Washington (AFP) – Robert MacIntyre closed with a 41-foot birdie putt to grab a four-stroke lead over top-ranked Scottie Scheffler after Saturday’s third round of the US PGA Tour BMW Championship. The 29-year-old Scotsman, runner-up to J.J. Spaun at June’s US Open, fired a two-under par 68 to stand on 16-under 194 after 54 holes at Caves Valley in suburban Baltimore.
US star Scheffler, whose four victories this season include major triumphs at the PGA Championship and British Open, fired a 67 to finish on 198, but clutch putting by MacIntyre kept him from closing the gap as they battled down the back nine. Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg was third on 200 after shooting 68, with England’s Harry Hall and American Sam Burns on 202, and England’s Tommy Fleetwood and American Maverick McNealy on 203.
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MacIntyre’s two PGA wins came last year at the Canadian and Scottish Opens, with the Canada victory following his only prior PGA 54-hole lead. MacIntyre, who led Scheffler by five when the day began, found the right rough and a greenside bunker on the way to a bogey at the first hole, but dropped his third shot at the par-five fourth inside three feet and tapped in for birdie. He then sank a seven-foot birdie putt at the ninth to lead by four at 15-under.
Scheffler had tap-in birdies at the fourth and seventh holes to stay within reach of MacIntyre. He made a 14-footer to birdie the 11th but missed a par putt at 12 from just beyond 10 feet to fall four back, while MacIntyre made par from just inside seven feet at 12. Scheffler rolled in an 18-foot birdie putt at the 14th, but MacIntyre sank a clutch par putt from just outside seven feet at 14—his fourth par putt of the day made from beyond six feet—to stay ahead by three, shushing a heckler as he walked off the green.
At the par-five 16th, Scheffler found a greenside bunker with his second shot while MacIntyre was in the sand with his third, but both escaped with par, setting the stage for MacIntyre’s cheer-inducing final putt. World number two Rory McIlroy began with a double bogey and shot 71 to stand on 207.
The BMW is the second PGA playoff FedEx Cup event, with the top 30 in season points advancing to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. American Akshay Bhatia, battling for one of the last spots in Atlanta, aced the 227-yard par-three 17th hole with a five-iron. He shot 66 to stand on 210 thanks in part to his first PGA hole-in-one and his sixth overall.
“When that golf ball goes in, it was the craziest thing in the world,” Bhatia said. “I couldn’t even feel my body.” Bhatia mentioned that he will give the BMW he won for the ace to his caddie.
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