Bob MacIntyre says his opening round of 67 was nigh-on perfect after a flying start to The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale.
MacIntyre carded four birdies and just one bogey to finish the first day's play at three under par, two shots behind surprise leader Jackson Suber. Two of those birdies came on his first two holes, in what was his first ever competitive round at Birkdale.
"It's exactly what I wanted," MacIntyre said. "Exactly the start that I felt I needed to get right into the golf tournament. There's not much I would have changed. Obviously, there were a few putts I hoped would go in that didn't, but yeah, it was a solid start."
A near-perfect start
MacIntyre, 29, described a nice tee shot down the first that caught the left edge of the fairway, followed by a great second shot and a lovely putt. "It was a perfect start with the birdies on the first two holes," he said.
"I played really well. A couple of putts I don't know how I missed, but other than that, I felt like it was almost a perfect round of golf with the great scramble at the last for par."
Relishing the fight
MacIntyre has struggled with his own demons for much of the season and has often cut an irascible figure. But he kept his cool on the sun-scorched links at Birkdale, and said he is relishing the battle over the next three days.
"I enjoy it when I've got a fight," he said. "I'm not just fighting the golf course, I'm fighting myself, I'm fighting with Mike. Yeah, it's a real grind."
He called it one of the hardest links courses he has ever played, citing the position of the pot bunkers on certain holes relative to their length. "Someone is going to stand up there and smash driver on the golf course and could potentially get away with it, but it could switch the other way," he said. "I'm having to hit a longer club in because I'm trying to stay out of the pot bunkers. It's part of the game. I'm just playing it my way and did a decent job today."
