Robert MacIntyre enjoyed a hot start on Thursday at The British Open, emotionally and on the leaderboard.
The Scottish golfer’s frustrations with Royal Birkdale, a links course in Southport, England, finally boiled over on the 18th hole after he hooked his approach shot into the stands.
“Such a s–t golf hole, innit? It really is,” he said.
Despite the foul words, MacIntyre ended up saving par with a beautiful up-and-down to maintain his tie for third place.
The Scot has played impressively of late and continued the streak with four birdies, one bogey and 13 pars on Thursday.
He finished tied for third with six other golfers, including Americans Bryson DeChambeau and Alex Smalley, at -3.
Daniel Brown and Im Sung-jae round out the top of the leaderboard, at -4.
The Royal Birkdale has sparked controversy from golfers in the lead up to The Open for some of its holes, but not the 18th.
The 15th in particular has raised eyebrows as the downhill hill par 3 plays 241 yards, has a small landing zone, and plenty of trouble on either side of the green.
All of that combined with gusting winds is dangerous, though MacIntyre finished with a par.
The Scotsman’s hot mic moment might not seem like a big deal, but it’s another incident that will likely be used against him and his behavior.
MacIntyre was reprimanded during the 2026 Masters for sticking his middle finger towards the 15th green after a quadruple bogey.
“I know what I did isn’t the best way of me doing things, but I wear my heart on my sleeve,” MacIntyre told Sky Sports after the Masters.
“I’m trying my best to control the emotions — I work with someone back home. There was a lot going on and [I am] disappointed with that. I’m very good at putting things behind me, things that get said elsewhere don’t faze me.”
MacIntyre did not, however, apologize for the incident, saying he only listens to his family, friends and team, and they had not told him he was in the wrong yet.
The Scot has not apologized for the hot mic incident on Thursday at the time of publishing either.
