Robert MacIntyre scores huge free drop en route to eagle, birdies end up winning Scottish Open

Behind Adam Scott by two shots on the par-5 16th^th At the Genesis Scottish Open, Robert MacIntyre hit his tee shot into incredibly thick heather in the right rough.

On his second practice swing, he hit a huge clump of grass. He also discovered he was standing on a sprinkler head.

MacIntyre got a free drop – at a much more advantageous angle – and then hit a 6-iron nearly 250 yards to within 6 feet of the hole.

“I’m screaming and swearing as I approach the ball because I know this is my chance to make birdie. I approach the ball, I look at it and I think I’m in trouble. I might be able to move it a hundred yards,” MacIntyre said after his round.

“As I took a step back, I realized there was no high rough where the club could get tangled. So I was able to take the practice swing, about a foot away from the ball, and just a step back. I just heard a thud; I have spikes on the front three of my shoes, not on my shoe as spikes, but just on the front three spikes as metal spikes, and I was like, no way. I have a sprinkler under my foot. Obviously, the plastic spikes on the back, you don’t feel them.

“And I said to Mike (his caddie), ‘When I get to the golf ball, do I stand on that sprinkler?’

“And he laughed at me and said, ‘Yeah, yeah.’ It was just a stroke of luck. You use the rules to get an advantage. You stand on a sprinkler, you get relief. It was exactly the kiss I needed.”

The Scot, who said it was the event he most wanted to win, holed an eagle putt to draw level with the Australian for the lead.

Scott, playing early, parred his final hole for a 67 and was at 17 under, with MacIntyre having two holes to play.

The 27-year-old, cheered on by a raucous crowd, holed a 5-foot putt for par on the 17th hole and then birdied the final hole, his putt dropping into the hole on its final revolution from 22 feet, for a thrilling victory.