Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre fires a 64 to stay atop BMW Championship
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Leader Robert MacIntyre of Scotland playing his shot from the eighth tee during the second round of the BMW Championship 2025 on Aug 15.
PHOTO: AFP
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WASHINGTON – Robert MacIntyre fired a bogey-free six-under 64 to seize a five-stroke lead over top-ranked Scottie Scheffler after the Aug 15 second round of the BMW Championship.
The 29-year-old Scotsman, who fired a PGA Tour career-low 62 on Aug 14 as he closed with six straight birdies, birdied six in all for round two to stand on 14-under 126 after 36 holes at Caves Valley in suburban Baltimore.
“Great two days’ work,” he said. “If you leave yourself in the right positions, you can be aggressive with the putts... I feel like my iron play has been top drawer this week and just continue to do that.”
Scheffler, the season points leader, was next on 131 after a 65 in his PGA-best 13th bogey-free round of the season.
“It was nice to have a clean card today, no bogeys,” the American world No. 1 said. “Did some good things out there. Five shots back going into the weekend is not too bad with the way Bob is playing right now. Did a good job to keep within shouting distance of him.”
Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg birdied three of the last five holes to shoot 64 and stand second on 132, one stroke ahead of Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama (64), with England’s Tommy Fleetwood (69) and Americans Maverick McNealy (64) and Michael Kim (66) on 134.
MacIntyre, runner-up to J.J. Spaun at June’s US Open, managed his lowest opening 36-hole score to par in a PGA event, three strokes better than 2024 at Myrtle Beach.
“I’ve been working hard,” he said. “I’ve been putting really well for a long time now. It was just finding the confidence in the tee to green game and I feel like I’ve done that.”
MacIntyre, who began the day with a three-shot lead over Fleetwood, with Scheffler another stroke adrift, started strong again.
He sank a birdie putt from just inside five feet at the first hole and rolled in a 17-footer for birdie at the par-five fourth. “The way I’ve been rolling it, it’s not a surprise,” MacIntyre said of his strong start.
He sank another birdie putt from just beyond seven feet at the seventh and at No. 11, MacIntyre rolled it to within three feet of the hole and sank his short birdie putt.
He drained a 28-foot birdie putt at the 14th and reached the green in two at the par-five 16th to set up a tap-in birdie.
MacIntyre, whose two PGA wins came in 2024 at the Canadian and Scottish Opens, is projected to jump from 20th to third on the season points list, with only the top 30 advancing from the BMW, the second FedExCup play-off event, to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Scheffler, whose four victories this season include Major triumphs at the PGA Championship and the British Open, hopes to next week become the first back-to-back FedExCup winner.
Matsuyama birdied four of the last eight holes to also go bogey free but Fleetwood fell eight off MacIntyre’s pace.
“Disappointing finish,” the Englishman said of his bogeys on the 14th, 15th and 17th holes. “Felt like I played good again. I’m in fifth place, so it’s hard to moan too much about it.”
World No. 2 Rory McIlroy, second in the play-off standings, fired a 66 to stand 11th on 136, 10 off the pace.
“I just want to try to play a good weekend and feel a little bit better about my game going into the Tour Championship,” he said. AFP
