Robert MacIntyre really let himself down last week at Augusta National.
MacIntyre is a fiery character but that is no excuse for his behavior at Augusta National during the first round of The Masters.
The 29-year-old Scot endured a horror first round and ended up signing for an eight-over-par 80.
MacIntyre flipped up his middle finger in the direction of the cameras after finding the water on the 15th hole at Augusta National on day one of The Masters last week.
He was also seen smashing his club into the ground on the 14th and 17th holes.
MacIntyre was given a dressing down by Masters officials after his petulant behavior.
He went on to miss the cut, unsurprisingly.
However, the Scot could still receive a very strong punishment from Augusta National, according to one of the most well-known player agents in the game.
Robert MacIntyre at risk of being banned from the Masters and fined
MacIntyre was walking on thin ice at Augusta National last week.
Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler, the former agent of Rory McIlroy, told ACTION how MacIntyre’s behavior last week was simply unacceptable.
“He’ll need to win every week to cover the fines he should be getting,“ Chandler said.
“Augusta could fine him five grand or a hundred grand. You wouldn’t know.
“But he’ll have been taken to one side, and somebody will have given him some very stern words, which are better than any fine.
“It might have gone something like, ‘listen, young Mr. MacIntyre, if you behave like that again, you’ll find your invitation won’t be turning up next year.’
“Because everybody gets invited. Even though you qualify to play, everybody gets invited. He’s just got to stop that. It’s ugly, isn’t it?
“He could have his invitation to next year’s Masters void because they’ve been known to do that before.“
That’s absolutely spot on.
MacIntyre’s ugly behavior was certainly not befitting of a Tour player who is idolized by so many young fans.
Robert MacIntyre going through what Lee Westwood went through
Chandler has managed Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke throughout pretty much their entire careers in the game.
He highlighted how MacIntyre is now experiencing exactly what the Englishman and the Northern Irishman went through.
“Bob is going through what Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke went through when they suddenly got thrust into a limelight where they’ve got a chance to win the Masters or a major,“ he said.
“I remember when the Open was at Birkdale in 2006, Lee was favourite for the Open.
“I remember thinking, ‘How ridiculous is that?’ He went to his major now, instead of thinking, ‘good, we could finish high up.’ Now it’s, ‘I’ve got a chance to win this.’“
It has to be said that MacIntyre isn’t quite at that level yet, where he is expected to win major championships.
He may well chalk one or two off within the next few years, but he’s certainly not entering the biggest tournaments as one of the favorites to win them.
Also, without being pernickety, The Open Championship wasn’t even held at Royal Birkdale in 2006…just saying!
