OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — One day it was the putter, another day it was the irons. No one had a lower score than Robert MacIntyre both of those rounds at the BMW Championship, and his reward for his 6-under 64 on Friday was a five-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler going into the weekend.
MacIntyre closed with six straight birdies in the opening round for a 62, and he started the second round with a shot into 5 feet on the 476-yard first hole for another birdie. He kept bogeys off his card this time and set a daunting target at 14-under 126.
Scheffler spent the steamy afternoon trying to keep in range. He had to settle for six pars at the end for a 65 and was at 9-under 131, at least booking a spot in the final group.
Ludvig Aberg shot 64 and was another stroke back.
It was the largest 36-hole lead at the BMW Championship since Jason Day led by five shots in 2015 at Conway Farms. Day went on to win by six.
“It’s only 36 holes gone. There’s a long way to go,” MacIntyre said. “I’m comfortable with who I am. I’m comfortable with the team around me, and I’m comfortable on this golf course. Just go and play golf.”
He has made it look as easy as it sounds on a Caves Valley course that has been renovated, lengthened, has new greens and still hasn’t put up too much resistance without much wind.
MacIntyre still putted well, except for the 5-foot birdie he missed on the 18th and another birdie chance inside 8 feet on the eighth hole. He has gained 6.8 shots on the field in putting through 36 holes to lead the key putting statistic.
But he was rarely out of position even when he missed a fairway or green.
“Yesterday the putter was on fire. Today I felt like my iron play was exceptional,” MacIntyre said. “Obviously, coming from links golf back out to throwing darts is a bit different technique-wise, turf-wise, so it took a little bit of readjusting, but I’ve got the hang of it.”
Scheffler had his 15th consecutive sub-70 round and pulled within five shots on No. 12 when he hit a 4-iron from 221 yards to 7 feet for birdie. But he had only two reasonable chances from the 15-foot range the rest of the way.
“Bogey-free is always nice,” Scheffler said. “I would have liked to get to have gotten a couple better looks down the stretch, but didn’t hit as many fairways the last few holes, and out here with the way the holes are shaped, you’ve got to be in play. Did a good job of saving pars when I needed to on the back.”
Hideki Matsuyama has yet to make bogey over 36 holes, even more remarkable because he has been feeling ill this week. That much was clear when he came out of scoring and headed straight for the car, a Japanese television crew hustling to try to catch up with him. He shot 64 and was alone in fourth place, still seven shots behind.
Michael Kim had a 66 and was in the group tied for fifth that included Tommy Fleetwood (69), still eight shots behind. The position on the leaderboard is more meaningful to Kim than how far he is behind. The top 30 in the FedEx Cup advance to the Tour Championship next week, and Kim needs to finish around this spot to advance.
Kim and Harry Hall, who had a 67 and was tied for eighth, were the only two projected to move into the top 30 with 36 holes still to play.
Hall, the Englishman who played his college golf at UNLV, has quietly had a good year and is turning heads with his efficient swing and improved putting. He has four top 10s and has missed only three cuts in 23 starts.
Hall has finished out of the top 25 only once in his last 10 starts. As much as he wants to be at East Lake, he now is in the conversation for the Ryder Cup. He says he has received a few text messages from European captain Luke Donald, but he has not been fitted for a uniform.
Rory McIlroy, playing for the first time since the British Open, was paired with Scheffler for two days. He overcame an early double bogey to post a 66, leaving him 10 shots behind.
“I think I’m just playing my own tournament at this point,” McIlroy said. “I just want to try to play a good weekend and feel a little bit better about my game going into the Tour Championship.”
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