This episode of the The Thing About Golf has a distinct Scottish flavour as we welcome John Huggan in his debut episode as co-host where he chats with Scotland’s most promising young professional in Robert MacIntyre. Huggan caught up with MacIntyre the week after he claimed his maiden European Tour title, the first of what many good judges believe will be multiple career victories. MacIntyre is not your run of the mill Touring Professional and in this fascinating conversation with Huggan reveals some insight into an upbringing surrounded by foster brothers and sisters, his passion for the little known Scottish pastime of Shinty and why he’ll never win his club championship playing right handed.
[Music] hello and welcome to the thing about golf golf Australia Magazine’s ongoing search for Clues to why people get so hooked on this crazy game I’m Rod Murray and for the best part of a year and a half I’ve been your host on these Journeys into the psyche of golfers but as we announced on the last episode backup has arrived in the form of one of the best riders in the game Scotland’s John hugen now technically this is episode 32 of the show but in many ways it’s actually episode 1A because today Huggy makes his thing about golf debut now before we come to that there’s a bit of housekeeping to do and if you’ve only just found us thanks to Huggies involvement a very big welcome to you and it heads up that there’s actually an extensive back catalog of interviews already in the thing about golf archives over the last year and a half we’ve sat down with everyone from Kye Webb and Peter lonard to bambole Junes owner Richard Satler and even Huggy himself on episode 9 that is one not to be missed if you haven’t listened to it yet now the easiest way to hear any or all of these past episodes is to subscribe to the show on whatever mobile device you prefer it’s called a subscription but that’s really a misn because it is in fact free and thankfully it’s easy to do you’ll find us on the built-in Apple podcast app on Apple products and you can get to us through Spotify and Google podcasts on all the other devices if you’re not super Savvy with how all that works simply navigate to the golf Australia website at www.ol australia.com and click the podcast tab you’ll find a page with all the past episodes right there uh you’ll find links to all that in the show notes but if you’re really struggling flick me an email and I’ll personally help you to work it out you can get me at rodt talken golf.com just the oneg in talk andolf that’s rodrod talken golf.com and we’ll get you set up now on to today’s episode and as you’ll hear it isn’t quite as advertised but there’s a very good reason for that which Huggy explained when I chatted with him to help launch his thing about golf career well we did promise you that John hugin’s first thing about golf episode would be Tom Kahan but this is how the news Works isn’t it Huggy of course uh Scotland’s great hope in men’s professional gol at the moment Robert McIntyre won his first tournament a week or two after you did the Tom cahan interview so we’re switching up the batting order because you managed to get some time with him first things welcome to you John hugin and secondly uh Bob McIntyre tell us a bit about him is this a fascinating interview that you’ve done with him uh he’s yeah I mean well the bottom line is he’s a he’s a hell of a nice lad Bob McIntyre um he’s kind of the Scotland’s search for a star golfer has gone on for a while now um we’ve only had we haven’t had a male major winner in this Century um we have only had um three Ryder Cup players in this Century as well uh last one being Steven G in 2014 so the search for a star has G on for a while and and I think we might have that that very person in McIntyre I mean he’s came off the The Challenge tour a couple years ago played last year on the European tour had a string of high finishes he was second three times he was sixth at the open and uh didn’t win but the only thing he didn’t win but he was rookie of the year on the European tour last year and now he’s won as you say um but he’s and he’s only 24 he he ticked all the boxes as an amateur as well he won the Scottish amateur Championship he lost in the final of the British amateur championship and he played in The Walker cup um in Los Angeles uh playing Cameron Champ in both singles and emerged unbeaten they beat them the first day six and four and then the pair of them halfed on the second day all of which is in the interview but um as I say the bottom line is he’s the he’s the kind of Great White Hope This as far as Scottish golf is concerned male golf is concerned and it’s been a while for us indeed it strikes me Huggy that good golf regimes aren’t that hard to come by up to a certain point of a career there’s lots of them lots of amors lay claim to perhaps being the next big thing but certain players have it and he strikes me as a player who has it he’s different he does things his own way but he’s clearly comfortable in his own skin uh he’s an interesting character golf aside isn’t he and that feels to me like it’s one of the ingredients that the really the very top players have I think of mroy I think of SP tiger obviously in his own way there’s something about McIntyre isn’t there he’s doing it his way that’s very true I mean he’s he’s definitely got as I said the the the the it quality that you just said um star quality if you like and as I’ve pointed out to him more than once he’s already Scotland’s greatest ever left-handed golfer which which admittedly is a very low bar but not a competitive hug no he’s already that by a distance and but as you say that there there’s something about him there he’s terrific in in in interviews he’s very comfortable talking to the Press which is unusual for somebody as new to the the scene as he is but and from a Tiny Town Huggy he’s from a really small place yeah well open yeah it’s a fairy port on the kind of Western Edge of the Scottish Highlands and there fairies go out to the islands it’s a beautiful little place but my goodness it’s a terrible place to get in terms of driving there’s one Road in and one road out it seems and it’s a terrible road if you get stuck behind a lorry which I did when I went to see them there last year it takes forever but um it’s well worth the trip once you’re there it’s a beautiful little place indeed we don’t want to give away too much of the interview but I think the thing that I’d like people to listen out for there’s a lot of golf gold in there and a lot of golf nuggets and there’s some good stuff in there but this upbringing you had that’s a bit unusual not just the remoteness but his parents have always fostered kids he’s had all these Foster brothers and sisters sisters throughout his life maybe that’s got something to do I know spe has a sister with special needs and I think that’s part of his humility is probably not the right ter but you feel like you know he’s a multi-millionaire Superstar but you don’t get that sense when you talk to SP they got that same thing from McIntyre there was some really touching stuff in that passage wasn’t there without giving too much away yeah he it’s it’s certainly giv him a perspective on life that um that most of the players don’t have not to say that they’re bad people but uh they haven’t seen some of the things or heard some of the things I suspect that that he as um these kids as as I think he says in the interviews they didn’t all come from the greatest backgrounds they’d been some of them had even been abused that kind of thing so he he’s seen a side of life that most tour players never get to see yeah that there’s very much a bubble around professional golf isn’t there and that’s not what’s in that bubble Huggy your second interview but the first one we’re publishing terrific chat we will bring Tom kand but that’s a Timeless interview so there’s no rush to get that out there we wanted to bring this one with Bob McIntyre because it was timely and I agree with you I think we might be seeing the birth of one of the the stars of the next decade and a half two decades in golf so I’ve really enjoyed theie I hope the rest of them do thanks for joining us for a quick chat before we uh get underway my pleasure ladies and gentlemen Bob McIntyre okay Bob thanks for coming on um I’m sitting here you’re I’m talking to you as the newest uh firsttime winner on the European tour uh there’s an old kind of myth that you learn more from losing than you do from winning is that is that true in your experience um I’m not sure I mean I’ve I’ve come very close a couple of times and to finally get over the line I think I’ve learned a lot more um with this one than um I have in the previous ones especially the way it was done what’s different from winning than it is from losing apart from the obvious um well it’s just that we’re getting over the line you’ve got to learn you’ve got to learn how to do that um I mean I felt like I didn’t do anything wrong in the previous times it just wasn’t it wasn’t my time to win a golf tournament and um this time obviously I’ve changed a few things in my game including myad um so a lot of things have changed for me to to come to that moment um and no it was just uh I would say it was just about letting it happen rather than forcing it yeah I mean yeah I was going to ask you about the the caddy change but since you bring it up um what uh what difference has that made it’s been huge uh it’s just for me it was just about being um 100% sure on what what I was trying to do um I had to learn a lot Greg had to learn a lot and that’s why we we’re part of company um but Mike’s come on to the bag and uh We’ve Come Close obviously at the Scottish we felt like we had a chance and then obviously the first week in cyers we with a chance but he was doing all the right things for me and he was just even if he wasn’t 100% sure he made it sound like he was um so that I was convinced about the shot I was going to play what is it that you’re actually looking for from aad then um it’s just for me it’s more chat on the golf course on the honest way it’s just about keeping me keep me Cal and interested um and then when I do ask a question it’s about being it’s about being right of course they’re not going to get everything right but it’s about being on the ball um and just being confident in what you’re doing and that’s huge from Mike I he’s he’s very confident as I am hitting the goal shot and he’s as confident in in what he’s doing and trusting me to hit a certain Club a certain distance and it’s it’s it’s half the battle Yeah that I mean I’ve done a bit of cing um you know or bad caring I’m not I wouldn’t claim to be a caddy properly in big events but it it seems to me people ask me about it and I’ve always sort of felt that there was three things that a good caddy needs to have um a good strong back you know an ability to count and and the really important one is to have a personality that’s compatible with the player you that seems to confirm what you just said yeah exactly it’s exactly it yeah it’s it’s what I look for is that’s why I picked M was because the two of us have got the same kind of um we call it banter so kind of chat yeah it’s just we can bounce off each other so we’re never short of no matter the situation whenever short something to talk about yeah um so what I mean the I listened when when you won your tournament uh in Cyprus I listened you we could hear what you you guys were saying on the 18th Fairway your second shot and just kind of run us through that just how important that was because he seemed to as as you just said he left you with an absolute positive you know mindset if you like that terrible American phrase but just before you hit the shot you it was all very positive it seemed like yeah exactly um we had 140 um I think it was 148 to cover the water 155 pin uh and the further right we went the longer it was to cover the water and I’m obviously in the middle of the Fairway and it’s the wind was fluctuating from being down straight down and down out the right so the worry was it was a perfect pitching wedge with the wind but if there was no wind and no help the ball was going to land right in the middle of the water M so it was I took a few a few looks at the the wind turbines that were up in the hill behind us um which which did help me uh so we seen that the wind was straight down and we just chatted about have we got enough help if we do have enough help where can we hit it and it was just like we could have went straight at the pin what Mikey told me is we could we can go straight at it we’ve got the cover but to be 100% safe go a couple of yards left of it and that’s what we done we didn’t have enough Club to hopefully reach the back bunker but we’re keeping it we were keeping it between the bunker and the pin so always I mean it was just if I if I hit a bad shot it was still going in the water but if I hit a good solid shot it was Landing where it where it ended up so it was just about just about him giving me the the full trust me trusting like what he’s saying and him trusting the show I’m going to play yeah so it’s basically it sounds like it’s all about the elimination as much as possible of bad possibilities yeah and it’s about just total positive I mean I think one of the last things he said to me was just put a fully committed swing in us I think that was one of the last words he said to me so it was just getting me knowing what I was to do just blank everything all the the end results out and just hit one final good pitching wedge M and and what was the winning feeling like I mean you I’m sure you’ve heard often enough that uh you know everybody felt like you were going to win at some point but uh until you do it there’s always that is that a we nagging doubt I mean or were you quite happy that you would just keep doing what you were doing sort of thing no it was getting tough um obviously when you’re in contention you’re thinking right let’s go and win this week but when you weren’t getting over the line it was like right how do we get over the line um the format for the week was absolutely perfect for me H with my style of gol although I didn’t finish with the the best total out the four days it was I wasn’t pushing at some points in the in each round well Friday Saturday I kind of took the foot off the gas because it was just about qualifying for each each different day so um it wasn’t like I was trying to plan for a four run total I was just trying to get myself to the Sunday and and then have a shoot out everyone else but it’s I mean it feels unbelievable to finally to get across the line and and get the monkey off my back yeah you mean you’d been a pretty consistent winner you know as an amateur and you’d won I think you won your second tournament on the Mina tour after you turned Pro so it’s it’s not a new feeling but or was it a new feeling winning at that level I mean it’s a step up for you obviously yeah um winning is always the same feeling it’s it’s happiness it’s excitement everything that goes with it but for me it was a s relief that I mean I’ve watched I’ve I’ve Dreamed A winning the European tours since I was a a kid so they finally got across a line and it I mean it just shows the hard work that’s going it um from not just me but my team since I’ve turned Pro and more importantly my my parents and my family that have sacrificed so much for to give me an opportunity yeah I mean uh one of the the tangible things that’s come from you know doing so well since you turned Pro is the the place where you’re sitting right now I believe you’re in your new apartment in in Obin is that right yeah that’s right y now have you learned uh how to do the laundry where the dish washer is I mean what’s I so I’m not bad um I’m pretty handy obviously spent the time at University in the states which made me learn a little bit um how would do the wash and try not shrink the clothes or or cross stay the clothes H dishwasher a great tool I must say but no it’s it’s grown up but I’m I’m learning every day so it was time to get away from your mother was it it was it’s time I mean don’t get me wrong they’re only 10 minutes up the road and I say that the nicest possible way obviously it was time for me to my two older sisters moved out H they’ve got their own places so I was kind of like right it’s my time to to move out and become more of an adult so who got your room um we’ve got two I’ve got two Foster Brothers uh at home so they live in my parents so they can I’m sure they’ll be fighting over at Dan and Tom I think Thomas will win the battle for just now he’ll get the he’ll get my room which was actually was one of the it was probably the biggest room in the in the house so you’ll get that right okay um tell us a bit more about the the Foster parenting that your your parents have have done for many years I believe I mean it’s it’s kind of cliche to think that that you would get some kind of sense of perspective from seeing you know kids in that situation but is that is that fair to say is the cliche true it is I mean you for me I mean I’m traveling the world um staying in nice hotels um obviously if you’re doing well you can make good money but for me it’s more about the things I can bring back to my family H and seeing the kids I mean we’ve had a few kids over the over the years and I mean it’s just appreciating what I had when I was growing up and the chances that I was given I mean not just in golf but playing different sports and shin football I mean I played every sport that you could you could almost name that you can play in in the town and uh when you see some of the kids coming up they didn’t know how to swim and I mean you show them life skills that they would never have gotten if they’ stayed in the stayed in the track they were going and it’s just for me it’s when my golf’s not great or my golf’s poor and um it’s we stepping back and going you know what your life isn’t actually too bad here Bob you’re you’re you’ve got an opportunity of a lifetime um my parents are great for for helping others uh these kids are the lucky ones that have got the opportunity to be helped mean there’s there’s still loads out there that haven’t haven’t been captured by the by the um the governments to get help can can you share any of the stories that you’ve come across over the years um I mean obviously some of them are abused and neglected kids but I mean it’s just I’ll never forget the time that we took when I played the dun Hill at St Andrews as an amateur um we took the two at the time it was a brother and a sister to the um to the Fairmont where I got we got put up for the week yeah and I’ll never forget driving in there we they’ just been with us that week that was the first week they arrived with us and we’re driving up to the fa on home I mean it’s absolutely massive and um one of them turned around and said wow it’s a castle we’re going to stay in a castle Yeah it’s just I mean some of the things that I’ll remember bring a te my yeah I mean how bad is some of the the treatment that these kids have been through I mean I’m sure there’s varying degrees of it but I mean what what’s kind of worst thing you’ve seen I’ve never I mean I’ve never really seen any I’ve never seen anyone get abused or anything no no I mean just the result of it you know just how I mean it’s just I mean I remember one of the times my mom my mom um when the kids first arrived and my mom went to give them a hug to say welcome welcome to the home this is this way you’re going to be living and part of our family and the we boy kind of backed away scared away obviously thinking yeah she’s she’s going to hit me or something so um that’s it’s hard to see that kind of stuff and I mean the more they come into the more they they spend time with it it’s it’s just it’s there they’re part of your family they’re loved by you um and even like they would go I remember them stealing food from the kitchen um and my mom’s like at the start my mom was a bit annoyed like why you stealing food and taking into your room and stuff but then the more we realized it was like right well they didn’t know when their next meal was going to be so they’re storing food yeah yeah um which is understandable but they come around to to your way of life um they knew they were going to get fed um but then they also knew the the boundaries that became this is this is the rules of the house MH and I’ve got to stick with the rules of the house so so of the kids and what sort of role have you played in all this are you a kind of big brother or are you a favorite uncle or how would you define Your Role no no I I’m a brother so I mean it’s I call them brothers brother Thomas and Dan um they going to be part of my family for the rest of my life so it’s just about getting them into the family as much as we can and um helping them and guiding them as much as we can to to become I mean essentially they’re going to be they’re going to be adults so it’s what giv them the best opportunity to to do what they want to do and I’ll be there if they ever need need help and just the same if I need help I’m sure they’ll be there how much are they aware of what you’re doing uh Dan the youngest one he’s not he’s not really aware of what’s going on with my my golf but Tom is the oldest one he’s 13 now so he knows what I’m doing I mean watching on the TV and stuff and Thomas Thomas has got his phone and he messages me um good playing today or well done so he knows what’s going on and we take him out golfing H he enjoys golf so it’s about yeah just try to open his eyes to the world M well they’ve not got far to go to the golf course I mean I’ve I’ve been to Obin to see you I think it was what a year ago now and your parents house is right on the I think it’s the 12th T at at Glen cron yep that’s it so you can basically fall out the front door onto the golf course that’s what I mean that’s what I done as a young boy and that’s what thas and D do me even with we’re walking the dog at night they’ll normally take a a club or Thomas will take his his full set of clubs and we’ll go play Four holes or Dan will just take the old club and you’ll hit away but no it’s about giving them an opportunity to to go and do something that they I obviously we got them into golf so they’re now starting to enjoy it and realize what it’s about and I think it learn makes them learn respect because of the eate of the game now I wanted to talk to you a bit about Glenn cruin I mean I’ve only had a glimpse of it um that day I was with you in Obin but it’s not your standard you know course that you might think would produce a you know European tour Champion for example it was like 4,000 odd yards per 62 and it seems like there there’s one or two Hills involved in blind shots and all the rest of it um how do you describe it when people ask you about it yeah I just I mean it’s it’s short and funky but it takes good golf to score around it you H if you hit a wide shot then you will lose a golf ball it’s as simple as that you’re not going to go into the bushes and find it you’re going to just say right that one’s gone um but it’s a place where you can it’s so easy to to learn learn shots H you’ve got a shot shape which i’ got to say I’m probably one of my best assets is shaping the golf ball M so I mean it’s been a huge huge part of my development I still play it as much as I can and I still enjoy it so it’s no it’s a great course it’s a great test um and it doesn’t take you too long to play it yeah it’s you’re so you’re a product of your environment to an extent are you yeah I would I would say that 100% I would say that and of course the next time you win the Club Championship will be the first time is I right in saying that 100% right yeah 100% yeah so there must be some good players there is there there is decent players um I never really got to play the four rounds um oh now the excuses are coming out now yeah yeah but no I mean I would love to won it but I think my that ship sailed and something else would they not like you playing it right-handed cuz I think you told me once that you can play off about 15 right-handed so we be bit of practice you might be able to get down to single figure would you not I don’t think I’d be contending for the championship H that is that’s a bit above above my right-handed level yeah but do you do that every now and again just for fun um I’ll have the OD hit right handed I mean it’s it’s from Shin here sometimes going play a game have a I shouldn’t or what not and just enjoy myself and the same in the golf course now and again even on tour not just now obviously with all the new rules but before I would one of the boys would want to hit my one of my left-handed clubs so whe I we nearest to pin or something yeah just get on with I want to ask you about the shinty um for the non-scottish listeners to this podcast I think uh you’re probably going to need to explain just exactly what it’s all about before we go any further no so it’s a it’s a g sport um on the west and north of Scotland uh it adds the way the best description of what it is it says cross between field hockey and the Irish for of hland um which I mean it’s it’s mainly played in the ground but you can obviously take full swings like a golf swing um the goals are about three times as or easier way of putting the goals or it’s a soccer or football um goal stood in its post uh that kind of height wise and and width so um it’s a pretty it’s a serious contact sport it’s a bit rough is that what you’re trying to say it is rough yeah um so it’s just I mean it’s it’s almost a it’s a community community sport that you kind of brought up in the community then you’ll play shy so and you’ve got quite a family excuse me family heritage in in the sport of you know I mean I’m I spent some time looking up your your father your uncle and your granddad were all pretty damn good at shinty no they were they were um what what sort of level if you could equate it to golf would they be at at shinty the best oh they were at the they were at the top of the he was at the top of the tree in shiny and they played all played for Scotland so see a 15 man squad 20 man squad they were they were in that most years when they were playing at the at the top level um I didn’t see my grandpa playing obviously but I seen my or my Uncle Gordon but I seen my dad um playing at the end of his career uh yeah they’ve I mean they’ve theyve won almost well they have one every every trophy in shiny did the sort of the hand eye coordination that you obviously need in golf is that does that come from your father’s ability on this or your father’s family side of the shinty side of it um I’m not sure my mom’s my mom’s side of things are also sporty people so um obviously my dad’s side I’m more the shint and golf uh side of things but I would say I would say the shuny has helped me in my golf massively in what ways just about again almost short shaping striking striking the ball um because in Shin You’ got to step into it you can’t hit the ball H by Falling Back same golf you can’t you can’t fall back or you or you’ll hit the ground first in sh you’re always taking almost a step you take a step in to hit the ball and that’s the way if you watch my golf swing it’s kind of it’s a big it’s it’s a sway off the ball and then it’s the whole body weight shifts um and it’s the same it’s the same with hitting a penalty in shiny you take a step back and you plant the front foot and then the whole body goes through it so I’d say it’s help my golf and do you play left-handed because of the shinty or because you’re naturally left-handed no I’m right-handed at right but I don’t think it’s even the shinty I think it’s just been passed down my family my my grandpa my Papa he he was left-handed my dad was left-handed at at golf um so I think it’s just been passed down passed down the generations and that’s obviously picking up a golf club and it’s left-handed we got on with are there any I mean this is a weird question maybe but are there any disadvantages or advantages from being left-handed at golf I speak as somebody who couldn’t make contact swinging left-handed I’m sure but um I mean everybody talks about the Masters that we were all watching last week that austa National there are benefits to being left-handed at certain holes and you know there’ve been quite a few left-handed winners there the last what 15 20 years um have you discover is there anything to that at all or is it just complete fantasy does it make any difference um I just think it’s all in I mean there’s horses for coures and everything so um I mean until I see austa I don’t know what to expect so there are obviously golf courses that that suit I mean there’s golf courses that suit me mhm but that’s just because they suit you not because you’re left-handed is that right yeah yeah it’s just because it suits your eye or the wind direction suits you just the way you I mean if I’m if I’m a fader of the golf ball and there’s another player that draws the ball then two it’s it’s almost two different golf courses CU he’s got to hit a certain shot over trouble than I’ve got so yeah yeah I just I say horses for coures yeah the one thing that left hand all the best left-handers have had in common is uh a great Rhythm and you’ve certainly got that is there is there something to that from being left-handed because I mean have no idea why that would be but it just seems to me that that is the one common factor in all of them I well I could I don’t know it’s just something that I’ve I’ve obviously got but I’ve not put any thought into I don’t put any thought into my rhythm I just go play go yeah well that’s probably the best way right of the Le the less thinking you do the better normally so yeah I want to touch on your your amateur days I mean you obviously you you ticked all the boxes uh all the way up you know boys to youths to full International to Walker cup uh and all the rest of it the how quickly did it become clear that that you were going to be exceptional at golf um the one time I really realized that I could compete or I was on the right tracks to competing was probably the the dun Hill when I played that as an amateur um playing with Lardo DEA who finished top 15 top 20 in the the British Open that year it made me realize that I can compete out here when I was that age H obviously not at that moment in time but I knew that if I kept developing my skills then it was going to happen and here we are now yeah I mean that that seems to me surprisingly late I mean you you’d been very sick as just said you you won at boys level you won at youth’s level you won the Scottish Amer lost in the final of the Amer played in The Walker cup I mean that that’s a lot of boxies getting ticked there and why was there still a we nagging doubt even at that point no no so that was I mean I i’ played in The Dun Hill when I was about um 16 I think 16 or 17 so I was still young um but that was when I realized I could I I was on the right tracks like if I gave myself another couple of years then I would have been able to hopefully if I developed the same rate I was going at then I would be at some point playing there um and obviously playing Walker cup that’s the the Pinnacle of British amateur golf that’s the once you play that there’s nothing else other than winning a British amateur and there was nothing else to achieve in for me H in the amateur game so that was why a turn pro what what were the highs and lows of your amateur career before we move on from that um highs and lows were obviously winning the the Scottish amateur at your field uh that’s got to be the the ultimate High the low was losing in the British Amateur final you do all the work to get to the final and then bang one one I think I got beat two and one and your dreams of playing in the master playing in the open playing and everything have been shattered but now when I look back at it it was like right that was just one golf tournament that you thought was going to change your life when it was never going to change your life it was giving you an opportunity of a lifetime to go and see these places but I mean I still had a heck of a lot of work to do yeah yeah there’s still a big jump even from from Walker cup level to to being successful at the pro game and all the pros when I mention Walker cups to them they they always go well no one really cares about the Walker Cup on the on the European toury I mean it’s just you know cuz pretty much a very large number of players have come have ticked all those same boxes that we talked about with you on the way up so once you get to the pro level I mean it it’s it’s like it never happened or I’m I’m kind of over egging that theory a bit no you’re right I mean you’re amateur now you’re a professional you’re amateur days to other people other Pros it doesn’t matter um but for yourself and personally for me I’m seeing things from amateur days on players that I’ve played with like Calla um playing The Walker cup and stuff and you’re seeing him winning majors and it makes you realize you know what you’re not too far away here so on that side of things it gives you huge belief but results wise other people aren’t going to bother about it but personally it just gives you your own belief and that’s what I I just take as much belief from yeah from amateur days as I can yeah so it’s a good foundation if nothing else yeah exactly yeah you’re being a we bit modest about your Walker cup um by the way um I don’t know if people realize but you played Cameron Champ who’s since one twice on the PGA tour you played them both days in the singles and after giving them a right good do in the first day you halfed with them the second day um so stop being so modest that would be my first advice but say tell me tell me about that week and and the experience you had and by the way um a couple of weeks ago I was interviewing in his office Martin Slumbers the head guy at the RNA and he told me a nice thing about you which um you may or may not know but you were the only member of that team that sent him a thank you letter yeah the RNA after you played in that Walker cup so he was he went away quite impressed by that but anyway I I digress slightly but uh tell me about your week at the Walker cup all so um again you go out probably a week and a half before the tour before the weekend so say there for a week prior to the start of it um luckily I got a walker cup that was in the US m in La I mean I couldn’t have picked a better spot if I’m honest um and obviously we go sightseing we do everything um you’re practicing and then yeah it’s all a big buildup for the week for the weekend and obviously I was disappointed to miss out in the first the first days doubles me and Matty Jordan and I was a bit disappointed with that but I’m not picking a team so um it’s a it’s another decision that’s out of my hands obviously they’re looking at practice days that I mean if you come and look at me on a practice day on the European tour you’ll be like how does this guy make a Liv at the game and it’s just the way I practice I don’t really I mean I’m taking all the notes in my book it’s in my my memory banks but when I’m hitting the ball I mean it’s it’s no use most of the time on the practice days and then it’s so it was the same at the Walker cup obviously they picked it on people that were playing well in the practice days so I got left out um Turned Up on the mid midm morning um obviously you was playing cam on champ and I was like geez this guy’s Meant to hit it miles everyone’s out everyone’s raving about him this week and so I went and watched them for a few holes and against I think it was Jack singra and Scott Gregory and he was playing with Scott Sher and there’s a hole at H La Country Club I think it’s 14 par five and there’s a bunker that’s I mean I’m going around the side of it everyone else apart from Maybe har Ellis has going around the side of this bunker yeah and he has just tonked over the top of it it must been 340 yards to carry the thing yeah and I’m like right this is what I’m up against but again I was hitting into the green first every most of the time and I was playing great the minute it came to came to competition again my golf game turned up and I was playing great and I managed to beat him six and four the first day and obviously then had a decision to make to play me in the in the doubles when out in the doubles me and Matty Jordan we got beat by Maverick mcne and I think it was Doug gim who are again both I think playing on the PJ tour so um and then I had Cameron Champ again and I must say he hold a good P for the half on on 18 the half match yeah I remember watching that yeah yeah so I mean that was going to be I was hoping it was going to be two out of two against them but again it was a great experience and he’s obviously won a couple of times on on the PJ tour already so I know I know the level of golf I can play at and it’s just about been out there and doing it now MH now want to get to your to turn into your pro career um it seemed like you were kind of you went back and forth a wee bit on actually when to turn pro I mean I’ve spoken to you in St at your manager a couple of times about this and he just kind of laughs and shakes his head about how you were going to go to the European tour school as an amateur and then at the very last minute you decided you were going to have a couple of goes in the Mina tour and then I’m going as an amateur and then suddenly oh by the way I’m turning pro in so run run us through that thinking yeah so I didn’t know whether I was ready to turn pro I thought I might need another year as an amateur um and we had planned on going to tour School everything was set up to go to tour school um I’ve obviously played The Walker cup was after everything was sorted for going to tour school I was ready to go yeah and on the build up to tour school it was do we turn pro and play the D Hill or do we stay in amateur and play go to the Mina tour prepare for tour School get experience in professional events turn up to tour school and hopefully get your card or whatever MH um and that was the intentions up until about a week before I went to the Middle East now what before you go any further what’s the what’s the thinking behind going to the tour school as an amateur it seems kind of counterintuitive to me no it was just in case I mean if I didn’t get my tour card then what you doing you’re just going to wait an invites here and there you’ve not got a schedule to play to um it’s a just in case thing then really ah you’re no man’s land yeah um really and I decided I don’t know I just I spoke to my I kept speaking to my my mom and dad about it St was kind of left actually outside the circle been honest at that point it was like this is down to what do we believe is the best move here and everything was booked to go to the Middle East as an amateur M um playing a Mina tour and then one day I just said you know what if I’m going out here why am I wasting say5 6,000 as an amateur when I can’t make anything back mhm and that was actually it I was like I can go out here and at least I could have a few good weeks I’ll cover my C for this trip and it’s it’s about learning about making money H and that’s it I just founded him up in a good story something to tell you I’m going to go to the Middle East and I’m going to turn pro when I’m out there yeah and he was a bit shocked by that but hey he kept he just he just guides me um whatever I can of he just my decision is the the final decision but he tries to to guide you and he thought it was a good idea so away we went and you got such a good start too in your first event did you yeah so obviously I’m I’m talking about the first round not the not the end result oh right first round was a was a shocker but I was learning my trade again I was back I was being an apprentice it was about I don’t know what it shot five over six over it was 79 I think yeah so it wasn’t a good wasn’t a good start how were you feeling that night not too bad actually cuz it could only improve I mean I knew the level of go I I was me playing that and I knew that I didn’t play well I was a bit nervous and I turned it around if I must say well absolutely I was going to come to that don’t worry but yeah I just wanted you to get you talking about the 79 for a minute yeah H that was that was rounds a pro nervous and I just didn’t play well and that was that’s nor goal all so but you finished I think what you thought at the end yeah I missed out in the playoff be a shot yeah yeah so if you needed any convincing that was it was it it was actually it’ be a good thing actually the 79 in retrospect I mean it’s easy to say now I agree but uh you know to come third with the 79 on the on the card is pretty damn good yeah it was I played great that week after that after the 79 uh I went after the Sunday and I had a chance of I think I had a put on 18 to get into playoff or with a with a tied the number that was in and just fell short but it gave me the confidence that I needed to to know right you’re you’re at a level you can play professional golf and it was it was quite good for my my confidence no I think I’m right saying um you won the next week on the Mina tour but you went to the I’m the tour School the second stage of the tour School you just scraped through uh do you still kind of wake up in a cold sweat thinking about how one more shot there would have made such a difference um no because it’s again it’s it’s about hard work and it’s the work that you put into it it’s what you get out of it um and I’m a firm believer it’s something that my mom and dad I’ve always said to me or it’s a thing that we said in the family what for you won’t go by you and I mean I had my dad in the bag for the the two weeks I had at tour school and yeah he knows my game so he knew what I was capable of and obviously had to shoot a good number in the Sunday of second stage MH but I knew I could do it I wasn’t I wasn’t driving it good um I took a decision on the on the night before it on the Sunday before the final round that I was just going to play with with a slice with my driver M cuz I I couldn’t keep it in the I just couldn’t hit it straight so the only way I could get it in the Fairway was by slicing it I hardly missed a fairway and we shot 6 under and it got us in the final stage what did you make a tour school I went to one tour School many years ago as a as a journalist obviously uh and walked around and you know I walked around in a kind of cold sweat I mean watching these guys you know with their whole careers lives you know all on the line like that and there was I saw some terrible things I mean people the people got into such awful States I mean they were sweating like pigs I mean they were just and doing things they wouldn’t normally do I mean the pressure was so intense for these guys I mean how did you cope with it or how did you find it I took a I tried to take a I mean for me I was I can’t even remember what age I was 21 MH um so at the start of my career so that week wasn’t going to Define yeah my career and the way I seen it was like a lot of these guys are here to kind of continue their career that’s what if you harder on the way down than on the way up I guess yeah yeah that’s the way I try that’s the way I looked at it go I’m here because I’m I’m progressing the way I’m I’m the way I am yeah um I knew that if I played well we’d get something out of the week and it’s just I I try to had my dad in the bag again and we both try to just keep it as relaxed as possible and just go and enjoy ourselves and that’s what when I do that I normally play well how is he as a caddy cuz that that sort of relationship the closest of it can go both either way as a caddy Player thing yeah that was his uh he was all right but that was his last week he got the the bullet after that did he n he was he was good he was he was brilliant in what he done he knows my game more better than anyone else uh on the planet and I mean they just he just backed me up if I needed some some confirmation of a shot more so on the pattern side of things and he was there he would read it and it was a good combination and it was perfect for what I needed I could have got a cad for the two weeks but I wouldn’t have known him they wouldn’t have been able to known my game and I decided to take my dad and it was it was the best decision I’ve made I bet you if you ask him now he would be more nervous than you correct was there was a couple of times where we had to have had to have a word with each other um that’s as far as it went right okay can you expand on that a little bit more what sort of words I so I remember I remember of I had a shank one of the rounds on um round the big course at leine uh I’m playing with Sebastian Heisel and the part five I’ve shanked it and he said something to me and I think I said to them H will you shut up and just carry the bag he said something to me and I’m just going will you shut up and just carry that bag so I think I said it a few times that week but he understood when my T tension was high when me obviously with the pressure of of trying to get my challenge tour card or European tour card so I mean he was brilliant other than other than me having to say that a couple of times he was trying he was trying to help me too much he wasn’t getting on at me he was just trying to help me overh help me and but no he was he done the job and here we are today it’s a hard thing as we touched on earlier for the for certainly an inexperienced CAD to to know what to say and when to say it and when to say nothing that’s the hardest part of cadan I think yeah especially when you’ve got a an emotional attachment I call it like my dad I mean he wants the best for me and everything I do and when he’s seing something slipping away then he’s obviously going to say something to try and help you but he he was good for what we needed MH but everything you’ve said you know so far in the 40 minutes we’ve been talking um is indicates just how close your your family is your family unit um and that certainly comes across any in any interviews you’ve done and stories I’ve read about you so given that I mean how hard was it to to the we boy from Obin to pick himself up and go off to America to college how big a decision was that and how did it did how much benefit did you get from it no it was good don’t when I started I mean there was tears there was there was snot and tears um leaving and and been over there at certain times I was struggling uh we homesick which is is just normal when you’re that far away from home and you’re a you’re a home boy um but I had to learn and I wasn’t going to do it and then my mom said you’ll regret this later on down the line and she was right if I didn’t do that I’d be sitting regretting it but it made me grow up um if if you ever asked my mom a question it would be did he grow up she would say 100% yes uh I learned how to cook I learn how to clean I learn how to [Music] almost I learn how to be an adult just spending money on certain things and whereas before you would go mom can I get this Dad can I get that especially you being the youngest were you a bit spoiled I was a little bit I must say I always a little bit spoiled but it was just about growing up and becoming an adult so was it as much beneficial as to you as a as a person as a man or a young man as it was as a golfer or How would how would you equate those two yeah it was it was I’d say 50/50 um it was hugely beneficial for my golf it was it was brilliant I mean I would tell anyone if anyone ask me I’ve seen a lot of the young Scottish guys going over to the States now and it’s it’s brilliant to see it’s just about the stand the level of golf that’s out there is phenomenal I mean almost every single player goes to college there’s not many that skip College yeah yeah and so the standards the standards really high it’s like anything I’ve my games improved since been on the European tour because I’m playing against better players than I was before and that’s the way you have got to see it going to college you’ve got to play against if you play against someone is better than you then he better up your game or he’s going to keep beating you and the worst thing is he’s getting beat so you just keep improving was a year enough for you um I done I’ll say I done three semesters right so um it was just time it was just my time to to come home and take the next step and in my development to to get to where I am and it was I wouldn’t change anything that I done if I’m be honest way I think i’ done everything pretty well obviously if I stayed I’d have really had to been almost loved in out there like loving the environment that I was in and and everything and then you’d probably be playing trying to play PJ T but I think I’ve done everything the way I mean if someone had said would you do anything differently than you’ve done to this day now I would say no I’ve done everything mhm yeah I mean there’s plenty of examples of guys I mean Martin leard who briefly overtook he as the highest ranked Scott on the world ranking there few weeks ago before you won in Cyprus I mean he went to to college over there and he’s just stayed I mean he’s uh fully integrated American judging by his accent anyway um so I mean that that that can happen I mean there’s nothing wrong with that either obviously but it wasn’t it wasn’t for you it didn’t sound like no it wasn’t I mean I’m again I’m I’m a I love where I’m I come from I Love My rots um as obviously they do they love where theyve come from and stuff but I was really tied in H with my family and stuff here in Oben and it’s just the way I’ve been brought up is with family been surrounded by my family my whole life and I felt like moving it’s the same as I grew up me I’m trying to base home here no um even no matter what happens in my go H I would love to stay in Obin I was going to ask you about that cuz it’s I mean I’ve been to Obin um it’s it’s a lovely place I would acknowledge that I’d say that to anybody that ask me however it’s one hell of a place to get to uh from just about anywhere um is it going to be more difficult for you as you as your world expands I mean if you play more and more in America for example to to actually live in Oben or is it just is that always going to be your base I’m hoping for it to always be my base I’ll have a base if I get to the states if I get to the level of golf I want to get to then I’ll have a base in in the US hopefully um but me and me and St my manager we laugh about it all the time um there’s an airport at Corell which is about I don’t know 8 minutes out of town all right okay um so there’s there’s certain jets that could land in there I’m sure right yeah well you better win Majors before you can do that exactly but that’s that’s we always laugh about it and it’s something that could become a reality if I can manage to achieve something like that CU I mean even the flying into Glasgow which would be the nearest sort of major airport to to Obin I mean it’s still what is it 2 or 3 hours dry yeah glasgow’s not bad glasgo I mean you can do it in an hour and 45 if you’re boting it but H it’d be a standard two hours yeah that’s assuming you don’t get stuck behind a lry exactly yeah theom side if you get stuck by the L it’s hour 20 anyway um if kind of moving chronologically here I want to I wanted to ask you about the your year on the challenge tour I mean the challenge tour gets a lot of good press you know I think basically people like Brooks kka and guys that have come across and done well in the challenge to and used that as a foundation for for moving up and onwards I mean he certainly has and you have too but uh what what did the challenge tour offer you and what benefits did you get from it do you think um I loved it one of the things was I loved about it was traveling with other boys um with had a good group of Scottish guys on the on the tour at the time um the main ones I really traveled with were y Ferguson Jack McDonald and um Grant Forest Liam Johnson we kind of all buddied in together um would share houses and share hotel rooms share cars so it would cut the cost down but it was again it was another steping Stone about learning how to budget budget your budget your gol I me everyone I was lucky enough to have a few sponsors at the time um and it was it was great where we could where we could cut cost obviously uh but it was a great stepping stone I I was I took a caddy or had a few caddies out there when I played and it was I always try to do everything as professional as I could so that when I came on the European tour it was like right this is no different to what I was doing last year it’s just a step up and standard yeah yeah yeah I mean I think in a previous interview that I’ve done with you um you said that you you’ve never been one to be loed to spend money uh on things like good caddies good hotel good food you know WR the get the right flights that kind of thing and you the way you phrased it was that you see all that as a an investment in yourself do I think is a great way to put it is that still how you feel about it yeah exactly that’s exactly how I put it um again if you’re flying say from I remember the flight from we we going from Saudi to the 13th Beach right in in Melbourne yeah yeah um I had all my flights booked I was met with flying economy class which again nothing wrong with but I was arriving on Tuesday say Tuesday morning I was arriving um or I can’t remember was it either Tuesday Monday night or Tuesday morning and I meant to be pcking up Thursday M and I was like what am I doing I need to get sleep here I need to be able to lie down so my body’s not too sore so that was I think that was the first time I ever flew business class was I used my a miles um and paid some money and got business class from duai to to Melbourne yeah I’ve done that I’ve done that flight a few times myself and it’s business I’ve done it business class and economy business class once and it’s the only way to go believe me yeah so I mean I’ve never after that that was my big Lear C it was like I have pitched up here feeling actually not too bad and there’s other guys out here that have flown economy and are struggling their bodies are so I was and from that time on I I’ll always invest in myself with flights and and stuff like that yeah yeah it seems like a sensible approach I mean uh as you say you can there’s no point in arriving in a bit of a state if you’re you know going to be playing well I mean that’s doesn’t make any sense exactly yeah um touching on that kind of on a tangent to that I mean uh Davy Burns is your your swing coach um I don’t want to disappear too far down a technical you know rabbit Warren but um how much does he contribute to your game I mean your swing looks you know I always hate the word natural for a golf swing because there’s there’s very little natural about golf swings but uh what What’s your relationship like with him and what has he brought to your game uh I’d say the relationship between me and Dave now was almost like almost like a father son relationship or a brother almost like brothers um he’s brought everything to my game obviously I was I felt like I was getting stuck in the middle a little bit by I changed coach later on in my amate career and then he just brings a different different I don’t know system to or different techniques to the golf golf game than what I was used to H he allows me to be natural um and it just we just focus on things that we that he feels and I feel like I need to improve on it’s not we’re not changing something for the sake of changing it you know what I mean it’s like we’ve learned from mistakes when we’ve been away and um if there’s something that I feel like I can’t change my golf swing because it’s either a trigger it gets me going gets my golf swing started or you know what if I don’t have that in my gol swing then I’ve lost all my natural F so he works with me on on that side of things and he allows me to he allows me to play with freedom and swing my golf swing when I got on the golf course and is he just a full swing guy for you or is he everything um he was everything he was doing um he was doing the swing mental side um pting uh this year I’ve got gam Leslie who does my does pting work with me um and my stats so like a database golf data lamp he started to help me he just started to help me about five weeks ago six weeks ago right no more than that I had a poor I was struggling my P at the start of this year and he came on board and I want to say after the second round at the WGC in Memphis he’s come on board um and he’s been a big help with a PN just giv me a belief and but Davey’s been Davey obviously guided me my P stroke’s been absolutely has been really fluid um obviously last year I ped unbelievably well for the season but it was I was stuck again I was I was struggling a bit my part at start of the Year gam help me with that yeah you’ve had two or three physical issues to deal with as well I mean has that been a something that you’ve had to fit away your swing to to work around or is that just you just had to recover and move on no so we’ve changed again we’ve had to change change my grip how I grip the golf club because of my hand injury I had which was due to me repetitive strain on on my go swing right um but we changed that and it wasn’t actually it wasn’t too bad a change um but the I had to do it because I was going to stay injured and whatnot but other than that I mean now and again I get a tight lower back but that’s just all of the travel just now with with not been able to see physios it came to came toe at the Scottish I was struggling at Wentworth with it it came head at Scottish had to pull out yeah um you you touched very briefly on the the mental side of the game there and and you mentioned um after in the wake of winning in Cyprus that you’d struggled a bit in lockdown like like I suspect we all have a bit I mean I feel like I’m living Groundhog Day for examp every day at the moment but um can you expand on that just slightly and and tell us you know basically what you were struggling with yes I was just struggling with um having a purpose if you know what I mean it was I was for the first eight weeks nine weeks I was on the pel on the bike every day or every few days with another guy from from Obin um we were competing against each other we were doing challenges so we had something to work towards I was trying to get stronger lose a bit of weight um so I had a purpose and I was yes doing everything for a reason once that stopped after 9 weeks I was like right I kind of took a bit of time off again and I just I started getting down feeling down and um just not knowing what I didn’t know what I was doing next like it was I didn’t know when the golf was going to start obviously the golf courses were shut here yeah and I just felt like I’m wasting away here I’m not doing anything I’m not on the bike I’m not seeing Pals I’m not getting to see family and I mean it hit me hard yeah I think we can all relate to that I mean I think we were all everybody had a bit a bit of that kind of feeling I’m sure yeah exactly and that’s why um that’s why family is so important to me that I spoke to my mom about it all and she helped me through it what was her advice um it was just keep speaking she she just said just um if you just tell me anything you want just speak and she would ask me questions um she asked me actually a lot of personal questions that before I would never have told her um and I mean I probably wouldn’t even see my dad honest with you yeah there’s a different relationship there isn’t there yeah again I see my i’ see my dad is a bit of a tough not and he’d be like just get on with but my mom’s more the soft side and she yeah yeah she kind of so yeah she just she understands it and she sees she sees where I was coming from and she helped it was huge help yeah um again moving on to the your time on the European tour I mean you’ve been hugely successful very quickly um but I I’m just wondering when you arrived and you started playing with these you know famous names and faces did you ever look at somebody and think man I really need to get better in one particular area of the game or I’m never going to beat this guy was was there a bit of that or were you just kind of sailing along mle uh I would just say I was just I was learning my trade as so I put it I was I was just trying to learn my way through it and see how what other guys do better than me and obviously see what my game ranks with a lot of them one of the first guys I played with was Ernie and obviously he’s done so much in to give a gol and I played with him I think three out of four times in South Africa and I took away from that I was like right I can actually I can compete with with with Ernie um just now and he still competes in in big golf tournaments so again it was all just getting belief and once I get belief and I feel comfortable in an environment then it’s it’s time here we go you know are you comfortable asking for VI do you do that with other players somebody like Ernie some players I mean I’ll chat away chat away as well um I’ll ask little snippets on I’ll ask little questions I mean b vburger he he’s almost like a big brother out there he can I can ask him anything and he’ll try and help me out um there’s a few guys out there that are willing to to give you advice and I mean I don’t really I wouldn’t go straight up to them and go what would you do in this situation what would you do in that situation it’s almost they tell you stories or they try and tell you a story of what’s happened to them in the past yeah almost like right watch out for this or watch out for that and then just you’ve got to you’ve got to walk your own walk yeah yeah I mean ultimately that that is certainly the case but the I just wondered if there was anybody that you’d felt the need to to talk to on the way up I mean certainly would be somebody that would enormously experienced and would I’m sure would’ be happy to sit down and talk to you about anything really yeah he would um and again if I there’s a lot of people there that if I ever needed to ask a question um they would they’ sit down with me and chat with me about it no problem at all I’m suspecting however that one of the people that you probably wouldn’t want to sit down with is Kyle Stanley the you had a famous episode with him at roal Port Russia the open which I have to say enormously impressed me the fact that that you did what you not that only that you did what you did and said what you did but I’m not shouting for when he should have shouted for was that you had the good sense to wait until after the round to have it out with him rather than upset him and upset yourself while you were out there the course yeah what did you take away from that um I don’t know I mean sitting back looking at it now I don’t know if I would do it again um but again I was brought up to respect the game and the of the game and I mean when you become a professional golfer it doesn’t even matter being a professional golfer being a golfer if I had a shot that’s heading heading in someone’s Direction then I’m going to shout four so I said it to them as politely as I could and it didn’t it didn’t end up well but I’ll say one thing I’ll say one thing now we had good banter back and forth on social media where I think someone on Instagram put something up and I’ve hit one at the uspg that’s gone into the in some sort of 10 h i did shout four and he put he commented on it saying like four on it and then I respect the guy for it cuz he he actually messaged me um after one Cyprus congratulating me so um good on him no I think I think I think we’ve put it I think we’ve put it all um aside now when it’s I respect his golf game and he obviously respects mine and what’s happened in the past happen yeah yeah the last kind of area I wanted to get into was uh you you played in the majors in America this year having done so well at Port rushia I think you tied for sixth um in your first open um what did you feel about um golf in America or the standard of golf in America is it that much better than the European tour or what did you think when you were in the midst of it um I think it I wouldn’t say it’s tough It’s different because of the the grasses and stuff and the style of go MH um it’s obviously tough for the best players in the world are out there yeah it’s as simple as that they are the best players in the world um but that’s what I want to be and that’s what I believe that I should be and for me it’s about I’m just learning learning my I’m still learning my trade at that level um but I enjoyed the I enjoyed the test in both times or the three times I played played there I think it’s it’s obviously where everyone wants to be and it’s I feel like I’m I’m I’m in the right tracks to get there and it’s it’s probably the right place for me to play golf and it suits my style of golf I I I did kind of have a we smile to myself when I saw quotes from you you know saying how happy you were that you’d made the cut at the US Open and the PGA and whatnot and I’m thinking that’s not him at all I mean that he’s not there to make the cut is that fair to say was I right to feel like that yeah you were but again I’d been struggling no one had known until last week that I’ve been struggling mentally um and everything like that so it was I was putting everything in perspective that you know well I’m probably not coming here to fully compete for a golf tournament I’m coming here almost just to learn um what it’s like and I hadn’t played I mean everyone else had played I think they had eight weeks or seven weeks running up to the the first event I had played so I was going end there Rusty and I think I would I would if someone had said to me I missed one cut out of the two majors then I would still look at it and go you know what I made a cut in one of the majors out in the US when I’ve been struggling and I haven’t played so I think it was a for me it was it was a huge huge success been out there yeah um kind of last couple of questions I mean we’ve done a lot of looking back the last while that we’ve been talking uh looking forward um what does the next 2 or 3 years ideally hold for Bob McIntyre I mean winning again in a bigger event probably on the European tour would be the next obvious step up but then how how soon is it before you think I’m ready for the PJ tour um I feel like the PJ tour will come when I’m ready I don’t think that’s I’m not really looking forward to that it’s about doing my my bread and butter which is a European tour is where I’m is where I’m focusing right now and obviously I’ve got top 50 in my sights right now and it’s just about been out and preparing for a golf tournament and I’m one of them guys that just go out there obviously we set many goals here and there but just let’s see what happen What will be will be and MH go out there and enjoy yourself you’re playing a sport that you love a game that you love for a Liv I mean there’s not many better things to do than that yeah I mean the top 50 is an obvious thing to team for certainly in the short term is I think you’re 63 in the world at the moment as we speak um I would think that one of the the worst places in the world of golf to be is number 51 in the world ranking you you get I don’t think you get too much benefit from that but you number 50 you get into everything um how how much of a goal is that going forward that’s it’s it’s my only goal right now um it’s top 50 in the world but again someone’s got to be 501 so it’s it’s about not being that man at at certain stages so there’s it’s time in your run and sty talks about it all the time it’s you could be 5 first at the start of the year you get in nothing you could jump into 30s in the world a certain point and you get nothing so it’s just about timing you run at the right times and yeah um hopefully I’m timing it at the right time right now yeah what have you made of the European tour since it came back I mean I I must admit as I look at it with a probably excuse me a slightly different eye than than you do as a player but I’m I’m a we bit concerned that uh hopefully the world will return to normal sooner rather than later and that the European tour can do likewise because as much credit as they deserve for getting up and running and running tournaments and I’ve been to won the Scottish open over the last few months it didn’t seem like it was a lot of fun certainly from my point of view in terms of the you know the the you know the lockdown and all the the bubble and all the rest of it and but the terms of the money as well I mean I’m I’m a bit concerned that they’re going to be get get back up to what was previously looked upon as normal I mean how what’s the talk among the players on that sort of subject um I don’t know I don’t really I just go and do my job but it’s not been easy the bubbles I mean I’ve voiced it before and I struggled it like of Celtic Mana was the first event I played that was bubbled like that um and I struggled big time uh just you know you’re almost you’re stuck in once you arrive you’re stuck in a hotel there was certain events where you had a we bit more freedom this year especially in the US but the European T because of there’s so many different nationalities and people traveling in from obviously different countries it’s it was the only way they could do it was keep it tighter um and it was just to try and stop because if if they didn’t have it tight and one person traveled in with it and they didn’t catch them before they sat and had dinner with another player and by that point it’s just the whole tour got it yeah so I think they’ve done a great job in getting it getting us back playing golf and the money money I mean it’s even although it’s the priz funds are poorer it’s still it’s still not a bad living you can make for oh yeah I mean yeah I mean I understood perfectly you know the the con the whole concept of the bubble you just articulated there I mean to do otherwise would have been stupid if we want have a better word but I was but I wasn’t having any fun you know I was glad I was only doing it for one week yeah that’s I mean I’m not I hadn’t played a lot until the last kind of Scottish went worth than that with it where we really started playing golf tournaments um because I almost had to I needed to get back to nor somewhat normal life and luckily they were open the bubbles were opened up slightly where I could have my coach at the tournament yeah um so there’s still things that you can you can do and I think now with everything going on vaccines and stuff on the horizon it’s you’re able to I think come some point next year we’ll be back to hopefully normal yeah yeah I mean I think we could as you say the vaccine coming um there’s a light at the end of the tunnel for all of us hopefully hopefully that’s the the case on that positive note Bob I’m going to let you go thank you very much for your time uh I’ve enjoyed the chat I hope you have two and uh best of luck for the rest of the season perfect thanks very much John let to know about you but I reckon that was an excellent first up effort from John hugan and more importantly a terrific opportunity to get to know a bit better a player who seems to have an extremely bright future ahead of him that’s it for episode 32 of the show but I hope you’ve taken my advice and subscribed so that you don’t miss any of our future episodes if you haven’t already head to the show notes for information and links on how to do all of that thanks again for joining us and I look forward to your company again in 2 weeks time for episode 33 of the thing about golf [Music]
