Robert MacIntyre made two bogeys in the first round of the BMW Championship and still managed to close with an 8-under 62 to take a three shot lead.
The Scot equaled his career-best score on the PGA Tour with a 62 (2024 Travelers Championship/R2). He fired a career-high ten birdies, six of them in a row from the 13th, and personal-best nine-hole score of 29. He also made a personal-best 195’ 2” of putts beating his previous-best 166’ 9” at the 2024 RBC Canadian Open/R3.
“The last six holes is probably as good as I’ve ever putted in a stretch of holes. Just so consistent,” said MacIntyre.
“But since I changed coach at Pebble Beach this year on the putting, I’ve turned the right corner. I’ve got back to doing what I’m used to doing. You don’t expect to hole the big long putts. I don’t even know how long that one was on the par-3, but it was a long way away. But I expect to roll in putts. I work hard at it. I do a lot on my reads. I do a lot on my touch.
“When you get the eye on, it’s free flowing, and it’s nice.”
MacIntyre seeks his third Tour win in his 76th start (2024 RBC Canadian Open, 2024 Genesis Scottish Open). He has had five top-10 finishes in 21 starts this season, led by a runner-up finish at the US Open.
England’s Tommy Fleetwood turned in one of two bogey-free rounds (Hideki Matsuyama/69) for a 65 and second place at 5-under. Last week’s T3 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship marked the 43rd top-10 finish of his Tour career, the most of any player without a win since 1983.
Reigning FedExCup champion and current points leader Scottie Scheffler of the USA made two bogeys around the turn and lies in third place having carded a 66.
Three-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland made three bogeys and closed with an even-par 70 for a share of 15th place.
Defending BMW Championship winner Keegan Bradley of the United States made three bogeys and is T30 at 2-over.
The first round was suspended due to a dangerous weather situation at 2:35 p.m. ET and resumed at 4:48 p.m. (delay of 2 hours, 13 minutes). Play was suspended due to darkness at 8:12 p.m., with Bud Cauley the only player left to complete the round. Cauley will be back in position at 11 a.m. Friday to complete his round (faces a 67’ 11” birdie putt on No. 18), with his second-round tee time at 11:27 a.m. The second round will begin as scheduled at 9:21 a.m.
The top 30 players at the conclusion of the BMW Championship will advance to the TOUR Championship.
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| Pos. | Player | To Par | Thru | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robert MacIntyre | -8 | F | 62 |
| 2 | Tommy Fleetwood | -5 | F | 65 |
| 3 | Scottie Scheffler | -4 | F | 66 |
| T4 | Viktor Hovland | -3 | F | 67 |
| T4 | Ben Griffin | -3 | F | 67 |
| T4 | Rickie Fowler | -3 | F | 67 |
| T7 | Michael Kim | -2 | F | 68 |
| T7 | Harry Hall | -2 | F | 68 |
| T7 | Jason Day | -2 | F | 68 |
| T7 | Sam Burns | -2 | F | 68 |
| T7 | Ludvig Åberg | -2 | F | 68 |
| T12 | Russell Henley | -1 | F | 69 |
| T12 | Hideki Matsuyama | -1 | F | 69 |
| T12 | Bud Cauley | -1 | 17 | - |
| T15 | Taylor Pendrith | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Shane Lowry | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Maverick McNealy | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Rory McIlroy | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Harris English | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Matt Fitzpatrick | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Denny McCarthy | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Collin Morikawa | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | Corey Conners | Par | F | 70 |
| T15 | J.J. Spaun | Par | F | 70 |
| T25 | Sam Stevens | +1 | F | 71 |
| T25 | Si Woo Kim | +1 | F | 71 |
| T25 | Daniel Berger | +1 | F | 71 |
| T25 | Sungjae Im | +1 | F | 71 |
| T25 | Justin Rose | +1 | F | 71 |
| T30 | J.T. Poston | +2 | F | 72 |
| T30 | Kurt Kitayama | +2 | F | 72 |
| T30 | Nick Taylor | +2 | F | 72 |
| T30 | Patrick Cantlay | +2 | F | 72 |
| T30 | Keegan Bradley | +2 | F | 72 |
| T30 | Andrew Novak | +2 | F | 72 |
| T30 | Tom Hoge | +2 | F | 72 |
| T37 | Thomas Detry | +3 | F | 73 |
| T37 | Brian Harman | +3 | F | 73 |
| T37 | Chris Gotterup | +3 | F | 73 |
| T40 | Xander Schauffele | +4 | F | 74 |
| T40 | Ryan Fox | +4 | F | 74 |
| T40 | Jhonattan Vegas | +4 | F | 74 |
| T40 | Jacob Bridgeman | +4 | F | 74 |
| T40 | Justin Thomas | +4 | F | 74 |
| T40 | Cameron Young | +4 | F | 74 |
| T46 | Lucas Glover | +5 | F | 75 |
| T46 | Akshay Bhatia | +5 | F | 75 |
| T46 | Ryan Gerard | +5 | F | 75 |
| 49 | Brian Campbell | +7 | F | 77 |
