I woke up yesterday in a lather, which was odd as I’d gone to bed in a wee Willie Winkie goonie.

Anyway, having opened my eyes with a start, I spent the morning racking my brain – there’s not much to rack, really – and thinking to myself, ‘what else can I write about Robert MacIntyre that hasn’t been written already?’

Admittedly, that’s not a great thought process to have when you have a column to fill, is it?

With this in mind, I asked the sports editor if he fancied just splattering a massive image of Robert and his dad, Dougie, on to this back page in a triumphant salute to the wonderful Canadian Open victory that they enjoyed on Sunday night.

A picture, after all, is worth a thousand words. Or about 890 in this column’s case.

Upon hearing my fairly flimsy proposal, however, said sports editor’s face truly was a picture as he responded to my idea with a startling volley of  choice words which ranged from coarse expletives to erudite profanities.

The message was clear. Get typing. Just as my fingers were creaking and rattling into life, like Ray Harryhausen’s stop-motion skeletons in the old Jason and the Argonauts film, I took a delightful phone call from a loyal reader of an inspiring, tireless vintage.  

She was an old friend of my much-missed colleague, Jock MacVicar, and simply wanted to express her delight at MacIntyre’s Canadian conquest.

Auld Jock, who passed away in 2021, was a proud son of Argyll like MacIntyre and had a special connection with the young man from Oban.

Somewhere up above us yesterday, I like to think our doyen of Scottish golf writing was gleefully churning out a triumphant Tuesday column of his own.

“It was a cock-a-hoop day,” cheered my dear caller with giddy gusto.  MacIntyre’s maiden win on the PGA Tour gave so much joy to so many people.

Away from these more traditional methods of communication – a phone call from a landline these days is just about as archaic as a smoke signal – the reaction to MacIntyre’s win on social media was predictably dizzying.

I was particularly intrigued by one post in the build up to the final round as MacIntyre sat on a four-shot lead.

The radio broadcaster, Georgie Bingham, was so excited at the prospect of a Bob breakthrough, she stated on Sunday morning that, “I’m literally going to hold my breath for him all day.”

Given that MacIntyre wasn’t teeing off until 7:30pm UK time, that was going to be one heck of a feat of respiratory endurance. Presumably, the bold Georgie has taken a breath now?

MacIntyre’s emotional Canadian victory certainly took the breath away. The embrace between father and son when the last putt dropped will live long in the memory. These were ordinary Oban folk doing extraordinary things. It was a lovely story in a turbulent time for men’s golf.

I recall Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay almost knocking off a DP World Tour win with his dad, Harry, on the bag during his rookie campaign back in 2009 but the moment enjoyed by the MacIntyres at the weekend really was something else.

What MacIntyre goes onto achieve next is anybody’s guess. A major championship? Why not? Throughout his career, after all, MacIntyre has proven himself at every level.

Since winning in just his second outing as a pro at the Sahara Kuwait Championship in 2017 – what, you don’t remember that? – he’s packed two DP World Tour wins, a Ryder Cup appearance and a PGA Tour triumph into the last seven years. A major – and he’ll admit it himself – is the next step.

Here in the cradle of the game, there’s a desperation for our players to have mighty success. It’s one of the burdens that comes with being from the home of golf.

Martin Laird and Russell Knox, with six PGA Tour wins between them since 2009, were tremendous standard bearers for Scottish golf on the global stage but they had developed their games in America, they were long-time residents of the US and were largely removed from any of the hype, expectation and scrutiny that can get lumped on home-based talent. They’d probably tell you that was a blessing.

In a country that has a nagging, irresistible predilection to snipe at our own, MacIntyre has had one or two doubting voices to contend with in recent years when things weren’t going according to plan.

His strong will and dogged single-mindedness, though, is one of his sturdy traits.

MacIntyre has never been afraid to make big decisions in his career, from quitting US college barely halfway through a scholarship, to switching coaches or chopping and changing caddies.

By and large, those big decisions have reaped considerable rewards. Getting faither Dougie on the bag last week was, ultimately, an inspired move even if winning on their debut as a double act must’ve been beyond their wildest dreams. They can come true now and again, though.

Many great European players – good old Monty to name just one – never managed a PGA Tour victory. MacIntyre has achieved it in his 45th career start on the world’s strongest circuit.

Settling into his new life in Orlando hasn’t been easy for him but now he’s living the American dream.

And look, he got another 890 words out of me too.