Canadian Open: Robert MacIntyre takes the lead with custom caddie bag

Robert MacIntyre is bogey-free at the halfway point of the RBC Canadian Open and walks off the golf course with a three-shot lead. He will enter the third round tied with Ryan Fox at 10 under.

The Scotsman felt as comfortable at Hamilton Golf and Country Club as if it were his home course in Auburn.

But he returned home this week. His father, Dougie, served as McIntyre’s caddie as the 26-year-old has been playing in recent weeks.

“I’ve only been home for three weeks really, since January 3rd, so I haven’t seen my dad very much,” McIntyre explained after shooting a 4-under 66 on Friday.

“Obviously, I called him last week and asked him urgently to come over. He jumped at the chance. It was great to be able to spend an extra week with his family.”

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Last month, McIntyre admitted to feeling “lonely” on the PGA Tour, saying the friendships and travel there were different from those on the European DP World Tour. But that hasn’t stopped his recent stellar performances. He tied for eighth at the PGA Championship, his best finish in a major since 2019.

He then missed the cut at the Charles Schwab Challenge, but has been playing very well so far in Canada, where he has rocketed to the top of the leaderboard, mainly relying on his short game. He is second in strokes gained putting and around greens. He is also first in total strokes gained.

However, McIntyre, who finished runner-up to Rory McIlroy at the Genesis Open in Scotland last summer, doesn’t rely too much on his father.

“First time playing defense in an official game. We were just learning on the run — well, he was learning on the run, too, and I tried to stay calm,” McIntyre said.

Photograph: Jorge Lemus/Getty Images

“I don’t get too mad when I miss a shot. Yeah, we’re just trying to have as much fun as possible.”

Despite Doug’s inexperience at the game, the father-son duo seemed to have a lot of fun, with McIntyre admitting that the best part of the week wasn’t his performance, but “playing 36 holes with my dad.”

“It’s cool. He can always say he led a PGA Tour event at some point,” McIntyre joked.

“What’s going to happen over the next two rounds, who knows. I’m going to go out there and do the same thing, hit as many shots as I can, hit as many good shots as I can, and keep doing the same thing. Like I say all the time, it’s not rocket science, it’s the golf course. It’s your battle against it. I think I’ve done a good job so far.”

Jack Milko is SB Nation’s Playing Through golf columnist. Be sure to check out @_PlayingThrough for more golf coverage. You can follow him on Twitter @JackMilco Same here.