Robert MacIntyre is apologetic, but not enough to stop. The Scottish golfer made headlines at this year’s Masters for all the wrong reasons. Now, speaking at a media day for the Genesis Scottish Open, MacIntyre addressed it directly.

“I thought what I did was pretty tame. Look, I’m not proud of what I’ve done. But I wear my heart on my sleeve. I play golf at the highest level, and I try to compete as hard as I can. Am I disappointed in what I’ve done? Yes, but could it happen again? More than likely,” he told the media.

The pro shot an 80 in R1 and flipped his middle finger at the 15th green following a quadruple bogey nine. He also slammed his club into the turf and even let off expletives picked up by on-course microphones. He then refused to speak to the media and posted a mocked-up Instagram image of a Masters gnome resembling himself making the same gesture. The 29-year-old also confirmed he was reprimanded by the Rules Committee during scoring.

“I didn’t hear from anybody with a jacket, I just heard from the Rules Committee when I was in scoring. Someone comes and tells me off, but if it’s not my partner or my mum or dad, someone else has got to do it.”

This at the Masters is not a one-off; it is a pattern. For instance, after blowing a four-shot lead at the 2025 BMW Championship in Maryland, where a final-round 73 handed the win to Scottie Scheffler, MacIntyre bluntly said that he wanted to smash his clubs.

Robert MacIntyre’s situation was notably less difficult than Sergio Garcia’s at the same Masters. The Spaniard mashed his driver into a water cooler on the second tee, damaged the course, and received an official warning. Even Max Homa, who publicly called out emotional outbursts on tour as “spoiled” behavior, threw his own club days later.

MacIntyre knows exactly who he is. “I can’t be one of those guys who makes a double-bogey and waves at the crowd and smiles. That’s not me, that’s never going to be me.” Whether the tour tolerates it long-term is a different question entirely.

Rob MacIntyre is not the only one, as more pros lose their composure.

Scottie Scheffler, who is typically composed on most Sundays, was short-tempered at the 2025 RBC Heritage. After his ball struck a tree on the 8th hole in the second round, he slammed his club into the turf near the bunker, then followed it with more club slams into his bag and a ball thrown in frustration.

MacIntyre is not preaching restraint. He is arguing that for some athletes, releasing emotion is the only way to stay functional. Surprisingly, he is not the only golfer who thinks this way.

16x LPGA Tour winner thinks lashing out is fine

Golf expects composure, but not every elite player agrees that’s the right standard. At the Chevron Championship press conference, Nelly Korda walked in and said exactly what most athletes quietly believe but rarely admit publicly.

Korda was asked how athletes deal with finishing second. She did not dress it up. “I’ve gone through it a couple of times where I stormed off the golf course, finishing second,” she told the media. “I think it’s okay to lash out sometimes and not act the proper way.”

When pressed directly on whether lashing out is bad, her answer was one word: “No.” She reasoned that seeing your own reactions in those heated moments is actually how athletes figure out who they want to become over time.

That is not far from what Robert MacIntyre has been saying all along. Both are essentially arguing that suppressing emotion is not the answer and that getting the anger out cleanly, however it looks in the moment, is better than bottling it until it becomes something worse.