AUGUSTA, Ga. — A moment of pure frustration at Augusta National has put Scottish golfer Robert MacIntyre in hot water both literally and figuratively during Thursday’s opening round of the Masters Tournament.
MacIntyre displayed his middle finger toward the course after watching his approach shot find the water hazard fronting the 15th green. Standing at 3-over-par at the time, the Scottish player’s troubles were just beginning. His next attempt from the drop zone suffered the same watery fate, spinning backward off the firm green surface.
The disastrous sequence resulted in a quadruple-bogey 9, pushing MacIntyre to 7-over for the tournament. Additional struggles on the 17th hole with another bogey left him at 8-over 80 for the day. His woes continued into Friday’s second round with a double-bogey on the opening hole, placing him at 10-over and well outside the projected cut line.
Tournament officials may review MacIntyre’s gesture for possible disciplinary measures, as such conduct violates professional golf’s standards of sportsmanship.
The 15th hole, typically among Augusta National’s more manageable scoring opportunities, proved treacherous for multiple players due to exceptionally dry and firm course conditions. Thursday’s field averaged 74.65 strokes, with the par-5 15th playing to a 5.12 average — the only par-5 to play above par.
Patrick Reed experienced similar misfortune when his well-struck 7-wood approach bounced off the green and rolled into the water near the 16th hole. Reed attributed the outcome to unfortunate bounces on the concrete-hard putting surface. Gary Woodland narrowly avoided disaster, watching his second shot roll dangerously close to the same watery grave.
Veteran Fred Couples endured perhaps the day’s most painful experience at the 15th. Sitting comfortably at 2-under and inside the top-10, Couples watched in disbelief as two consecutive approach shots rolled back into the hazard, matching MacIntyre’s quadruple-bogey 9. A subsequent double-bogey on 16 contributed to his 78.
“I’ve played I don’t know how many rounds. I’ve never done that, hit it in the water going for the green. Never hit a 90-yard shot in the water and then followed up with another one,” Couples explained. “I’ve played 41 years here. I’ve never done that.”
“It was kind of like a shot I can handle, but I wasn’t even trying to handle it. I was just trying to hit it 30 feet right. No one is going to hit it in there five feet I don’t think. The greens are like concrete. The course was really, really good.”
Adam Scott also found the water with his 15th-hole approach but demonstrated better course management. Rather than dropping in the same location, Scott utilized the designated drop area forward of the hazard, pitched to the back portion of the green, and limited the damage to a single bogey.
