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EVE MUIRHEAD: Taking a week off was a no-brainer for Bob MacIntyre who has given himself a better US Open chance

The Scottish golfer won his first PGA Tour title at the weekend.

Bob MacIntyre celebrates with his caddie and father Dougie MacIntyre.
Bob MacIntyre celebrates with his caddie and father Dougie MacIntyre. Image: Shutterstock.

Bob MacIntyre will hopefully go on to win even bigger tournaments than the Canadian Open.

But he’ll be hard pushed to have a more memorable day on the golf course.

I was in Minneapolis for a charity event at the weekend and I was doing my best to keep up with the golf in Canada.

I can relate to what it’s like to have a parent in your inner circle when you achieve something big in your career.

Dad was my coach for my fourth World Junior title and then when I won the Europeans.

He has also caddied for me in Highland Open and at Wentworth but I don’t think we can put that on a par with Bob’s first PGA Tour triumph on Sunday!

The bond between a player and caddie in professional golf is a unique to every different pairing but I can’t think of a story to match Dougie MacIntyre flying out to help his son for a week and it ending up with him finishing first.

It’s almost too good to be true.

It goes without saying that this is a huge boost for Scottish golf – just what our game needed.

And I wouldn’t be surprised if Bob wins another big championship this season – maybe even the US Open or Open.

I don’t understand why he’s had to justify coming home for a few days and skipping the Memorial Tournament.

He’s competed six weeks in a row and even if he hadn’t won, I’d have thought taking the week off before the US Open was a good idea.

It’s a no-brainer as far as I can see.

I suppose there’s a chance that he could have kept surfing the wave for another week and contended again at Muirfield Village.

But it would have been far, far more likely that he’d be emotionally and physically drained this week and, more importantly, for the US Open.

Seeing his family in Scotland not only lets Bob properly savour a huge career moment, it also recharges him for a genuine shot at winning his first major.


It was only a couple of years ago that I spent a bit of time with the rower, Helen Glover, when we got on our bikes to race for Sport Relief.

Even at that point it was clear she hadn’t given up on the idea of competing at a fourth Olympics.

She actually thought it would have been easier if her body had just given up on her through an injury or just growing older than to weigh up what to do.

Helen Glover.
Helen Glover. Image: PA.

But, in Helen’s case, whether to retire or to keep going was more about family and lifestyle choices than a question of ‘am I actually physically capable of doing this?’

The fact that she did decide to carry on, and has now been selected for Paris, shows that the competitive fire is still burning brightly and she hasn’t reached a place of contentment with her race being run, as was the case for me after Beijing.

Wanting her three children to be able to share in this Olympic experience is as good a reason as any – and a powerful motivator.

And you don’t get a spot in a Team GB rowing boat if you’re not in very, very good shape.

Like cycling, rowing has been a medal factory and Helen will be a good bet to bring home another one.

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