ALFRED DUNHILL LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP

October 5, 2025

Robert MacIntyre

Press Conference

THE MODERATOR: Delighted to be joined by our champion, Bob MacIntyre.

Bob, a special week, topped off with victory on home soil. How are you feeling right now.

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Just delighted to get it over the line. It's a bit of a strange day, obviously, with everyone finishing on different golf courses. But look, any time you can win at the Home of Golf is special, and yeah, such a prestigious event, just delighted to get my name on there.

Q. Scottish Open one year, winning at St Andrews the next. Doesn't get much better, does it?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: And a Ryder Cup in between. It's special. I keep kind of shocking myself. I know the level that I can play and I know I can win certain golf tournaments but getting over the line and doing that is a different thing. It's just so special to be able to play professional golf and win such big golf tournaments that as a kid, growing up, watching these events, you dream of playing them. But you never know that you'll be lucky to get a chance. I'm just lucky to get my name on there beside a lot of special, special players. Yeah, just delighted.

Q. You're a family man; how special is that?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, for me, everything is family, family and friends. It's a small group of us, and yeah, we look after each other well, and I can't think them enough for coming down when they decided at half five last night that they were coming down. Just delighted for them to be here for the win.

Q. You talk about your wedge game being an Achilles heel.

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, been working hard at it. We spoke about it at Wentworth that we need to adjust what we're doing. Going to be aggressive with every wedge shot -- it's difficult at times but this week, yeah, just whatever I'm doing is working. I don't know what I'm doing but I work at it.

Q. To play so well in difficult conditions --

ROBERT MacINTYRE: All three days were important but Kingsbarns was the one that it could have got away from us. To shoot 6-under was unbelievable. I even shocked myself. Was absolutely delighted when we finished. It got me in a position knowing that there wasn't much rough at St Andrews, and winds were going to be whatever they were going to be for the amateurs.

But I knew I had a chance. It was just a matter of going out today and playing well. I had my moments at times, like the par 5, I hit it in the bunker. It was dead. Chipped out sideways. Yes, I was angry but it was about doing a job. I just thought, overall, my whole game was really well this week.

Q. You said in the past this wasn't your favourite course.

ROBERT MacINTYRE: I didn't say favourite course. I think it was a specific hole on the golf course that I don't get along well with, and it showed up again today late on.

I love coming to St Andrews. I've come here with family for years, even without the golf, walking on the beach, walking to the town, it's golf heaven. Every opportunity I can get to play a tournament here, I'm going to do it. I'm just lucky enough that I can say I won at St Andrews. It's a special, special place in the game of golf, and I'm lucky enough to have won.

Q. Tyrrell said earlier in the week playing in the Ryder Cup and playing under such an intense microscope helped coming to Dunhill. Do you think that was true for you this week?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: I'm not sure, this week, I mean, I literally, I had no expectation. To be honest, I had no preparation. I had done everything this week that I wouldn't do in a normal week.

Yeah, it was just -- this was a week I was coming home. I was going to enjoy it as much as I could but giving it all on my golf course, still trying to win a golf tournament. No expectations.

I pitched up here Wednesday afternoon, played about 11 holes at the Old Course on Wednesday. Didn't do my gym work. Didn't eat right. So yeah, I just, literally, everything that the nutritionist, trainers, would want me to do this week -- they knew it from the start I wasn't going to do everything because obviously last week, I was kind of running on empty.

But yeah, a special week.

Q. You spoke to us in New York saying that there was only one thing missing --

ROBERT MacINTYRE: It's no secret now. A major championship is what I need or what I want. But look, if I play every major for the next ten years, it's 40 chances, and I'm hoping one of them teams I'm going to fall across the line and if I do that sooner rather than later, we add to that.

But I've got goals. I know I've got the game. It's now just about piecing it all together, and yeah, got Augusta next year, give it a go again.

Q. You've already touched on it, how special it is to win at the Home of Golf, and when you were out there -- were there any thoughts of previous greats like Seve?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: It's a different one obviously with everyone being at different golf courses. You'd normally be in the final group. It was different. I had a job to do and bogeyed 17 and missed that putt on 18.

But I kind of thought it was good enough and it was just a matter of waiting, waiting and seeing. But look, to win anywhere in the world is special, but for a Scotsman, I won The Scottish Open. To win the Dunhill at the Home of Golf, there's no other place you want to win golf tournaments, and the only one that potentially would top this would be an Open Championship at St Andrews.

But no, this is a special, special win, and for me as a Scotsman, it just elevates that.

Q. How much did you keep going in the conditions --

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Probably didn't speak to Brett and Andy at Kingsbarns. It was literally every man for himself. It was me and Mike. Felt like we were in a fight against the elements. But look, I've played in bad conditions. I've done it before. I seem to do it every single year at Kingsbarns on the Friday of this golf tournament. It's always horrific weather. It wasn't a surprise. We knew the weather was coming in. We just knew it was a matter of me and Mike done our job as well as we could.

Yeah, a couple things happened. A lovely 4-iron into one holes made birdie against the wind, against head, and yeah, when you can steal the odd birdie, and then just steady, that's always good in difficult conditions.

Q. Regarding major, you don't feel you're at your peak yet, what level do you think you can get to?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: I always say to these boys behind you there that I honestly don't know how good I can be at golf. I know the level I'm at just now and I know the effort that goes into it, and I know the effort, the things that I have to change that could potentially help me but also hurt me. But as a team, me, everyone on my team, we'll go away and work out -- I think I'm ninth in the world. Scottie Scheffler is miles head of everyone else. So he's hard to catch right now.

At the right time, the biggest thing is running your own race. I'm doing all right just now in my race, and if I can just keep moving forward, then yeah, I don't know how good I can be. But I know one thing is I'll try my best.

Q. The first Scotsman to win on St Andrews since 2005. How does that feel?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: It's cool to be on a trophy with some of these names is unbelievable. Colin, for me, is one of the best Europeans. Obviously his record speaks for itself. But look, I just want to pave my own path. I do things differently. But yeah to be on that trophy with the names that are on it is special.

Q. Could you talk a little bit about your mental process and your emotions coming down those last couple holes down the stretch?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: As a left-hander playing the last stretch where everything is on the right -- if it's not copy conditions where the rough's up but it's firm where the priority is the fairway. If it's championship conditions, I'm going -- short bunkers and long shots in because of the shapes of the holes, the wind direction off the right, then the golf course is -- the rough is coming down and when it's windy, my job is to get as close to the pin as I can when I hit driver. There's room left and the wind is off the right I'm going to hit it left. I think that gave me comfort when I was looking at leaderboards and I knew where I stood. But at the end of the day, you've still got to avoid the disaster, which is 17. 17 you can rack up any number. But my job today was to make five at worse and the get out of there, which I've done.

But no, I think as a golf course, everyone knows you hit it left, it's safe. But the golf course is designed to be played from the right half of the fairways. But I was taking my chances from the left side all day. Dodge bunkers from the right when it's windy is a massive help because bogeys are easy to come by. My job was to stay away from out-of-bounds, where is the safe spot. That was my game plan.