THE 154TH OPEN

July 16, 2026

Robert MacIntyre

Mixed Zone

Q. That was one of your most impressive Open rounds given the way you plotted yourself around there.

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, it was. It was a test of kind of discipline and almost acceptance when I probably took the shot, a club off the tee, which then left a fairly long shot in on some of them, but my job was to get it on the fairway, stay out of these pot bunkers.

I think I chased one a little bit too close on 16, which got level with the bunkers, but other than that, I feel I was very, very cautious off the tee. But the way I've been playing, approach play has been really good. It was kind of the priority, get it on the short stuff and stay out of these pot bunkers.

Q. The first time you did that, you made that good putt on 2. How much of a boost do you get from that?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, it was great. Again, it was probably 30, 40 yards too far back. Again, priority was just stay out of the two cross pot bunkers.

No, it was a great start. It was a perfect start. Nice tee shot down 1 that caught the left edge. Obviously a great second shot, lovely putt.

Yeah, I felt like I played really well. A couple of putts I don't know how I missed, but other than that, I felt like it was almost a perfect round of golf with the great scramble at the last.

Q. You said it was a test of patience. Did that start before you even hit a ball? You looked up in the sky and saw that drone?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Aye. I could hear it coming in, and I'm like, please, just keep flipping over the top of me, and it just sat above me. Then they announced me on the tee, and I was like, I'm not hitting until that drone is out of the way. I don't know who spoke to it, but someone did.

I knew from the practice days this was going to be a real test of my patience, real test of my mind, and I thought I done a great job.

Q. You made a great save on 15. Can you talk about how difficult that par was and how putts like that you've been practising all week with fairway woods, and how much you enjoy having that sort of option as well?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, I think links golf is the ultimate test of golf. You can use every club in the bag pretty much for every shot other than the ball in the bunker and the thick rough. If you're on the short stuff, you can use any club. I could have used my lob wedge, or I could have used my driver. I opted for the rescue because I've been practising hard with that.

That hole is a great hole off the tee box that we're on. Off that back tee, I'm not too sure. Again, you've got to miss it left. Right side you can make double bogey so easily, that left side. Even if it's one of the bunkers, playing back into this little pit, you've got a chance.

Yeah, priority again was left half of the green, try and hold it. But I was a little bit scared, to be honest, of that right side.

Q. (No microphone)?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: I mean, I was right between -- I thought it was going to take a bigger skip as well. Or we thought it was going to take a bigger skip. It's still scorable with the way the wind's not too strong. So you can kind of push it up there. When it's playing left of the flag, there's a lot more room beyond it that I probably should have used a bit more, but again, it was a lovely second putt to save par. Again, par is not a bad score on this golf course.

Q. Can you give a couple of examples of the layups of what you hit off the tee at the 2nd and the second shot on 18 as well?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: The 2nd, I think it was a 5-iron off the tee. I was, again, scared of the bunkers. Off of 10, I had a 7-iron off the tee. The one club that was probably a fraction too much club was the 4-iron off of 16. I kind of snuck it up there beside the bunker.

Then 18 was -- if I was right-handed, I would hit driver and hold it against the wind, but I just felt like with my -- if I'm drawing it, it can get out of control up that right way and the pot bunker is waiting on you. If I fade it, it's going kind of with the wind, and then there's a bunker at 330 that's just waiting on me.

My game plan is literally hit it short of the bunkers on the left, challenge it on the right, and then get it around the green in two and just scramble. We always see it when we hit tee shots. Driver's not guaranteed to miss a fairway; 3-wood's not guaranteed to hit it. It's the same with the approach shot. Rescue is not guaranteed to miss the green. It's just playing disciplined off the tee so you can get it around the green and then just scramble.

Q. You had four weeks (indiscernible) how much more have you --

ROBERT MacINTYRE: I think it's still the same. It's literally about sticking to the plan and just playing good golf. I said to you guys at the start of the week, I know that my good golf is good enough to get about it. That's just the plan. Just go home now and chill out, probably go in the hot tub with the wee man.

Q. Cold tub surely.

ROBERT MacINTYRE: It's not too hot. It's like a swimming pool. It's like a cool bath.

No, we'll go home and chill out and think about golf again probably tomorrow when I'm driving in.

Q. What's one of your more reliable shots recently?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: They obviously thought I wasn't playing good enough this year with a quieter shirt, so they went a wee bit louder.

Q. You seemed to be finding a bit of the left today. If that's the case, do you know what it is?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, it's just ball slightly too far back and aiming a little bit square. Yeah, it's only when I hit the fade, I just slide a little bit. It wasn't really a problem.

The only reason they were left was because Mike was saying I could be aggressive. If he was saying be cautious on, I think it was 6, I would just hit it in the fat part of the green.

The one on 8, it was still a good leave. It was just a pure first putt, pure second putt.

Yeah, the one on 15 was a miss, down there putting back up the hill.

Yeah, I'm not worried about it. I'll go out, I might hit a few balls after. I probably won't. And I'll come back tomorrow and hopefully it's not there.

Q. (Indiscernible) as much as at Shinnecock?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, it was great discipline. I enjoy it when I've got a fight. I'm not just fighting the golf course, I'm fighting myself, I'm fighting with Mike. Yeah, it's a real -- it's a grind. It's one of the hardest links courses I've ever played just for the sheer fact of the positions of the pot bunkers on certain holes with the length of the hole.

You've just got to -- someone is going to stand up there and smash driver on the golf course and could potentially get away with it, but it could switch the other way. It's the same for me; I could go play and play the same way I did and make three bogeys on the long holes. I'm having to hit a longer club in because I'm trying to stay out of them pot bunkers.

It's part of the game. I'm just playing it my way and did a decent job today.

Q. You talk about fighting everyone out there. You're not fighting the crowd. What difference does it make to have that? Does it make it easier to concentrate for a long period of time?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Look, when we come back, the Scottish Open and The Open, The Open crowd is the best every time. If you hit a wedge onto 20 feet, there's applause. You know when you've had a decent shot. You know when it's going to run off the greens because you're going to hear it.

Overall you get applause. When someone's had a decent shot, there's applause. One of the best things was I didn't hear one shout off the tee box of getting a hole or all the dash-outs that you get. It was very much just golf and people enjoying golf.

Q. The team ball across the fence at Hillside and it's the final --

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Cracking memories.

Q. Did you have any memories of that week?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, it was brilliant. Played with Tommy, final round. Yeah, came close there. It was unbelievable. It was the first one that really kind of kickstarted my career, to be honest with you.

No, great memories there. It's still pretty much the same chipping green and range. Yeah, there's some fond memories of that. It's just good to get a good start off.

Q. How do you feel with your result last week compared to when you finished second and Rory pipped you?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: I think when Rory picked me, I thought -- I think everyone thought I was going to win the golf tournament that time. Last week I felt like with seven holes to go, six holes to go, I kind of accepted that it's probably just out of reach.

Tom played unbelievable in the finishing stretch. I was more relaxed. To be honest, I know that I've now won the Scottish Open, there's more of a priority on this week. As much as I'm still trying in the Scottish Open, like last week I was giving it everything to win, there's more of a priority now of try to win The Open.

Yeah, when I came away on Sunday, I was happy. I wasn't kind of dejected from -- when Rory beat me, it was like deflation. I didn't know where to go. Last week I was like great preparation for this week.

Q. Did you say you'd retire if you won The Open?

ROBERT MacINTYRE: Yeah, I could happily, if I won an Open, won any major, if something happened, I could happily walk away from the game of golf. Yeah, I'll openly say it. I'll say it until I'm blue in the face.

Yeah, it would be all my goals that I ever dreamed of complete if I done that, but there's a long way to go. Look, you've got four chances every year. I'm hoping to play the game for some ten years and a good effort after that.