MacIntyre spoken to by official after drone fury at Carnoustie
Robert MacIntyre was spoken to by a DP World Tour rules official after an angry clash over broadcast drones at the Dunhill Links Championship.
The defending champion said the drones used for television pictures "drives me insane" after he opened with a one-under-par round at Carnoustie on Thursday, 1 October, BBC reported. He was not happy. Defending a title brings extra eyes and extra noise, and MacIntyre felt he got too much of both.
He signed for one under after dropping a shot at the par-four ninth, his 18th hole of the day. In golf, one under means one shot fewer than the course standard. A dropped shot means a bogey, one over par for the hole. It was a sour finish to a round that had promised a little more.
The real flashpoint came one hole earlier. MacIntyre said he asked the official twice about the drone before playing his shot on the eighth. He wanted it moved. He felt it was too close, too loud and impossible to ignore while trying to swing.
He said he stepped off the shot on the eighth, which means he backed away from the ball just before playing. He said he did the same before a putt on the 18th because a drone hovered overhead. Stepping off is rare. Players do it only when something breaks their focus completely, because it breaks the rhythm of the routine they work so hard to keep.
The Scot admitted officials heard him swear at the camera operator. He said the tournament director may speak to him about his language. That conversation is still to come, and MacIntyre made no attempt to hide what he had said.
It left a strange taste at the start of his title defence. He arrived as the man to beat after winning the event last year. He leaves Carnoustie in the middle of the pack rather than out in front, with work to do over the next two days.
He is scheduled to play Kingsbarns on Friday and St Andrews on Saturday as the tournament works through its three-course rotation. The field shares its opening three rounds across Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews before returning for the final round.
For fans, this means more than a moan about noise. Golf is played in near silence at the ball, then at full speed in the swing. A buzz from above cuts straight through that quiet. On a testing links, where wind and firm turf already punish a loose shot, that split second of doubt can cost a shot. MacIntyre felt it cost him his calm.
