Scots rock star reveals he’s getting Bob MacIntyre tattoo after striking up unlikely friendship with Scottish Open champ

IT’s been a year to remember for Scottish golf star Robert MacIntyre.

And one of his biggest fans will have a permanent reminder of his 2024 achievements when he gets a TATTOO in honour of the left from Oban.

Reuters

Robert MacIntyre was an emotional winner of the Canadian Open[/caption]

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Dad Dougie was on his bag for the event as an emergency caddie[/caption]

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He then followed that up with a stunning win at the Scottish Open in July[/caption]

Michael Schofield - The Sun Glasgow

Now a golf-mad Scots rocker owes him a tattoo![/caption]

MacIntyre won his first title on maiden full season on the PGA Tour in emotional style with his dad as his caddie, then sent crowds wild as he won his home tournament at the Scottish Open in the summer, before ending the campaign almost £6million richer ($7.8m) after qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs.

The 28-year-old also reached a career-high 15th in the world rankings (currently 16th), ahead of fellow Ryder Cup heroes and major champions Matt Fitzpatrick, Shane Lowry and Justin Rose.

Someone who’s followed MacIntyre’s career progression closely is compatriot Sam McTrusty of rock band Twin Atlantic.

The Heart and Soul singer describes himself as a “mega golf fan” and has previously played in the Alfred Dunhill Links Pro-Am event.

Now that the Twin Atlantic front man has moved to Canada, he was able to secure a front row seat to MacIntyre’s memorable triumph at the RBC Canadian Open.

They had already struck up a perhaps unlikely friendship a couple of years ago when they played a round of golf together at Archerfield Links, with McTrusty revealing to MacIntyre that the tattoo of the Masters logo he had on his leg came after seeing Tiger Woodswin at Augusta National in 2019.

And he decided to throw the gauntlet down and set a bet that he would get some Bob Mac ink if the Scot was able to win a major.

But after his stunning win in Canada, McTrusty changed the stakes.

“I was like, ‘Tell you what, if you ever win a major, I’ll get a Robert McIntyre tattoo’. Just total chat, just being stupid,” the rocker revealed in an appearance on the bunkered podcast.

“And then he played the Scottish Open not long after that and I said, ‘Listen, if you win this, I’ll get the tattoo, don’t worry.’

“It was just banter and my way of trying to, like, egg him on. Just encouraging him and being supportive in my own stupid way.

“Then he turned around and won the Scottish Open and I was like, ‘Oh no.’

“And, of course, he remembered about it.”

So, just what will the tattoo look like?

“I’ve been putting some thought into it and I think what I’ll probably get is, like, a Tunnock’s teacake and I’ll disguise his name into like the wrapper or something like that,” said McTrusty.

“We’ll figure it out but I can’t have that hanging over me. I don’t want to be indebted to a legendary golfer from my home country.”

McTrusty also takes a bit of credit for MacIntyre’s breakthrough win on the PGA Tour.

He followed his first nine holes and, with the beers flowing, made sure to know the Scot had his full support.

McTrusty said: “I was there when he teed off on the Thursday with a bunch of Canadian people, and I hadn’t really spoken to someone from back home in a few weeks. So, we had, like, a really quick exchange.

Michael Schofield

“I was on the beers and I followed him for the first nine holes and, honestly, I was going mental.

“I was making so much noise to the point that, when I went home and watched his front nine highlights, you can hear me in the background whistling and cheering and being, like, obnoxiously loud and Scottish and supportive about it, but it didn’t have a negative effect, did it?

“I was texting him afterwards, saying, ‘Do you want me to come to the first nine holes every tournament? Can we cut a deal here?’ So, I’m taking some credit.

“The golf mega-fan just wants me to be involved.”

It was a tearful day for the MacIntyre family when Bob lifted the Canadian Open trophy.

His father being his caddie for the tournament was effectively an accident, with dad Dougie drafted in as an emergency at the last minute.

McTrusty recalled how he felt at the time: “The circumstances of his dad being on bag duties for him… globally, all golfers were pretty emotional about that.

“And then you throw in the fact that it’s a guy that I’ve made contact with from back home and play a bit of golf with, I’m always annoying him, like sending ‘good luck’ messages before big events.”

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