Scottish PGA superstar Robert MacIntyre names LIV Golf’s Phil Mickelson his “childhood hero” ahead of final round pairing at the Open

Robert MacIntyre and Phil Mickelson have been paired together ahead of the final round at the Open. This gave Robert MacIntyre the perfect opportunity to share his enthusiasm on social media after finding out that his "childhood hero" was going to be paired with him for the final round of the Open.

MacIntyre, who is PGA Tour's latest winner after winning the Genesis Scottish Open, continued to struggle to find form in front of his home crowd. The Royal Troon has not been a friendly course for the local favorite.

But keeping aside his disappointing outing, MacIntyre wrote on X:

"Final round alongside my childhood hero in front of a home support @theopen @philmickelson"

Both Mickelson and MacIntyre are currently T51 at the Open with a paltry score of +6. Phil Mickelson previously won the Clarets Jug trophy in 2013 at Muirfield, Scotland by 3 strokes.

Meanwhile, Robert MacIntyre is coming on the back of winning his most desired tournament in front of his home crowd. The Genesis Scottish Open winner edged out Adam Scott by 1 strike to avenge his heartbreaking defeat to Rory McIlroy a year ago.

Interestingly, MacIntyre's winning share for winning the Scottish Open was more than Phil Mickelson's Open Championship prize cheque in 2013.

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Phil Mickelson predicted Robert MacIntyre as one of the favorites to win the Open

Ahead of the 152nd Open, LIV golfer Phil Mickelson picked PGA's most recent winner as one of the favorites to win the Open. Despite Robert MacIntyre yet to win a major in his career, Mickelson talked about the Scottish golfer's chances and the edge he held over the rest of the field.

The Lefty told CBS:

"I think the back nine, as you come back into the wind, when it's a hook, it's a lot easier than when it's a slice wind. I think a down to slice wind is a lot easier than an into-slice wind. The magnification of the shot and the miss of the shot is not going to be as great."

The LIV star added,

"The back nine, when it is very difficult, you have got to fight for pars. But it's a lot easier to make pars into the wind with a hook rather than a slice wind."

MacIntyre has already won twice on the PGA Tour this season. A Major victory in front of his home crowd would cap off an incredible 2-weeks for him. However, his current position suggests he'll have to play the round of his life and hope for luck to play his way to win the major.