A party was promised. Robert MacIntyre had guaranteed one, minutes after he won the Genesis Scottish Open a couple weeks ago. The win had come on his home country’s soil. It had been done before friends and family.
The morning alarms would be turned off.
“Going to go celebrate tonight,” MacIntyre said.
Would he make it out to Royal Troon the next day? They’d scheduled him for a pre-Open Championship press conference that day.
LOL.
“I think there might be a change of schedule,” he said, laughing. “I don’t think I’ll be in a fit state to get to Troon. I don’t think I’ll be legally able to drive.”
Yeah, his Q&A session was bumped back — to Wednesday.
Where we heard a party had been had. There’d been clues. The DP World Tour social-media team had shared a couple photos of MacIntyre and his dad, Dougie, drinking a spirit out of the trophy. At Troon, reporters were curious.
Asked one: “One, what was the highlight of the celebration? Anybody reach out to you that you didn’t expect? Kind of how were the last few days?”
Answered MacIntyre: “No, not — I mean, since we got here, there’s been a lot of people coming up and saying well done and stuff, but no, it’s just been the usual people. I’m not someone who ventures out and does anything wild. I’ve got a tight-knit group of friends and family and support network. Obviously there’s been a lot of stuff on social media from well-dones and stuff, but there’s no one that’s really stood out where I’ve gone, wow, I didn’t expect that.”
Asked another reporter: “On a scale of 1 to 10, describe that celebration on Sunday night.”
Answered MacIntyre: “Ten. Look, I’m not a big drinker, but when you get moments like that — that’s a childhood dream and a lifetime goal — and you’ve got family and friends there that have backed you since you were a young kid, I think it was quite right to go absolutely wild. I think we done a good job of that.”
Asked another reporter: “On Sunday night, the guys on the Tour put a picture of you and your dad with the trophy and what looked like quite a substantial amount of whisky in it. I’m just wondering: How many bottles did you go through, and were you able to keep up with your old man?”
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Answered MacIntyre: “It was a great celebration, and it’s one that I would do all over again, to be honest with you. It was a great night. Everyone that was there that was involved in the celebrations were brilliant. It was just one of them great nights. It was a special one for friends, family and the staff around me. It was just special, and it’s a memory that I’ll have forever. It was the one I wanted, and I’m glad I got that one. It was just unbelievable.”
Of course, MacIntyre still had to play. And he played well. He followed a first-round 72 with an inspirational 75 in the second round — he’d started Friday with two bogeys and two triple bogeys over his first four holes, only to rally on the back nine to make the weekend. He finished tied for 50th.
But Sunday afternoon, MacIntyre said he was done done. He needed a break.
“Physically I’m fine, but mentally I’m gone,” he said. “Sunday night probably took a lot out of me. It was worth it. You’ve got to celebrate special wins. That was outrageous.
“This week, to be honest, has just gone straight in the bin, and last week is the one that we’ll reflect on because there’s no real point in reflecting on this one when it’s been absolute carnage from start to finish. Preparation wasn’t the best, obviously, coming off of last week, but we’ll sit back and reflect and look to see where we can keep improving, and just keep moving forward.”
Still, there’s a question:
What did that victory party look like? Would MacIntyre ever share pics? Or video?
On Thursday, he wonderfully did.
Let’s review. There were five posts on his Instagram story. The first was labeled: “How it started.” It was a pic of MacIntyre holding the Scottish Open trophy.
The second post was labeled: “Getting everyone involved.” It was a video that showed about 15 people in a room. Some were drinking beer. Music was playing. It appeared that they were waiting for their man, and cheers picked up when he arrived — arm-in-arm with who appeared to be a security guard dressed in a bright yellow vest.
The third post was labeled: “During.” It was simply a photo of MacIntyre standing next to a partygoer — who was holding a potted plant above his head. OK, then.
The fourth post was labeled: “The end.” And that said it all. It was a blurry photo of what appeared to be MacIntyre — with his arms around a pair of folks. He was being helped. They were heading somewhere.
The final post was entitled: “Returning a buggy someone parked at the house.” It was a video of three men — returning a buggy someone parked at the house. At the end of the clip, one of the men raised both of his arms.
It was that kind of night.
The promise had been kept.
