Fresh from his first PGA Tour win at the RBC Canadian Open, Scotland's Robert MacIntyre has explained why he will not be taking his place at the penultimate Signature Event of the season this week.
Days on from a fascinating tournament at Hamilton Country Club - in which MacIntyre triumphed by a single stroke - the Memorial Tournament hosted by Jack Nicklaus is next on the PGA Tour calendar, an event which offers up a significant increase in prize money ($20 million compared to $9.4m last week) and FedEx Cup points to a regular week.
In the aftermath of the 27-year-old's success last Sunday, the Ryder Cup winner stated he was going home to have a big party instead of turning his attention to what would have been a seventh week of golf in a row.
Speaking on Wednesday, MacIntyre revealed he did not celebrate too much at all and simply returned back to his home in Oban, Scotland to be surrounded by "people that really matter" to him. He also went on to explain his decision not to play the Memorial in greater detail.
MacIntyre said: “I actually miscounted the tournaments that I’d played when I did a press conference last week. That was actually week six, and it’s been a good six weeks.
“The mental aspect of that six-week stretch was high, and then obviously winning last week was an even bigger high. So if I played Memorial, the US Open, and the Travelers [Championship], that would have been nine weeks in a row. Not many players would play nine weeks in a row, except probably me, the madman."
Despite MacIntyre's withdrawal, The Memorial will remain a 70-man tournament after Davis Thompson was included in place of the Scot via the Aon Swing 5.
Continuing the defence of his decision, MacIntyre pointed to the fact he is resting ahead of a Major the following week.
He said: “There was no disrespect [intended] for Jack’s event. This was all about what was right for me.
“I mean, the fifth week, Colonial, I thought that was even a step too far after having obviously been in with a chance to win at Myrtle Beach, having an outside chance at the PGA Championship.
“So me and my team, we just thought it was the right thing to pull back, have a week off. It could have been any event. Yes, I get that it’s an elevated event, and it’s $20 million or whatever it is. But does preparing right for the US Open not show ambition? That’s for you to decide.”
