Scottish golfer Bob MacIntyre described his opening round of three-under-par 67 at The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale as "exactly what I wanted" to kickstart his tournament. The 29-year-old, a two-time European Ryder Cup player, demonstrated early form with four birdies against a single bogey in his first competitive outing at the renowned Merseyside course.
MacIntyre's impressive start included a 46-foot birdie putt on the first hole, swiftly followed by another birdie on the second. Reflecting on his performance, he told BBC Scotland, "Exactly the start that I felt I needed to get right into the golf tournament. There's not much I would have changed." He emphasised the importance of hitting fairways and greens, specifically noting the need to avoid Royal Birkdale's challenging bunkers.
The par-70 Royal Birkdale features several holes that have been reclassified from par-fives to par-fours, a change MacIntyre admitted was one of his "pet hates." He highlighted a strategic approach to such holes, including the 18th, where he chose to lay up short of a pot bunker. "Bogeys don't kill you - doubles do. And the priority on certain holes is just staying out of the pot bunkers," he explained, indicating a pragmatic approach to course management.
MacIntyre is scheduled to begin his second round on Friday at 12:25 BST. He intends to mentally switch off from golf until he arrives at the course, a strategy he believes has been beneficial recently. "There'll be no thought about golf until I probably start driving in here tomorrow," he added, highlighting his focus on mental preparation.
Meanwhile, the only other Scot in the field, 33-year-old Jack McDonald, finished his opening round with a level-par 70. McDonald had a flying start, reaching three-under through five holes, but a double bogey on the 11th and a bogey on the 14th saw him lose ground. He acknowledged the difficulty towards the end of his round as the wind picked up, stressing the importance of hitting fairways to create scoring opportunities.