Robert MacIntyre named European Tour Rookie of the Year
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Robert MacIntyre awarded the European Tour’s Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year Award after 11th place finish in Race to Dubai
Robert ‘Bob’ MacIntyre was awarded the Sir Henry Cotton Rookie of the Year award after an impressive break-out season on the European Tour that included three runner-up finishes and a T6 at The Open at Royal Portrush.
The 23-year-old from Oban was announced as the winner of the award after closing out his season with a final round three-under 69 at the DP World Tour Championship, which was good enough for a 14th place finish on six-under-par.
In total, MacIntyre had seven top 10s on the European Tour this season, and made 25 cuts in 30 tournaments, earning him an 11th place finish in the Race to Dubai.
“I’m absolutely delighted,” said MacIntyre.
“Halfway through the season when it became on the radar that we could win both awards, it’s something that we set out to do. Today we’ve finally achieved it and now I’m absolutely over the moon for it.
“I’ve enjoyed the battle. The last few weeks have been hard because I’ve been looking over my shoulder until last week when I got overtaken.
“But I could only control what I can control and that was putting some good golf shots on display and I finally managed to put in two good rounds this week to seal it off.
“This year is probably the best I’ve ever played and I’m going to go and enjoy it tonight.”
In addition to the award, MacIntyre also becomes the Challenge Tour Graduate of the year, and was quick to credit the Tour for making him the player he is.
“The Challenge Tour has made me the player I am today,” he said. “I’ve learned how to travel on my own. I’ve learned how to just spend time in my own company so it couldn’t be better.”
For MacIntyre, this is only the beginning, and he has his sights set on moving inside the World’s top 50.
“I’ve been shooting at the top 50 in the world for the last four or five weeks,” he said. “We’ve fallen just short but the season’s opened up doors for me, it’s opened up WGC events.
“Next year, if I continue to do what I’m doing on the golf course, then in my own head, it’s a matter of time.
“It opens doors for us now and we’re just going to keep shooting for the stars and see where we go.”
Other contenders for the award included Kurt Kitayama and Guido Migliozzi, who both won twice this season, but MacIntyre finished ahead of both players in the Race to Dubai standings.
