It’s one of the most treasured strips of tarmac in golf. Back in ye day, Magnolia Lane was a simple dirt track leading up to the Augusta National clubhouse until it was finally paved in 1947.
They don’t have to worry about potholes in this pristine golfing paradise. And if they did, legendary US commentator, Jim Nantz, would probably coo that they were a “depression unlike any other.”
The gentle trundle in a car up this 330-yard, tree-lined avenue tends to give those competing in the Masters the kind of multiplying chills that John Travolta used to gyrate along to.
We’re still not sure if Robert MacIntyre can shoogle his hips like the aforementioned Travolta but he certainly gets the feet tapping on his short Magnolia Lane journeys.
When he made his Masters debut in 2021, the Oban lefty had the jolly “teuchter music” of the Gunna Sound ceilidh band blasting away in his courtesy car.
This week, as he returned to the opening men’s major of the season for the first time since 2022, MacIntyre roused his spirits with a lively rendition by the Celtic rock group, Skerryvore.
If he wins the green jacket on Sunday, the Augusta high heid yins will be flying in the Massed Pipes and Drums from Argyll & Bute to play in the Butler Cabin.
There’s a lot to mull over ahead of the 89th staging of this Georgia showpiece.
Scottie Scheffler is aiming to become the first player since Tiger Woods in 2002 to win back-to-back titles and the only golfer after Jack Nicklaus in the mid-1960s to win three green jackets in four years.
Rory McIlroy will have another crack at the career grand slam while the indefatigable Bernhard Langer will wave auf wiedersehen after his 41st Masters appearance.
Golf’s civil war, between the establishment and the LIV rebellion, continues to provide rumblings of discontent in the background while the return to the field of the past Masters champion Angel Cabrera, after serving time in prison for domestic violence, has added a considerable sprinkling of contention and controversy to proceedings.
Amid all this, Scotland’s lone representative, MacIntyre, has arrived as a genuine contender and in fine fettle on the form front.
A series of sturdy displays in the Arnold Palmer Invitational, the Players Championship and the Singapore Classic kept him ticking along quite the thing while a pre-Masters training camp with his team in Florida recently, after some much-needed R&R back in Oban, has fine-tuned the various golfing cogs and pistons.
Having marked his Masters debut with a share of 12th in 2021, which was the best result by a Scot since Colin Montgomerie tied for 14th back in 2002, MacIntyre finished on the fringes of the top-20 the following year.
Missing the last two has been a real scunner, though. “It’s not been nice, especially when it’s your favourite place,” MacIntyre told the DP World Tour website. “But it makes you work harder at it.”
MacIntyre has certainly put in the hard yards and the rewards have been considerable. His double whammy of emotional wins at the Canadian and Scottish Opens last season was the first time a Scot had won two PGA Tour titles in the same season since Sandy Lyle in 1988.
Lyle, of course, won three that year including a trailblazing Masters. Golf’s most cherished blazer would fit quite nicely on MacIntyre’s broad shoulders.
“I know my good golf can compete with anyone,” said the confident 28-year-old, who certainly has plenty of weapons in his armoury for an assault on Augusta.
“I think it’s just the consistency of my game this year that has been a lot better. Driving, hitting more fairways, the percentages are up which makes life a lot easier in hitting the greens.
"All the stats snowball from that, although the putting has not been as good. Tee to green, though, the stats have been far, far better than last year."
MacIntyre, who has been grouped with Billy Horschel and Nick Dunlap for the opening two rounds, blasted so many birdies on his Masters debut he just about got a ticking off from the American Bird Conservancy. His haul of 21 was a tournament high.
"To do that at your first Masters isn’t normal so it’s good to know you can do it,” added the world No 17, who has three top-10s finishes in 15 major championship outings.
“I just have to go out there, minimise the mistakes, make the same amount of birdies and I’ll be there or thereabouts.”
Rather like MacIntyre’s drive up Magnolia Lane, it’s time for the rest of us to sit back and enjoy the Masters ride.
