Bob MacIntyre says linking up with putting guru Phil Kenyon is 'no brainer'

Bob MacIntyre has started working with putting guru Phil Kenyon after enjoying his best week on the greens for some time at the end of last season following just a 90-minute session with the Englishman.

As part of his preparation for this week’s Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic, the Oban man has had two sessions with Kenyon on the putting green at Emirates Golf Club, having linked up with him for the first time in the week of the DP World Tour Championship here in November.

“We struggled a bit the last year and a bit,” said MacIntyre, speaking exclusively to The Scotsman, of his performances on the greens. “When I’m up there competing, I’m putting well.

“At the DP World event, I saw Phil for an hour and a half on the Monday and putted the lights out that week.

Bob MacIntyre hits off the eighth tee at Emirates Golf Club in one of his practice rounds for the Slync.io Dubai Desert Classic. Picture: Warren Little/Getty Images.

“I saw him again last week (ahead of the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship) and I was putting great until it got really windy, which turns putting into a lottery.”

MacIntyre had previously relied on his swing coach, David Burns, for putting advice, but the 25-year-old is doing everything he can these days to take all the parts of his game to the next level.

“I’m at a level where I want to get better and I have to do what I want,” he added, having already added performance coach Stuart Morgan to his support team.

“I’ve tried to get advice from some other folk on it, but you need to go to the guy who is meant to be best and I’ve seen a massive improvement in my putting.

“I hadn’t had a tournament where I’d had four rounds gaining in putting for over a year, but I had that in the DP World after working with Phil for an hour-and-a-half, so it seemed like a no brainer.”

MacIntyre, who is among 10 Scots in the field for the new Rolex Series event, tied for eighth on his Dubai Desert Classic debut in 2020 before claiming third spot behind Paul Casey 12 months ago.

“I’ve got good memories from the last two years, so just looking forward to getting a good week under my belt and see where we end up,” he said.

His first two rounds are in the company of former Masters champion Adam Scott and Tommy Fleetwood, having been placed in a featured group yet again by tournament organisers.

“Aye, it’s good,” he said of that, smiling. “It’s a big momentum thing. If you are playing with better guys, they kind of drag you along. It puts a little bit more pressure on you and I think it’s great that you are out with these guys.”

MacIntyre missed the cut in Abu Dhabi after a second-round 80, but, with that coming in a howling wind, he said his reaction had been different to when he shot the same score in Portugal towards the end of last season.

“I was obviously annoyed about missing the cut, but you take it on the chin and go again,” he said.

“It wasn’t as though I played rubbish. It was completely different to Portugal. Last week I shot 80 and walked off and went, ‘you are actually playing well’ so just laughed about it and wasn’t upset.”

Andy Robertson and Bob MacIntyre tee up Burns Day get-together in Dubai

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