The Round Table: Bobby Mac battles nerves and drones at the RBC Canadian Open

Each week we ask our panel of writers, PGA members and golf industry experts to weigh in with their views on the hot topics of the day.

With his father Dougie on the bag, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre won the RBC Canadian Open on Sunday for his first PGA Tour win. Bobby Mac started the day with a four shot lead and even though he was tied momentarily by Mackenzie Hughes, he never relinquished the lead and ultimately closed out American Ben Griffin with a solid par on the final hole to win by one. What was your take on MacIntyre’s win and the Canadian Open in general?

Jim Deeks, Fairways Magazine (@jimdeeks): Isn’t almost every kid’s dream to win a big tournament with your dad by your side? Certainly put a lump in my throat.  A surprising victory, for sure, but I give MacIntyre full credit for hanging in and hanging on through very intense pressure.  It was also great to see two Canadians hovering right into the depth of the back nine.  The CBS television coverage was fair, once the CBS announcers came on-air; prior to that it was very scattered and sounded more like coverage of the Utah State Boys’ Amateur.  The Ancaster course looked good, and tough, even though there were a LOT of low-to-mid 60s rounds.  I guess we just have to come to grips with the reality that today’s pros can tame whatever conditions you throw at them.

Michael Schurman, Master Professional / Hall of Fame Member, PGA of Canada: First, I want to say the course was gorgeous. The renovations are fantastic, especially the bunkers! The tree removal has paid off and the course displayed as one of the best I have ever seen. What a romantic story! MacIntyre played like a rookie winning for the first time. He did some amazing things and some shaky things but eventually, he did what winners do. He shot the lowest score.

TJ Rule, Golf Away Tours (@GolfAwayTJ): It was a successful week again for Golf Canada.  The course was spectacular, they lucked out with weather given our wet spring in Southern Ontario, and it came right down to the last hole with a few bigger names making themselves visible on the last 9 holes.  It was nice to see Bobby Mac hold on to win.  He got a bit of flack for being one of the weaker players on the Ryder Cup in Italy last year, and he had yet to win on any big Tour, so this was a big win for him to validate his position in the world of golf.  And to do it with your dad on the bag?  Amazing.

Hal Quinn, Freelance Writer, Vancouver: With the endless LIV crap, the petulant multi-millionaires’ whinings, and then Rory hiring Eldrick’s divorce lawyer and a guy to serve the divorce papers, golf desperately needed a feel-good story. Oh Canada! Sergeant Preston, his stand ins actually, to the rescue! It was brilliant. A terrific golf course —played it before the renos, loved it then — held up and invited drama.  The champ and his dad hugging on the 18th could not have been scripted better. Rory playing great on the weekend, and cheering his Ryder Cup mate MacIntyre on, bodes well for RBC signing up for another go. Canadian Open, eh? Might survive.

Peter Mumford, Fairways Magazine (@FairwaysMag): Good for Bobby Mac. He was steady when it mattered most and very touching to have his dad there to help and share the win. I liked the look of the changes at Hamilton but not sure the course played any tougher than previous years based on the scores.

For a while on Sunday, MacIntyre was visibly disturbed by the noise and proximity of a drone. He complained to a Rules official and asked that it back off, but it happened several times. Are players within their rights to ask that drones be moved farther away or is this just something they’re going to have to get used to? 

Deeks: I’d say, both.  It must be very off-putting to have a buzz going on ten feet over your head when you’re addressing the ball.  That said, you’re in the entertainment business, drones are an integral part of the quality of the broadcast nowadays, and while the operators should try their best to keep their distance, you’re gonna have to get used to it, guys.

Schurman: The first time I attended a PGA Tour event when there was a Good Year blimp was at Bay Hill. I couldn’t believe the racket. How could anyone enjoy the peace of a competition in a natural setting? The blimp might be becoming obsolete so I’m getting what I wished for. Little did I know the effect might be worse. Engineers/pilots will learn how to locate drones. It can’t be easy to consider heights, wind, angles, location of the sun, noise, playing concerns etc. and future designs might be quieter.

Rule: It’s something that players are going to have to get used to, and it was a shame there was no wind or other background noise, so the drones can be a bit loud.  But if you’re going to be in the last group on Sunday of a Tour event, you better get used to dealing with some noise and distractions.  It’s all about the presentation of the tournament to the fans, and drones are a necessary evil.

Quinn: Last summer, the next-door neighbour decided that drone images of his place would help its sale. Consecutive Saturdays our family’s afternoon backyard gatherings were disturbed, disrupted even, as the dogs went nuts and the infants went into bawling mode. It was loud. And the neighbour’s drone was a heck of a lot higher flying than the CBS version that pissed off MacIntyre. No one, other than Putin, should have to get used to that. Great camera technology has to be matched by muffler advancement or ground it.

Mumford: Is MacIntyre related to Colin Montgomerie? He certainly displayed some of the older Scot’s annoyance at any and all distractions. I suppose it’s understandable that a young pro trying for his first PGA Tour win is going to be on edge. Hard to tell how close the drones got but now presumably there will be guidelines about their proximity.

Over on the women’s side, the U.S. Women’s Open was held at Lancaster Country Club in Pennsylvania. 22-year-old Yuka Saso won the major for the second time but perhaps the biggest story of the tournament was the severity of the golf course, which caused many of the big-name players to miss the cut including World #1 Nelly Korda, defending champion Allisen Korpuz, Brooke Henderson, Lydia Ko, Rose Zhang, Maya Stark, Leona Maguire, Patty Tavatanakit and many others. In the end, only two players finished under par. It has been called “the disaster at Lancaster”. Did the USGA err in setting up the course this way?

Deeks: Not in my opinion.  I love to see majors separate themselves from the rest of the season’s events by being a greater challenge.  It separates the, er, men from the boys. Sorry we didn’t get to see the big names on the weekend, but good on ya Yuka Saso and Hinako Shibuno.  I was also struck by the fact that aside from Ally Ewing and Andrea Lee (two lesser-known Americans, who finished T-3), there wasn’t ONE other US-born player in the top 30. Notwithstanding Nelly Korda’s amazing string, the US dominance of ladies golf is clearly evaporating.

Schurman: This is a major! The course is supposed to be difficult. The demand for the players is what I enjoy. Instead of the media blasting the USGA for a job well done, why don’t they call it “The Triumph at Lancaster”? If we saw more courses like this for Tour events, we might begin to believe the future of the game isn’t so bleak due to all the technology.

Rule: Doesn’t the USGA try to make the winning score even par at every US Open?  I know it isn’t always the case for the Women’s US Open, but the winning scores in the past have still been single digit under par and sometimes very close to even, so by that metric, they nailed it.  It was certainly tough, and some could argue the 12th hole in particular was a bit unfair, but overall it seemed the scores were in line with what they typically aim for.  It was a shame to not see some of the top names on the leaderboard on the weekend.

Quinn: The USGA blows it every couple of years, on both the men’s and women’s side. Lancaster was right on schedule. This is supposed to be the showcase for women’s golf, but having the marquee players as no shows on the weekend is just board room egomania. Saso won. Who, outside her immediate family, cares?

Mumford: The USGA presumably got what they wanted: a score close to par. Unfortunately, this style of course set-up doesn’t yield the most entertaining type of golf. It favours steady plodders over big game players that hit bombs and make birdies. The U.S. Open is all about not making mistakes and while golf fans can sometimes appreciate the artistry in that, it can also be like watching paint dry. The lack of name players on the leaderboard further eroded its watchability. I’d give the USGA a D-minus for this one.