Golfer facing Masters action over 'embarrassing' incident during first round

Robert MacIntyre could face disciplinary action from Augusta National after an incident during the opening round of the 2026 Masters.

The Scot had a horror first round at Augusta, carding an eight-over-par 80 across his opening 18 holes.

Barring a storming run on Friday, MacIntyre will miss the cut at The Masters for the second consecutive year.

His round started well with a birdie on the third hole, before he fell back to level par by dropping a shot on five.

A bogey at six and a double-bogey at nine would follow, but MacIntyre recorded par on every hole through to the 15th and still had the opportunity to salvage his round.

But things quickly unravelled on 15, with the 29-year-old finding the water as he attempted to get the ball on to the green.

That cost MacIntyre a penalty stroke, but worse was yet to come as he played almost the exact same shot into the water on his second attempt.

The Scot then let his frustrations get the better of him, as he stuck his middle finger up towards the pond.

Given that Augusta National has strict conditions about formality and proper conduct around the golf course, club chiefs will no doubt have taken a dim view of MacIntyre's actions.

And according to various reports, he is likely to receive either a strict warning about his etiquette or a reprimand by Masters tournament officials.

MacIntyre also slammed his club into the turf on the 14th and 17th hole, and shouted an expletive after putting his ball off the green on 13.

His conduct didn't exactly go down well with fans either, with one writing: "Putting aside his lacklustre play, MacIntyre's conduct on the back nine was totally out of order."

"MacIntyre continues to embarrass himself," another wrote. "How many times he can slam his club into the ground before he gets escorted off the property?"

A third said: "I was embarrassed for him. The club slamming and cutting divots was worse."

In 2024, 2007 champion Zach Johnson had to apologise after he was picked up by a microphone muttering 'f**k off' on the 12th hole.

Johnson, who was the USA Ryder Cup captain in 2023, was forced to deny that he aimed the insult at Masters patrons who were stood by the hole.

"If I've said anything, which I'm not going to deny, especially if it's on camera, one, I apologise, and two, it was fully directed towards myself entirely because I can't hear anything behind me," he stated.