Well Played
The special way Robert MacIntyre and his dad got to relive last year's Canadian Open win
Vaughn Ridley
One of the best moments of the 2024 golf season came in the aftermath of Robert MacIntyre's win at the RBC Canadian Open with his dad caddying for him. As CBS' Amanda Balionis interviewed the father-son duo on the 18th green at Hamilton Golf and Country Club, Dougie McIntyre, a longtime greenskeeper in Scotland, broke down in tears of joy.
"Unbelievable," he muttered while covering his face with his hand. "I'm a grass cutter."
You know what, let's just watch it again.
Never gets old. Anyway, fast forward a year later and Robert is back in Canada to defend his title, only at TPC Toronto instead. But on Monday, both he and his dad, who is only back as a fan this year, got a special treat by getting to relive their amazing victory together at the site where it all happened.
"When we won, we sat in the clubhouse until about 11:30 just drinking beers and just having a good time," Robert MacIntyre said during his Tuesday pre-tournament press conference. "Nothing wild, just—so I've always kept in touch with them guys that we spent time with.
"I said, if I can, I'd love to play Hamilton on the Monday. They were like, yeah, yeah, just keep in touch. Let us know what's happening. Told my dad last week, look, do you want to come to Canada again? You're not caddieing, but you can come and have a holiday again. Again, he's hemming and hawing about leaving his work, and my mom ended up saying, look, you're 60 now. Get to Canada.
"He came, and we went there yesterday, and they actually put the pin positions out for the Sunday of the Canadian Open. So we were kind of reminiscing of certain shots, certain putts."
Sounds amazing, Robert. And good for Mrs. MacIntyre prodding Dougie to make the trip. C'mon, man! Live a little!
"Look, it's just special for me and my dad to go back there and just enjoy a round of golf without the media, without the crowds, without any hassle," Robert continued. "Just reliving a moment that—I mean, I don't know if it will be done again on the PGA Tour, to be honest with you, winning with your dad on the bag. I know it happens lower down on the tours, Challenge Tour, EuroPro, potentially Korn Ferry, but on the PGA Tour, it was something special. Yesterday was great fun."
That will certainly be tough to top, but at least this week is already off to a great start.