Exclusive:'Amazing' Bob MacIntyre's buddy relationship helps 21y/o achieve Open dream

The 21-year-old Royal Burgess player secured his spot in the Claret Jug event by winning The Open Amateur Series, emulating Calum Scott, who went on to claim the Silver Medal for the leading amateur in last year’s event at Royal Troon.

Adam won the St Andrews Links Trophy, the first of three tournaments in the battle for a coveted spot in the world’s oldest major, before then failing to make the match-play phase of The Amateur Championship at Royal St George’s.

It was mission accomplished, though, after he recorded a top-ten finish in the European Amateur Championship at Vasatorps in Sweden on Saturday to top the points table ahead of Finland’s Sakke Siltala and fellow Scot Niall Shiels Donegan.

“I didn’t make it easy after my week down at The Amateur, but it was good to get it done out in Sweden,” Adam told The Scotsman. “All of it was really pleasing, to be honest. The first day was so hard just trying to keep it together to give myself a chance when the weather broke a bit. Yeah, it was a great week on a great course.”

Adam, the 2023 Scottish Amateur champion, has secured his major debut after coming to the end of a four-year stint at the University of Northwestern in Illinois and is hoping to play in the Walker Cup in California in September before embarking on a professional career.

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“It’s a bonus, 100 per cent,” he added of his dream opportunity. “You enter qualifying every year with the aim of trying to get in, but it is definitely a massive bonus at this stage of my career and I am massively excited about it.

“I’ve never been to Portrush. In fact, my first time playing in Ireland was at Ballyliffin last year for The Amateur Championship. It will be a nice little second trip across to Ireland.”

Nairn man Scott, who has just started his professional career, beat 11 players to win the Silver Medal in last year’s event, becoming the first Scot to land the honour since Sam Locke at Carnoustie in 2018.

“That’s my goal,” admitted Adam. “As much as it is a cool experience and a great opportunity, I believe I can go there and compete, especially for that Silver Medal. Yeah, it is business first.”

MacIntyre was the sole Scot in The Masters, PGA Championship and US Open and, while delighted to be joining him on this occasion, Adam is hoping a few more players will be flying the Saltire on the County Antrim coast in a fortnight’s time.

“Look, I’m sure we would love to have a lot more Scottish players in the field,” he said. “It would be great for Scottish golf if that was the case, but it’s exciting for me to be the second Scottish name on that tee sheet beside Bob, especially after he’s done so much the last couple of years. At the same time, though, I’ll be trying to focus on my own tournament over there first and foremost.”

Adam’s mentorship from MacIntyre has been through the Stephen Gallacher Foundation and Bounce Sport, which not only manages MacIntyre but also Calum Hill, Grant Forrest and Stephen Gallacher among others.

“Bob has been great with me,” declared Stephen Gallacher Foundation ambassdor Adam, an Edinburgh man who now lives in Fife. “We message back and forth. He’s helped me out a little bit the last couple of years. Hopefully we can get a practice round together and I can learn some more from him. He’s been amazing to me and it’s great what he’s been doing with me.”

Though Adam no longer needs to take part in Tuesday’s Open Final Qualifying at Dundonald Links, he’ll be watching the scores to see how a Royal Burgess clubmate and Northwestern team-mate gets on in the 36-hole shoot-out for five spots. “Archie Finnie is down at Dundonald, so I will be keeping a close eye on him,” he said.

Adam will be on Scotland duty the week before The Open when he joins forces with Shiels Donegan, Andrew Davidson, Alexander Farmer, Connor Graham and Gregor Tait at the European Men’s Team Championship B Division in Hungary. When he steps on to the first tee at Royal Portrush, though, he’ll be flying the flag for Royal Burgess.

“The club has been amazing and I am super proud to represent the club,” he said of the historic Barnton club, where he has played the bulk of his golf coming through the amateur ranks. “It is a great club and they have done a lot for me, so I am excited to wear the logo at The Open and going forward as well.”

As for who’ll be cheering him from outside the ropes in Northern Ireland, he admitted: “It’s been a mad scramble for tickets and accommodation, but it’s a welcome scramble. Everyone is excited for it.”

And rightly so!