Kyle Stanley fires back at Robert MacIntyre over ‘fore’ discussion

Kyle Stanley has fired back after Robert MacIntyre criticsed him for not shouting ‘fore’: “he left out quite a few details. I wouldn’t really say that was an accurate description of what happened.”

Kyle Stanley has said he was ‘surprised’ by comments made by Robert MacIntyre after the pair were involved in a discussion about shouting ‘fore’ on Friday, stating that the Scot ‘left out quite a few details.”

The pair were involved in a heated exchange after the left-handed Scot took it upon himself to call out his playing partner for failing to shout ‘fore’ twice during his second round at the Open Championship. 

MacIntyre had been angered when the two-time PGA Tour winner hit a marshal on the shin with a wayward drive on the 14th of Royal Portrush, and then failed to shout ‘fore’ as he sent another tee shot careering towards spectators on the 17th, this time striking caddie Greg Milne’s mother, Stephanie.

“I said I wasn’t happy,” MacIntyre had said, having then taken the issue up with Stanley. “He didn’t take it well at all. It wasn’t too pleasant. But you’ve got to tell them.”

But Kyle Stanley said he had explained both situations to MacIntyre when they talked, and questioned why he had decided to make such an issue of it while playing down the idea that it had been a ‘heated’ discussion.

“I saw what he said last night,” Stanley said after his third round. “The way things were kind of painted from his perspective wasn’t — he left out quite a few details. I wouldn’t really say that was an accurate description of what happened.

“I wouldn’t say heated. We talked about it briefly. I was surprised. I was caught off guard that it even came up, really. I just explained to him my side of it.”

Speaking to the press after a third round 73, Stanley says that it didn’t quite go down in the way MacIntyre had stated. 

“I hit a 5-wood left out of the rough and my caddie yelled “fore” about a second after it came off the club face,” Stanley said about the 14th hole. 

And on the 17th? The American says that while he didn’t shout fore, he felt that with the number of people who did, it was really a nonissue.

“I hit a ball right on 17 yesterday. You had a hard wind off the left. After I hit several people on the tee box yelled “fore.” My two playing partners, my caddie, a couple of the volunteers or the marshals, even had them signalling it was going right. I mean, everyone to the right of that ball, they knew it was coming.

“So to me it’s kind of a nonissue. I’m not really sure why he decided to make such an issue about it. I know it hit his caddie’s mom’s hands off the bounce, and that’s unfortunate.

“But as far as I’m concerned, a number of people yelled “fore.” He made the argument that since I hit the ball that it maybe should have come out of my mouth first. I guess I can see that.

“But it’s unfortunate it ended up the way it did. It certainly wasn’t my intention to put anyone in harm’s way. I had my wife in the gallery, my coaches. So I’m surprised it’s kind of come to this point.”

The incident comes just six weeks after the PGA Tour issued a memo to players, reminding them about warning spectators when there is a danger of hitting someone.