Robert MacIntyre may have warmed up for his Hero Indian Open debut with a hole-in-one in practice but he is expecting DLF Golf and Country Club to prove a stern test – something he believes could be to his advantage.
The Scot, a two-time DP World Tour winner, holed his tee-shot from 243 yards with a four iron at the par-three 16th during Tuesday’s practice round to enjoy a confidence-boosting start to the week.
The 26-year-old is aiming to follow in the footsteps of countryman and defending champion Stephen Gallacher by winning this year as the event returns to the schedule after a four-year absence.
“It’s a difficult hole, 16, I’m just trying to hit it on the green,” he said. “It’s playing 243 yards so I just wanted to get it around the green.
16th today…265 yards 4 iron☝🏻#HIO2023 pic.twitter.com/cFXDp9w4Dj
— Robert MacIntyre (@robert1lefty) February 21, 2023
“I hit a good one and I thought ‘that might have a chance’ and I get down there and it’s in the hole!”
MacIntyre has previously spoken of watching this week’s event on the television but admits the difficulty of the closing three-hole stretch in Gurugram took him by surprise.
“I’ve heard a lot of stories about how difficult and almost wild it is,” he added.
“I played the back nine today and stood on the 15th I thought ‘this is alright here, we can deal with this’ then the last three and a half holes, it blew my mind a little bit.
“It’s the same for everyone, it’s just different, it’s going to be difficult, it’s a mental test rather than a test to your golf game. This week is the first week of the new season that I’ve got a calm head on.”
MacIntyre has claimed Tour wins in Cyprus and most recently in September last year in Italy at Marco Simone Golf & Country Club, where the Ryder Cup is being held later this year.
The 2019 Rookie of the Year believes his game is at its best when the course plays tough and is determined to be firing on all cylinders when he tees it up alongside fellow Ryder Cup hopefuls Nicolai Højgaard and Guido Migliozzi on Thursday.
“I don’t mean to sound disrespectful to anybody but there are golf courses that suit me and it’s the difficult ones where you’re not needing to shoot 20 under par to win golf tournaments,” he said.
“When it’s more demanding off the tee and more demanding into greens, that’s when I play my best golf.
“I’ve shown that throughout my years on Tour and this golf course is a tee to green monster. I’m happy with the way I’m playing with things tee to green, it’s just going to be a mental test.
“My last five mental tests, I’ve failed, so hopefully I’m going to pass it.”
