"You're whaling up. You're about to start crying": Robert MacIntyre talks about hitting his first-ever Ryder Cup tee-shot
Robert MacIntyre was a big part of the winning team this year at the Ryder Cup. However, that did not prevent the rookie from feeling the pressure and the emotion of the occasion. The Ryder Cup is a big thing for a lot of golfers, and it was a dream for MacIntyre. He achieved that dream, but he felt all the pressure that came with it.
From the early going, he was in it and feeling it all. He admitted that he could barely speak due to the emotion and pressure he was experiencing. It made for an impressive tale, especially given how he eventually performed.
He said:
"I've never felt pressure like that in my life. It started off, I was fine. I was nervous, but I was fine. Until I had about five balls left on the range. Someone was trying to speak to me and they wanted an answer. I couldn't answer them. You're whaling up, you're about to start crying ... Get yourself together."
Robert MacIntyre continued:
"They asked me a question, I was just like 'mmhmm, mmhmm.' cause I couldn't get a word out. I couldn't speak, cause I knew where I was going. I was going into the mayhem. And it was a dream. That's a life dream of mine ... I was whaling up. 'How am I going to hit this tee shot?'"
Eventually, Robert MacIntyre pulled things together and did pretty well. Team Europe dominated behind Luke Donald's leadership and captured another home victory at Marco Simone in Italy.
Justin Rose kept Robert MacIntyre sane
The nerves were affecting the golfer so much that Justin Rose had to help him get it together. The veteran golfer had been there before.
He admitted that he was almost in tears walking off the range and said that Rose was instrumental:
"But when we had done all the TV cameras and all that, he comes over, put his arm around me and goes, 'everything is going to be alright, this will be over in two-and-a-half minutes'. He was brilliant - he's so experienced, he kept me calm, he trusted me, he believed in me."
He went on:
"Even though I was terrible on the greens on Friday, I think he [Rose] spoke to Luke (Donald) and said, 'he's close', and I felt that tee-to-green I was solid."
Things did not immediately turn around for Robert MacIntyre. The golfer struggled through to Saturday, where he finally had a chance to do it well. He said:
"I was never out of a hole or making a disaster, I was almost allowing him to be more aggressive because he was playing so good. Then Saturday, he just kept believing in me. I still had not made a putt for 12 holes, and I stood on 13 and he was trying to help me read the putt. I was like, 'Justin, it's alright. I got this one'. And once I holed that, he put his arm around me and that's what it's all about - we fight together."
It was that help and that camaraderie that Team Europe had, from Rory McIlroy to Nicolai Hojgaard, that led them to an impressive win over Team USA.