I didn’t think it was possible,” said MacIntyre, a first-time PGA Tour victor on his 45th start.
MacIntyre’s $1.69 million prize money is the biggest financial win by a Scottish golfer at a single event — and enough to fulfil his wish to pay off his parent’s mortgage.
The winner recalled: “I was going down the last and my dad’s trying to tell me to stay focused and swing smooth because [on Saturday] I got a little bit too fast, but in my head I wasn’t listening to him.
“I wanted to win this for my dad. This is the guy who has taught me the game of golf and I just can’t believe I have done this with him on the bag.
“This is just everything for me and family, my girlfriend, my team.”
MacIntyre recovered from a shaky start to win by one on 16 under par at Hamilton Golf and Country Club in Ontario on Sunday (June 10).
The 27-year-old hit a closing two-under-par 68 to finish ahead of American Ben Griffin with Frenchman Victor Perez a further stroke back and Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy on 13 under along with South Korea’s Tom Kim.
MacIntyre is the first Scottish player to win on the PGA Tour since Martin Laird in 2020. His victory secures his place at the US Open, which starts on June 13 at Pinehurst in North Carolina.