Robert MacIntyre hopes good memories from his last visit to Hillside Golf Club can fuel his challenge for success at the Cazoo Classic.
On his last visit to the Southport venue in 2019, the Scot tied for second in the Betfred British Masters hosted by Tommy Fleetwood – the first of back-to-back second place finishes – during a brilliant debut season on the DP World Tour that saw him crowned the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year.
A maiden Tour title followed at the Cyprus Showdown in November 2020, while MacIntyre has also proven himself to be a force at the Major Championships since his debut at The Open Championship in 2019.
He arrives at Hillside for his fifth Tour event in a row, buoyed by extending his made-cuts streak to ten at The 150th Open and is ready to mount a title challenge after the pressures of playing on home soil in the past two weeks.
“Knowing that I finished well here in 2019 is the reason that I came back,” MacIntyre said.
“It’s a links course, it is the way I have been brought up in Scotland playing links golf and they are fond memories. It is now about going out and trying to draw on those fond memories and hopefully go a little better than last time.”
MacIntyre shot a closing 68 to finish in a tie for 34th at St Andrews as he fulfilled a lifelong dream of playing in an Open at the Home of Golf.
“The crowd was unbelievable last week,” he said. “It is a memory that I will never forget.”
Dreams do come true @TheOpen ❤️
— Robert MacIntyre (@robert1lefty) July 17, 2022
Thanks to everyone for the support it’s been a special week all round 👏👏🏴 pic.twitter.com/9zz1F1wRfl
That result saw the 25-year-old climb back into the top 100 on the Official World Golf Ranking and he is eager to use it as a springboard to compete for more honours in big events around the world.
“The Majors are the biggest tournaments in our life,” he said.
“If you don’t play in them, you feel as if you have not had the career that you wanted. I have luckily managed to play in them over the last two to three years, played in pretty much all of them. It is the reason that we play golf, to compete at the top level against the best and to put our names on trophies that the greatest golfers have won.
“We get to play in regular Tour events, and they are just as important. It is all about trying to win golf tournaments and lifting trophies.”
