Robert MacIntyre grabbed the cave in a softer cave valley after a two-hour storm delay and rode a 62-shot best in Thursday’s BMW Championship, taking a three-shot lead in a 62-shot under 62.
MacIntyre finished with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, the easiest ball of his last six birdies, the longest winning streak for any player, ending the FedEx Cup since the 2007 playoffs.
He kept moving forward until he beat his low post on the PGA Tour and got everyone to chase after the first round of the penultimate playoffs.
“The last six holes are probably as good as the ones I put in a small hole,” McIntyre said.
When Scottie Scheffler returned from the delay and was led by 66 in three of his last four holes. Rickie Fowler fell behind again, another step toward winning the Tour title in the FedEx Cup.
McIntyre looked unstoppable except that he used up the loophole.
“When I went back, I had a 7-foot bird, which would set the tone for the rest of the afternoon, and then I rolled it nicely.”
It was a different route when the top 50 in the FedEx Cup arrived at the Cave Valley, which hosted the BMW Championship in 2021. Patrick Cantlay won Bryson Dechambeau’s playoffs in the two with a 271-under 27.
The Cave Valley has undergone a massive renovation and turned to a 70-shot and the game is tough enough, with Viktor Hovland’s 67-year-old morning low before dark clouds and heavy rains exploded.
The softer green makes everything different, but Macintyre’s 62 is also impressive. Last year, he also shot 62 shots in the Travelers Championship.
“The court is softer, so we do have a chance to shoot the score,” Fleetwood said. “Maybe he has a lot of birdies over?”
Six of them.
“It helps,” Fleetwood said with a smile.
It was also a good start for Fleetwood, especially after another tough end last week, who took a two-shot lead with three holes and won the playoffs with his first PGA Tour in the playoffs at Fedex St. Jude Championship.
The purpose is to re-enter the controversy as soon as possible. It’s just a round, but it’s a good start. Fleetwood has one of only two bogey-free rounds, the other belongs to Hideki Matsuyama (69).
“I’ve always been a professional – I don’t know how long, I can’t do math – but I have quite some trash,” Fleetwood said. “I spent weeks playing badly. So playing great, participating in the fight is a privilege. You have to enjoy those times. So, when I play well, I love it, too.”
Scheffler, along with Rory McIlroy, was No. 1 and No. 2 seeds in the FedEx Cup, which doesn’t make much sense at this stage, as the 30 players heading to East Lake will start from scratch when they play for the FedEx Cup.
McIlroy struggled with the tee, bogeyed three times in six holes and pulled it together 70, including eight consecutive pars. Scheffler was a little swinging when turning, missing the Greens twice and failed to go up and down. But he had four birdies at the beginning and the last four birdies in four holes.
“The golf course has certainly become a little easier, but it’s done well in using the holes I’ve left,” Schaffler said.
Hovland entered the BMW Championship at No. 28 in the FedEx Cup, and in the bubble, it entered the top 30 and entered the Tour Championship. He thinks a good game will solve this problem.
It was a more important start for Fowler, who barely made the top 50. Michael Kim and Jason Day both out of the top 40. They both shot 68 from the field.
Xander Schauffele has never missed a tour title since winning a rookie in 2017 and he may see the end of a winning streak. He was searching for No. 43, which shows. He had four bogeys in six holes, fought back, and exchanged double bogeys 74 times.
Information from ESPN Research and Associated Press are used in this report.
