Robert McIntyre vividly remembers watching the 2013 Wimbledon final, where every stroke mattered as Novak Djokovic and Andy Murray, the latter of whom McIntyre called Scotland's “sporting idol,” battled it out for the world to enjoy on the famous Centre Court grass.
But unlike his 2012 Wimbledon Championship loss to Roger Federer, Murray beat Djokovic and the current world number one player with a record 24 major titles.
So when Murray won in the third set to become the first British player to win Wimbledon since 1936, ending a 77-year drought, MacIntyre and his father celebrated with gusto. They may not have celebrated as much as they did after this year's RBC Canadian Open, and nothing could compare to the pomp they felt after their Genesis Scottish Open victory, but the MacIntyres felt great national pride, and rightly so: a Scotsman had achieved international glory, something not achieved since before World War II.
Now, 11 years after that incredible victory, MacIntyre faced Murray in Wednesday's pro-am ahead of this week's BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth, just 23 miles west of Wimbledon.
The two Scottish stars spoke throughout the day, with MacIntyre asking Murray about his competitive spirit, his ambitions and the three major championships he hopes to win one day.
“Obviously, it works very differently,” McIntyre said.
“But we're individuals. We have our own team. That's the closest thing we have to the game of golf.”
Indeed, tennis and golf have a lot in common. Both sports have four major championships that rank them above the other. Both are individual sports, where a ball is hit with a club or racquet. Both generate a lot of tension.
“I was pretty nervous,” Murray admitted.
“I didn't have much feeling in my arms and legs. I hadn't even hit a ball on the range. Yeah, I had feeling. But it just got better. As the rounds went on, it got better.”
Murray, who has a seven-handicap, hopes to eventually become a scratch player, but now that he's retired from professional tennis, that goal suddenly seems more achievable, especially with more time to practice his 50- to 80-yard shots, which he calls “really hard.”
When asked how long it would take for his handicap index to reach zero, Murray replied: “Probably a few years.”
“I practice a lot more than the average person. I played a little bit when I was younger, but I think if I take the right lessons and practice the right things, I have a chance to be there in two or three years. Can you tell if the lessons made a big difference? That's been the most important thing for me. I used to go to the range and hit a lot of balls, and I hit some good balls, but if there's a fundamental flaw in your swing or what you're doing, it doesn't matter how many balls you hit on the range. So taking lessons and practicing those things helps.”
Though Murray wouldn't admit it, he learned a lot from watching MacIntyre in action at Wentworth, as anyone who watches a player of his calibre would.
Interestingly, like MacIntyre at the Canadian Open, Murray instructed his father to hit some looping shots on Wednesday, but Murray was so engrossed in MacIntyre's play that he repeatedly forgot to hand his son a club. Murray later said his father would likely be “fired” after the performance, a stark departure from what the MacIntyre family experienced in early June.
Nevertheless, the respect these two Scots have for each other is extraordinary and something the whole of Scotland should be proud of.
“Honestly, if I can achieve even half of what he's achieved in the sport, it will be more than I could hope for,” MacIntyre said of Murray.
“When a Scottish person does well, the whole of Scotland cheers for them. And so do I. When he won Wimbledon, I watched every shot. I'd love to have half the career he has in my sport, but it takes a lot of work.”
Jack Mirko is a golf staff writer for SB Nation Playing Through. Follow For more golf articles, follow us on Twitter Jack Mirko In the same way.
