ROBERT MacINTYRE is bidding to become the first Scot to win a golf major in over 25 years at the Masters.
And he’s relying on an antique piece to help him do it.
The Oban lefty is Scotland’s only hope at the Masters this year but he heads to Augusta National in fine form.
MacIntyre, 28, is ranked 17th in the world and has four top-12 finishes in his last five events.
The last Scot to win a major was Paul Lawrie in 1999 at The Open, with Sandy Lyle the only Scot to have earned a green jacket, doing so back in 1988.
But while fans obsess over the latest equipment and what’s in the bag of their favourite golfers, one of the clubs MacIntyre will be using this week wouldn’t have looked out of place back when Lawrie was lifting the Claret Jug at the turn of the century.
MacIntyre is putting his trust in an old Taylormade Aeroburner 3-wood – a club that is now TEN years old.
The club has had an on-off relationship with MacIntyre and isn’t a constant presence in his bag.
But it WILL be part of his arsenal for the week ahead at Augusta, as something of a secret weapon.
MacIntyre spoke about the club when he made his DP World Tour debut in 2019.
And his feelings now echo those from back then: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.
He said: “If something’s working then I won’t change it.
“The new stuff is out but I’ve not got it yet.
“If I’m more controlled with something why would I change it?” he explained.
“Even from a young age the driver that I wanted wasn’t available.
“I’m still using the TaylorMade Aeroburner 3-wood that I’ve had since I was 17. They just can’t get me out of it.
“I find 3-woods and putters really hard to find.
“When I first got the Aeroburner I couldn’t hit it and it was in my garage for two years, then I decided that I needed something less spinny and from 280 yards if I have a go at one and hit it good then it will get there.
“If I mishit it, it still goes, if I mishit others they just spin too much. Hopefully it will be useful for me.”
MacIntyre enjoyed a breakthrough year on the PGA Tour last season, showing he could mix it with the best on his way to pocketing over £4m in prize money.
He won his maiden title on the circuit at the Canadian Open in June 2024, recording an emotional victory with his dad Dougie as his emergency caddie (the pair reunited for the par-3 contest at Augusta this week).
And a month later he made history by winning the Scottish Open on home soil, a victory made all the sweeter given how he was pipped at the post by Rory McIlroy the year prior.
McIlroy is aiming to complete the career grand slam this week and is making his 17th appearance at the famous Georgia venue.
MacIntyre is teeing it up for just the third time but has finished in the top-25 on both tries.
And he looks to previous successful lefty champions Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson as inspirations.
Speaking of the benefits of being left-handed at Augusta, MacIntyre said: “I think it’s just the shot shape and having to move it both ways.
“I predominantly fade it for a left-hander, which with the modern equipment is a lot easier.
“The tougher holes and a few of the funky holes set up nicely for a lefty for a mishit.
“To do that [make 21 birdies] at your first Masters isn’t normal.
“So you know you can do that.
“You just have to go and minimise the mistakes, make the same amount of birdies and you’ll be there or thereabouts.”
MacIntyre has also picked the brains of the only other Scot to have won at Augusta, hoping for that extra edge.
MacIntyre revealed: “He always told me about certain shots.
“I message him quite often to be honest and have learned a lot.
“You have got to learn from these people that have done it before.”
Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page