Masters star might face punishment for obscene gesture after calamitous gap
Bob MacIntyre was left red-faced after a calamitous round at Augusta National and raised his middle finger toward the 15th hole
Bob MacIntyre could be punished after his actions at the Masters(Image: PA)
Bob MacIntyre was appalled by his display during a shocking opening round at the Masters, as his grand hopes of securing the Green Jacket lay in ruins at Augusta National. The Scotsman even raised his middle finger toward the 15th hole following a disastrous quadruple bogey, leaving him needing an extraordinary fightback merely to make the cut.
MacIntyre had been strongly backed by punters before the tournament after coming heartbreakingly close to victory at the Valero Texas Open last week, but having reached the fourth green at one under, his round collapsed dramatically. He lost a stroke at the fifth before a double bogey at nine, and the temperamental left-hander completely lost his cool at the legendary par-three 12th.
He was furious after his tee shot bounced over the back of the green, smashing his club against his bag before marching off after his ball. He managed a par, yet his afternoon beneath the scorching Georgia sun deteriorated further at the par-five 15th, finding the water twice and departing with a nine on his scorecard. His face red with anger and the sweltering heat, MacIntyre appeared ready to erupt.
He now faces a probable reprimand from Augusta National’s officials after displaying his middle finger in reaction to his meltdown.
The club is renowned for quietly but firmly tackling such behaviour from players. The agony didn’t stop there, as he dropped another shot at the 17th to complete the opening round tied for 82nd place at eight-over-par, before making a quick exit without speaking to the assembled media. McIntyre was certainly not the only challenger to endure difficulties on Thursday.
Bryson DeChambeau required three attempts to get out of a bunker en route to a four-over-par 76, while 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm confronts a tough task to make the cut after recording a six-over-par 78.
Only 16 players from the 91-strong field managed to finish under par for the day, which was controlled by Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns, who are joint leaders at five under.
Defending champion McIlroy wasn’t at his most precise and battled with accuracy from the tee, yet he secured six birdies while restricting the damage to merely one bogey to produce an excellent start to his title defence.
He said: “Honestly, I couldn’t have gotten a lot more out of my round. I feel like I leaned heavily on my experience out there to do that.
“My hope was to get off to a solid start. I feel like the way I played, five under, exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do. I think a fair score for me today would have been like two under, maybe, with some of the places I hit it.
“But again, I used my head, and I got up and down when I needed to. I didn’t compound mistakes.
“Again, that’s just a learning curve that you have to go through around here, and I did it well today.”
