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Topic Originator: Paralex
Date: Sun 2 Jun 23:41
Just won the Canadian Open. Well done Robert. Something for Scottish golf fans to cheer again.
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Topic Originator: Raymie the Legend
Date: Mon 3 Jun 00:05
With his dad on the bag. Magic.
It`s bloody tough being a legend
Ron Atkinson - 1983
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Mon 3 Jun 05:34
Four shots ahead overnight he was level after four holes of the final round, so it was no walk in the park for him. He won $1.692m! He`s now based in the States and has taken time to settle but could be a regular contender now. Maybe he can do something in the Open at Troon.
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Topic Originator: desparado
Date: Mon 3 Jun 11:25
Just watched the highlights and his interview afterwards. Top bloke..
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Topic Originator: parathletic
Date: Mon 3 Jun 19:05
Great effort.
I think his coach stays in Dunfermline.His previous one was called Simon Shanks which is a great name for a golf coach.
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Topic Originator: McCaig`s Tower
Date: Tue 4 Jun 13:45
It was a typical roller-coaster Bob the golfer performance. A big lead overnight largely gone by the time he teed off, some brilliant shots to get it back again and then he started getting edgy to make it interesting. I was waiting on Rory doing something crazy to snatch it.
Perhaps having Dougie on his bag helped at the crunch?
Bob’s success is the one of the most extraordinary stories I can think of – I’ve followed his career for a long time but if you had told me when I was hacking around Glencruitten as a boy that the lad driving a tractor round the course as a junior greenkeeper would have a son who would win on the US tour I could not have believed you. I think it is up and beyond the idea of a Scot winning Wimbledon.
What makes this more remarkable is that Glencruitten is such a quirky course -4,400 yards, par 62, hilly and boggy, no par 5s. How it prepares you for playing the hardest courses on the planet I don’t know. It didn’t even have bunkers when I used to play it. And if you wanted to play a decent course you would need to travel 4 hours plus from Oban, plus there wouldn’t be a lot of cash to fund what can be quite an expensive hobby, so that makes it tougher still.
I used to wonder if he would have been better staying in Europe, and winning a few relatively minor events just to get that winning mentality but my pro (who claims to know a thing or two about professional golf) says that he is too good, and that he should be focusing on the majors.
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Topic Originator: Paralex
Date: Tue 4 Jun 15:32
Great Post McCaig. Glencruitten sounds like the kind of courses I`ve hacked around, mainly municipal courses in Glasgow. I don`t know how they manage to drive the ball so far. I suppose if you have the talent, like Bob does, once you get your eye in, you can do great things. Like you, I was also concerned that McIlroy might spoil the party as he did in the Scottish Open last year but thankfully he didn`t. Bob really needed that first win and it was great that he got it. It was brilliant of Justin Rose to give him wholehearted verbal support. Next step a major.
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Topic Originator: Raymie the Legend
Date: Wed 5 Jun 08:03
Not sure if Bob played shinty before he took up golf, but on a visit to Kingussie GC recently, I watched as some young and very young golfers bombed drives down the first. One or two as young as 7 or 8.
I was told by a few older heads that shinty players make good golfers
It`s bloody tough being a legend
Ron Atkinson - 1983
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Topic Originator: wee eck
Date: Wed 5 Jun 08:54
I think he did play shinty. In fact, I think he may still play when he`s back home.
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Topic Originator: doctordandruff
Date: Wed 5 Jun 13:21
I love the fact he passed on the Memorial next week to come home and celebrate with his family and mates. Seems to be a few snide comments in America about him doing this, which in light of what happened with Grayson Murray, is utterly disgraceful.
Also think he deserved much more kudos for his singles in the Ryder Cup. At the moment it looked like it was going to come down to his game he cranked it up a gear. Almost a shame that Fowler conceded that putt to Fleetwood...
Post Edited (Wed 05 Jun 13:23)
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Topic Originator: McCaig`s Tower
Date: Wed 5 Jun 13:42
Yes, the MacIntyres are a shinty family – I think the grandfather played, and father Dougie and his brother Gordon were part of the Oban Camanachd team that won the Camanachd Cup in 1996, which was a big deal as they hadn’t won it since the second world war. Gordon had lost an eye earlier in the season but came back to score the winning goal in the final. (I note Dougie was described in the CBS interview as an “elite athlete” which amused me.) I think he may have played a bit of football for Fort William back in the day.
Bob did play shinty but gave it up for years in case he broke his finger or suchlike. However, there were stories that he was back playing under an assumed name, and then he went and got himself on the scoresheet around about the time the Ryder Cup was on in the States and the cat was out of the bag.
He plays for the “other” team – Oban Celtic (or rather their second team). Dougie is co-manager. I think he likes playing and it takes the pressure off chasing world ranking points.
I can’t remember if it is Kingussie or Newtonmore Golf Club that is reputed to have the highest proportion of left-handed players anywhere – it’s very much a shinty thing – unlike hockey you can play the ball with both sides of the stick, so players have excellent hand-eye co-ordination and can hit the ball left-handed or right-handed as appropriate.
Slightly off-topic, but I’ve played a bit of golf with someone who moved to Newtonmore with his work, and he told me that the Newtonmore first team tend to play a long ball game – win the ball in midfield, shell it up to the other end of the pitch (it’s bigger than a football pitch) and any chance they get within about 30 yards of goal have a pop – whereas their second team (many clubs have two league sides) play a possession/passing game. I would have thought it would be the other way round, but I know next to nothing about shinty tactics.
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