Robert MacIntyre arrives at Augusta with a real chance to make a piece of Scottish golf history. The 28-year-old is aiming to become the first Scot since Sandy Lyle in 1988 to win the Green Jacket, and he comes in as the world No. 8 after another near miss in Texas last week.
MacIntyre finished one shot behind the winner at the Texas Valero Open, having led for much of the tournament, and his career earnings moved to £15.6m as a result. He was fourth at the Players Championship last week as well, underlining a run of form that has put him among the most consistent contenders on the circuit.
The Masters will be MacIntyre’s fourth visit to Augusta. He tied for 12th on his debut in 2021 and tied for 23rd in 2022, but missed the cut 12 months ago after posting +6 through two rounds. That record shows the contradiction in his case: he has the game to contend, yet Augusta has not yet given him a complete week.
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There is no shortage of evidence that he belongs on the biggest stage. MacIntyre finished second to JJ Spaun at last year’s US Open, and he has also taken tied-for-sixth, tied-for-seventh and tied-for-eighth finishes in The Open, along with an eighth-place finish in the US PGA. Even so, he still has not won a major honour.
That is why this Masters feels different. MacIntyre is no longer arriving as a promising outsider trying to survive four days; he is arriving as one of the highest-ranked players in the world, with recent results to match. If he turns that form into one clean week at Augusta, the long wait for a Scottish Green Jacket could end where it began for Lyle nearly four decades ago.
