How a ‘lucky’ rules break propelled Robert MacIntyre to an epic Scottish Open victory

As Robert MacIntyre watched his drive sail into the thick rough to the right of the 16th hole of the Renaissance Club, his chances of winning the Scottish Open looked doomed.

With Adam Scott pacing the field two shots ahead, MacIntyre needed to make something happen — and the par-5 16th represented his best remaining chance. If he didn’t gain ground on Scott at the final par-5, his chances of winning the title he craved most of all were next to zero.

Once MacIntyre located his ball off the fairway, thing didn’t look promising. His ball was buried in the thick fescue, and he could hardly manage to make a backswing.

“I’m shouting and I’m swearing when I’m getting up to the ball because I know that that’s my chance to really make birdie coming in,” MacIntrye said. “I got over the ball, looked at it, thinking, ‘I’m in a bit of trouble here. Might manage to move it maybe a hundred yards.'”

MacIntyre took a step back to survey the situation. As he placed his Nike shoes on the ground, the break of a lifetime presented itself.

“I just heard the clunk,” MacIntyre said.

That “clunk” was the sound of metal hitting plastic. In this case, the metal was a spike protruding from the front of his Nike shoes; the plastic was a sprinkler head.

“I was like, ‘No way — I’ve got a sprinkler underneath my foot,'” MacIntyre said. “It was just a lucky break.”

According to the Rules of Golf (Rule 16.1), players may take relief when their stance or swing is interfered with by abnormal course conditions. Among these abnormal course conditions is an immovable obstruction, which a sprinkler head fits the definition of. When MacIntyre discovered he was standing on a sprinkler head, he was afforded free relief.

In the case of Rule 16.1, players are allowed to drop within one club length of the nearest point of complete relief. In MacIntyre’s situation, this meant he could take his ball out of the thick rough and instead drop in the short grass nearby.

“You use the rules to get [an] advantage,” MacIntyre said. “You stand on a sprinkler, you’re due relief. That was just the one kiss I needed.”

MacIntyre did not waste his good fortune. With just under 250 yards to the flagstick (thanks to his “Get Out of Jail Free” card) the 27-year-old knocked a hybrid to within six feet of the hole. Moments later, he calmly rolled in the eagle try to pull even with Scott atop the leaderboard.

The Scotsman parred the difficult par-3 17th and arrived at the last needed birdie to win his national open. Once again, MacIntyre delivered.

He carved a nice fade off the tee into the right rough and left himself just 168 yards to the hole. Then, he hit his pitching wedge pin high, 22 feet left of the cup.

“[I] was just standing over the putt, I was just like, ‘This is the chance you wanted. Take it,'” he said. “It was just perfect.”

As soon as the ball dropped in the front of the cup, MacIntyre dropped his putter and let out a ferocious scream. At long last, he’d won the tournament he wanted most.

“It’s a lifetime dream,” he said.