Robert MacIntyre, playing with special caddy, snatches RBC Canadian Open lead

Robert MacIntyre has not yet made a bogey midway through the RBC Canadian Open and walked off the golf course with a three-shot lead. He will enter the third round tied with Ryan Fox at 10-under par.

The Scotsman feels comfortable at Hamilton Golf & Country Club, parading around as if it were his home course in Oban.

But a part of home is with him this week. His father, Dougie, is caddying for MacIntyre, as the 26-year-old has rotated in and out of loopers in recent weeks.

“I’ve only been home really three weeks since January the 3rd, so I don’t get to see my dad much,” MacIntyre explained after his 4-under 66 on Friday.

“Obviously, I phoned him, an emergency phone call to come here last week. He jumped at the chance. It’s good just to spend an extra week with loved ones.”

Last month, MacIntyre admitted to feeling “lonely” on the PGA Tour, saying the camaraderie and the travel differed from the European DP World Tour. But that has not stopped him from playing well as of late. He tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, his best finish in a major since 2019.

He then missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge but has played magnificently thus far in Canada, relying heavily on his short game to soar to the top of the leaderboard. He ranks second in strokes gained putting and strokes gained: around the greens. He also ranks first in overall strokes gained.

And yet, MacIntyre, who finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the Genesis Scottish Open last summer, is not relying too heavily on his father.

“First time on the bag for a proper tournament. We’re just kind of learning on the run—well, he is, he’s learning on the run, and I’m trying to stay as calm as I can,” MacIntyre said.

Robert MacIntyre, with his father, during the second round of the 2024 RBC Canadian Open.

Photo by Jorge Lemus/Getty Images

“When I do miss a shot, I’m not trying to get too annoyed. Yeah, we’re just trying to have as much fun as we can.”

Despite Dougie’s inexperience on the bag, the father-son duo seems to be enjoying themselves out there. The younger MacIntyre admitted that the best part of the week is not his strong play but “spending 36 holes with his dad.”

“It’s cool. It’s something that he can always say he’s led a PGA Tour event at some point,” MacIntyre joked.

“What happens over the next two rounds, who knows. I’m going to go out there and do the same stuff, hit as many fairways as I can, hit as many good shots as I can, just keep doing the same stuff. As I keep saying, it’s not rocket science, it’s a golf course. It’s you versus it. I think I’ve done a good job so far.”

Jack Milko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation’s Playing Through. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @jack_milko as well.