Why Robert MacIntyre refuses to sit with American golfers in the players’ lounge during tournaments

“Week to week on tour, you’re not that close. But you’re close enough that guys will go to dinner together when they’re traveling alone,“ MacIntyre admitted.

*“*Last August, Shane Lowry didn’t have his family with him and I didn’t have my team, so we rented a house at Memphis during the FedEx. Europeans will do that with anyone in the group.

Photo by Hector Vivas/Getty Images

*“*I feel like Americans have more defined cliques. When I go into the players’ lounge and there are no Europeans, I’ll sit on my own because I’m not as comfortable.

“If a European is there, it doesn’t matter who it is, Rory, anyone, I’ll go and sit with him. It’s a different culture, and I think that cultural difference is what makes our team gel.“

Is Robert MacIntyre’s siege mentality holding him back?

The Europeans clearly see each other as more of a family than anything else.

And that’s a huge reason why they have been so dominant in the competition over the past 30 years or so.

However, I do find it quite bizarre that MacIntyre would choose not to go and sit alongside any Americans in the players’ lounge.

As he said, he’s not comfortable doing that.

However, that siege mentality of refusing to mix with Americans must make it such a big deal for him when he’s drawn alongside any of the big stars from the United States in tournament play.

Perhaps that is something that Robert MacIntyre should consider moving forward.