Masters star could see punishment for X-rated gesture on disaster hole | Golf | Sport

Bob MacIntyre was disgusted with his performance during a dreadful opening round at the Masters, as his lofty ambitions of claiming the Green Jacket were left in tatters at Augusta National. The Scotsman even thrust his middle finger toward the 15th hole following a catastrophic quadruple bogey, leaving him requiring a remarkable recovery simply to make the cut.

MacIntyre had been heavily fancied by punters ahead of the tournament after coming agonisingly close to glory at the Valero Texas Open last week, but having reached the fourth green at one under, his round fell apart spectacularly. He dropped a shot at the fifth before a double bogey at nine, and the fiery left-hander completely lost his composure at the iconic par-three 12th. He was incensed after his tee shot skipped over the back of the green, slamming his club against his bag before storming off after his ball.

He salvaged a par, yet his afternoon under the blazing Georgia sun went from bad to worse at the par-five 15th, finding the water twice and walking away with a nine on his scorecard. His face flushed with fury and the sweltering heat, MacIntyre looked ready to explode.

He now faces a likely reprimand from Augusta National’s officials after raising his middle finger in response to his collapse. The club is well known for quietly but firmly addressing such conduct from players.

The torment did not end there, as he dropped yet another shot at the 17th to finish the opening round in a tie for 82nd place at eight-over-par, before making a swift departure without addressing the waiting media. McIntyre was far from the only contender to struggle on Thursday.

Bryson DeChambeau took three attempts to escape a bunker on his way to a four-over-par 76, while 2023 Masters champion Jon Rahm faces a stern challenge to make the cut after carding a six-over-par 78. Just 16 players from the 91-man field finished under par for the day, which was dominated by Rory McIlroy and Sam Burns, who share the lead at five under.

Reigning champion McIlroy was not at his sharpest and struggled with accuracy off the tee, yet he managed six birdies while limiting the damage to just a single bogey to make an impressive start to his title defence. He said: “Honestly, I couldn’t have gotten a lot more out of my round. I feel like I leaned heavily on my experience out there to do that.

“My hope was to get off to a solid start. I feel like the way I played, five under, exceeded where I thought I would be or what I wanted to do. I think a fair score for me today would have been like two under, maybe, with some of the places I hit it.

“But again, I used my head, and I got up and down when I needed to. I didn’t compound mistakes. Again, that’s just a learning curve that you have to go through around here, and I did it well today.”