Robert MacIntyre has undergone somewhat of a reality check in his pursuit of success on the PGA Tour.
Having become one of the DP World Tour’s best players and proven himself on the Ryder Cup stage last year, the popular Scot is tackling the States and the differences between the two circuits are stark.
Speaking to members of the media from the Myrtle Beach Classic, MacIntyre described the insular nature of the PGA Tour compared with the DP World Tour which he likens to a “big family.”
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“It’s been wild, to be honest,” he said. “It’s completely different. When you’re on the European DP World Tour, it’s very friendly – Everyone is together. We’re all travelling the world. If we’re struggling with certain things, we speak to folk around us.
“Like everything is very familiar. You come out here to the PGA Tour, and it’s all so unfamiliar. There’s less chatting. There are less dinners. There’s less ‑ there’s just less of that big family feel that you get on the European Tour. It is what it is.
“You’ve got to get on with it. There are a lot of other things. New golf courses. Obviously Europe, I’ve played the majority of them now. Over here, they are pretty much all new, and then you’ve got the different grasses.
“Obviously not brought up playing a lot of Bermuda, grainy grass, pitching, putting. It’s just completely different. But it’s a learning curve.”
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When asked what the greatest positive was about moving to the PGA Tour, MacIntyre extensively paused for thought before admitting he hadn’t “really worked that one out yet.”
MacIntyre’s form in America in 2024 has been a mixed bag. He has missed six cuts and made six cuts, but has also placed in the top 10 at the Mexico Open and the Zurich Classic of New Orleans.
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The 27-year-old almost had his crowning moment last summer when Rory McIlroy stole the Genesis Scottish Open title from his grasp with a winning putt on the 72nd hole at Renaissance Club. Nonetheless, MacIntyre showed he could compete at the top of a stacked leaderboard and perform under intense pressure.
He showed this again with his performance at the 2023 Ryder Cup in Rome where he earned 2.5 points out of three matches, including a win over US Open champion Wyndham Clark in the singles.
The camaraderie and togetherness of Team Europe has long been touted as its greatest strength and a key reason for the continent’s dominance in the biennial matches against the USA. It is perhaps this camaraderie that MacIntyre is missing.
“It’s just basic stuff to be honest with you that you take for granted back home in Europe,” he added. “It’s just simple things. Sitting in player dining, you do it in Europe and you’ve got all the Scottish boys, you’ve got all the British boys.
“A lot of the European guys, if you’re sitting on you’re own, they will come and join you. Out here, because you don’t know many folk. You don’t know them in that same kind of depth, they don’t come to sit with you. It does become a lonely place at the golf side of it.
“Again, I keep coming back to, it’s part and parcel of what I’ve chosen and what I’m doing. I mean, I wouldn’t expect someone to come and sit with me.”
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