SCOTS golfer Robert MacIntyre has been pictured pretending to tee off with a shinty stick ahead of his next golfing championship.
MacIntyre shared the image on Twitter on Monday (SEP 27) ahead of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship on Thursday (SEP 30).
The photo shows the pro golfer paying homage to his highland roots, holding a wooden shinty stick whilst practicing at the driving range ahead of the competition.
The shinty stick, otherwise known as a caman, is wrapped with green and white tape, in theme with MacIntyre’s home team, Oban Celtic.
The 25-year-old recently rekindled his love for Scotland’s national sport after missing out on a spot in the European team for the Ryder Cup.
The golf pro made the most of his return on Saturday (25 SEP) as he bagged a goal in his side’s eight nil victory over Aberdour.
Despite having placed 12th in The Masters and 8th in The Open, the left-handed golfer still returns to indulge in the sport whenever possible.
MacIntyre shared the photo to Twitter yesterday (MON), writing: “I forgot what I was doing for a minute…”
The post has now collected over 1,900 likes and dozens of comments and retweets from fans.
Johnny Mitchell wrote: “#NeverForgetYourRootsLad! Came back to Fort William to visit my mates and my Kilmalie boys were saying you still play, that’s classic, but can’t imagine your sponsors are too thrilled.”
Sean Zak said: “Robert MacIntyre, long thought to be a potential captain’s pick by Padraig Harrington, was playing a game called shinty this weekend.
“I don’t know what it is but it looks awesome.”
David Begg wrote: “If you are wondering what those who just missed out on #RyderCup selection are doing, @robert1lefty has just scored for #ObanCeltic in a #shinty match at #SilverSands against Aberdour. Bob’s side are doing rather better than #Europe.”
@FinMorrison replied: “Had to do a double-take reading those shinty results on Saturday!”
Using shinty as an escape from the hectic sporting calendar, the popular left-hander has turned his focus back to golf and will take part in his first golf tournament since the start of September.
Away from the green, MacIntyre turned out for Oban Celtic on Saturday to play Aberdour in shinty’s Mowi Senior League C, scoring in an 8-0 thrashing.
The left-handed golfer has always been very open about affection for shinty, always trying to play whenever he has a time away from golf.
The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship begins on Thursday (30 SEP), ending on Sunday (3 OCT).
Shinty is a historic Scottish sport which stretches back more than 2,000 days ago.
The game is now played between two teams of twelve who use sticks, other wise known as camans, to score goals into the opponents goal with a small cork and leather ball.
The game is played on a large grass surface with goals slightly taller than those used in field hockey.
