MacIntyre spoken to by rules official after drone complaint at Dunhill Links

Robert MacIntyre was spoken to by a DP World Tour rules official after complaining about drones during his opening round at the Dunhill Links Championship at Carnoustie on Thursday. The Scotland number one voiced his irritation with the use of drones for broadcast coverage as he closed out the round.

The 30-year-old, the defending champion, is ranked 19th in the world. He dropped a shot at the par-four ninth — the 18th hole of his round — and finished the opening round on one under par. MacIntyre said noise from drones flying close to players can disrupt his concentration, particularly when it is windy.

He said: "It drives me insane. I've had previous for it," and added: "See, when they're staying still, it's fine. It's more the buffeting from the wind and it's trying to stay in position. It's like a revving of a car right where you're trying to hit. I struggle with it." He said the wind made the drone noise worse and that the proximity of the machines affected his focus.

He described confronting officials during play, saying: "I asked [the rules official] twice previous to the shot on the eighth about the drone and then I step off the shot on eight. I'm just thinking about the drone and then, yeah, a bad shot." He also said: "And then I step off my putt on the 18th because there's a drone there." He added: "I'm just trying to play golf, and I get the TV's everything - TV money - but, I mean, they don't need to be so close." MacIntyre said he was spoken to by a tournament official after directing his frustration toward a camera operator and said: "I was just asking him what's going on because they've obviously heard me swear a few times straight at the camera guy. We'll see what the tournament director's got to say."

Assessing his performance, MacIntyre said: "It's just the way I'm playing golf this year, this today." He continued: "There's so much good in there, but then I walk off one under par and it's OK, but it's just not the level I want to be at." He added: "It's fine just now, I need to go away and fix it. The days I hit the ball well, I don't putt as well, and the days I hit it absolutely horrific, I putt the boots off it. It's just the way it is just now."

Earlier this week MacIntyre called for Carnoustie and Muirfield to become regular Open venues and said Thursday's conditions supported that view. He said: "That's the toughest I've played this place in years," adding: "I've played here now, I don't know, 20 times, I would say, and normally it's a slightly different wind and you're standing on 17 and you're shelling the driver over the burn, flicking on a wedge. "Whereas today it was three-wood, rescue wood. "There are some holes that were easier, but that was as good a test as this place has played. There's still a good score out there, but it wasn't easy."

MacIntyre will play at Kingsbarns on Friday before completing the three-course rotation at St Andrews on Saturday.