Trouble in paradise? Robert MacIntyre’s win at the 2024 Scottish Open has been the talk of town. MacIntyre won the tournament against runner-up Adam Scott with an eagle at the par-5 16th and a 22-foot birdie at the par-5 18th. While the golfer is very proud of his victory, the fans seem to feel otherwise. How so? Well, the story is a bit controversial.

Fans are coming forward with strong comments on Nuclear Golf’s post on X regarding MacIntyre’s recent win. In the clip, the golfer was seen practicing his swing before taking the winning shot at the Renaissance Club. He realized he was standing on a sprinkler. MacIntyre called his caddie, and after a discussion, he asked the officials for relief.

According to Rule 16.1 of the USGA, a player can ask for relief, if their gameplay is interfered with by any abnormal ground conditions. The rule says that interference is true when one of these conditions takes place during the game, “Your ball touches or is in or on an abnormal course condition, An abnormal course condition physically interferes with your area of intended stance or area of intended swing, or Only when your ball is on the putting green, an abnormal course condition on or off the putting green intervenes on your line of play.”

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To his luck, the officials allowed it. MacIntyre got to place the ball in a better place, which led to the winning eagle he shot at the par-5 16th hole. The 2024 Scottish Open winner himself said, “It was just a lucky break. You use the rules to get advantage. You stand on a sprinkler, you’re due relief,” referring to the benefit he got. MacIntyre may have won the trophy, but he failed to win the support of golf fans, who were almost mad at this win.

Fans comment on MacIntyre’s recent win

A recent post by Nuclear Golf on X has ignited the fire in the golf world like never before. Fans got mad at the golfer and called the win ‘blatant cheating, among other things. One user addressed the obvious holding MacIntyre accountable for his decision to use the relief rule and asked, “How can you be standing that far away from your ball taking practice swings, feel a sprinkler head under your front foot and it still be standing on it when you address your ball?”.

In the video posted on X, fans could see the golfer clearing out the grass using his club where he was standing, and one user pointed it out by writing, “I disagree he didn’t see the sprinkler head until after his swing. Where he cleared out enough grass.”

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🚨💋🏌🏼‍♂️ #WATCH — The full video of Robert MacIntyre’s free drop which lead to his win at the Scottish Open: “It was just a lucky break. You use the rules to get advantage. You stand on a sprinkler, you’re due relief. That was just the one kiss I needed.”

pic.twitter.com/IgFn7kSxCx

— NUCLR GOLF (@NUCLRGOLF) July 15, 2024

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While some fans believe that MacIntyre should have noticed the obstacle before addressing the ball and have commented on that, others are completely merciless. One user commented, “Borderline if not blatant cheating.”

While the other added fuel to the fire by saying, “Cheat for the WIN.” One fan expressed their sorrow for the Australian runner-up and wrote, “Practice swing ‘ hmmmmm feel for Adam Scott.” Adam Scott fans were excited to see their favorite end a four-year drought at the Scottish Open, but the golfer finished at 17 under par and lost the trophy to the Scotsman.

Luckily, MacIntyre had quite a few voices from the golf industry speaking in his favor and congratulating him on the win. In a press conference with the Open Championship, Brian Harman came forward with compliments for the Scotsman. Harman said, “I think he’s — obviously his game speaks for itself. He’s doing great”.

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That’s not all, the Scottish Open competitor, Ludvig Aberg, who finished at T4, also talked about MacIntyre’s win. When asked what he thinks about MacIntyre’s gameplay and if he can win again, Aberg said, “Yes, he won yesterday, so I definitely think he can win again. Fair play to Bob yesterday, he did it tremendously.”

While Robert MacIntyre may have managed to win the 2024 Scottish Open, do you think he can keep up his performance at the last major of the season as well? Let us know in the comment section below!