World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler collected his fifth PGA TOUR title of the season after Robert MacIntyre blew a four-shot overnight lead in the final round of the BMW Championship.
The 29-year-old Scotsman had a healthy four-shot advantage entering the final round at Caves Valley Golf Club in Maryland but that lead evaporated in quick fashion after he sunk consecutive bogeys in the opening two holes. Scheffler exploited MacIntyre’s slip and found himself at the top of the leaderboard by the seventh.
Scheffler sparked renewed belief into MacIntryre after he hit back-to-back bogeys of his own during the early stages of the back nine and found himself within reach just a shot back with only the 17th and 18th to play. However, the four-time major winner showed his class with a sublime chip-in from the rough on the 17th to all but seal victory as he went onto close with a final-round 67 to end the tournament on 15 under.
“Great battle all the way through,” Scheffler said following his 18th career victory on the PGA TOUR. “Did a good job of staying patient and executing when we needed to.”
“When it gets to this time of the year it can be a little bit tiring,” he added. “Today was a grind, and I think it just has a lot to do with the intensity we bring to each round and each shot.”
MacIntyre closed with a three-under 73 in the final round to finish runner-up, two shots behind Scheffler.
“He’s hit a great shot,” MacIntyre said when describing Scheffler’s remarkable shot at the 17th. “Nothing you can do with that. I just didn’t play good enough.
“I got off to an absolutely horrific start. I just expected jumpers on one and two. One, it’s come out dead and then it’s got a massive mud ball just short of the green.
“I just felt great going out today. I wasn’t even expecting to be over par, to be honest. I was really expecting to go out there, foot down, and perform the way I have the last couple days.
“My golf ball was going miles. I don’t know why. I need to work that out. I feel I’ve hit good shots, and I’ve gone miles.”
However, the Scot later confessed to feeling so frustrated that he wanted to “smash my golf clubs” when asked about the improvements he needed to make.
“I don’t… I mean, right now, not a clue,” he said. “Right now, I want to go and smash up my golf clubs, to be honest with you.”
Despite his disappointing final round display, MacIntrye cemented his spot for the upcoming Ryder Cup at Bethpage Black and he also climbed up the FedExCup standings moving up 11 spots to ninth.
American Maverick McNealy claimed third, finishing two shots adrift of MacIntyre, while England’s Tommy Fleetwood and American Sam Burns shared fourth at 10 under.
Following the event, the six automatic qualifiers for Team USA were confirmed:
- Scottie Scheffler
- J.J. Spaun
- Xander Schauffele
- Russell Henley
- Harris English
- Bryson DeChambeau
In the FedExCup race, Xander Schauffele, Rickie Fowler, Matt Fitzpatrick, and Jason Day all fell short of the top 30, missing out on a spot in the season-ending TOUR Championship.
What is the next event?
The next event on the PGA TOUR schedule is the TOUR Championship taking place between 21-24 August at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia.