Justin Rose beats JJ Spaun in play-off to win FedEx St Jude Championship
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Times
27 minutes ago
- Times
Bob MacIntyre make six straight birdies, including one from 66ft
Bob MacIntyre hailed the jaw-dropping finish to his opening round at the BMW Championship as his finest putting performance as he took a three-stroke lead over an impressively resilient Tommy Fleetwood in Maryland. The Scot, whose six top-10s this year include that dramatic runner-up spot at the US Open, rolled in six consecutive birdies for a back nine of just 29 and an eight under round of 62. This putting potpourri started with a 66-foot odyssey and he also made efforts from 40ft and 17ft. Fleetwood showed his sense of humour remains intact after last week's crushing disappointment when it was relayed to him that he and Hideki Matsuyama were the only two players not to drop a shot. 'Bob wasn't even bogey-free?' he said. 'Pathetic.' He knew it was terrific, even on more receptive greens at Caves Valley following a two-hour weather delay, and MacIntyre made a whopping combined 195 feet of putts in all. 'The last six holes are probably as good as I've ever putted in a stretch,' said MacIntyre. 'So consistent. I changed putting coach at Pebble Beach this year and I've turned the right corner. 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 in, it's free-flowing and it's nice.' Please enable cookies and other technologies to view this content. You can update your cookies preferences any time using privacy manager. His new putting coach is Mike Kanski, the long-time lead coach for the Phil Kenyon Putting Academy at Formby Hall, and MacIntyre explained that a mid-tournament change of putters at the US PGA Championship had been part of the revamp. 'I wasn't feeling comfortable so we adjusted that. We changed putters and we changed technique. The priority is getting that putter face as square as I can on impact, which isn't rocket science but it's difficult to do.' If he was understandably delighted with his start to the second FedEx Cup play-off event, the same went for Fleetwood, who now has 43 top-10 PGA Tour finishes without a win, which is more than anyone since 1983. Squandering a lead in Memphis last week inevitably provoked more questions about his inability to close out stateside tournaments, but this was a gutsy comeback. 'You just keep going, don't you?' he said after his 65. 'There's so many layers to it when you are disappointed (and) getting myself into contention and not being able to finish it off — I think the easiest thing to do is let that get to you. It takes effort to see the positives and make sure you prepare properly.' There is an irony in attracting so much flak for not winning, notably in Memphis and at the Travelers Championship, when he is playing as well as ever for most of the time. 'I've been a pro for I don't know how long and I've had my fair share of playing rubbish. I've spent weeks playing terrible. So playing well and being in contention is a privilege. You've got to enjoy those times.' Enjoying it less was the errant driver Rory McIlroy who finished eight shots behind MacIntyre and described his round as 'awful'. Scottie Scheffler is third, a shot behind Fleetwood, followed by Viktor Hovland, Ben Griffin and Rickie Fowler. Justin Rose is one over with the US Ryder Cup captain and possibly player, Keegan Bradley, another shot back and needing a little more to guarantee a place in the top 30 for the Tour Championship finale next week. At the Danish Golf Championship, Rasmus Hojgaard finished two off Marco Penge's seven-under lead as he seeks to impress Europe's Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. His fellow hopeful Matt Wallace had a mediocre start and is back at level par.
Daily Record
31 minutes ago
- Daily Record
Scottish football in coefficient recovery mode as playoff schedules packed with top ten threats and opportunities
There's work to do but a chance to climb back towards the top ten with Celtic, Rangers, Aberdeen and Hibs all in the mix There's work to do, but Scottish football is at least in coefficient recovery mode after recent European results. Dropping out of the top ten saw us lose an automatic Champions League league phase spot this year, meaning champions Celtic face a gruelling trip to Kazakhstan to face Kairat Almaty to bank a £40million jackpot and another crack at reaching the knockout stage this year. Despite their domestic woes, Rangers could join them after battling through to the playoff round thanks to aggregate wins over Panathinaikos and Viktoria Plzen respectively. Club Brugge stand between Russell Martin and the European elite and if the pre-season friendly between the two was anything to go by, then it's set to be a major test over 180 minutes. Hibs made their fans sweat but they eventually saw off FK Partizan on a dramatic night at Easter Road to set up a Conference League final hurdle clash with Legia Warsaw. Aberdeen enter the Europa League at the same stage and face FCSB, knowing they have the Conference League safety net should they fall short over two legs. Dundee Utd gave it a hell of a go but were edged out by Rapid Vienna on penalties. Looking at the bigger picture, we could do with racking up the wins to get closer to the top ten. The Czechs are the team to catch on 38.900 and Rangers looked like they'd made a dent with that 3-0 first leg win over Plzen, although we could have done without the 2-1 second leg defeat cancelling out the point made up on the Czechs initially. Standing between us and them are Switzerland, Austria, Poland, Norway and Greece. Rangers dumping Panathinaikos was a big boost, while next opponents Brugge beating RB Salzburg home and away helped too. Utd's two draws evened things out over their two legs, while Hibs can strike a blow with a couple of wins over Legia. Looking at the other Champions League playoff fixtures, a Copenhagen win over Basel would be ideal, while Norway or Austria will lose a CL rep when Bodo/Glimt play Sturm Graz. The Europa League playoff sees more of our coefficient rivals in the mix. Lech Poznan take on Genk while Panathinaikos are paired with Samsunspor. Malmo hosts Sigma Olomuc and PAOK have two legs against Croat champions Rijeka to overcome. AEK Larnaca can do us a favour against Brann while Young Boys take on Slovan Bratislava, who were denied a showdown with Celtic. The Conference League playoff is packed with clubs we could do with being dumped out. Crystal Palace should take care of Fredrikstad while Rosenborg have a tough tie against Mainz. Servette beating Shakhtar Donetsk would be a shock, as would Lausanne beating Besiktas. AEK Athens have a tough one against Anderlecht while Brondby play Strasbourg. Rapid Vienna, Jagiellonia Bialystock, Sparta Prague and Rakow Czestochowa are all favourites in their respective ties however. Our clubs can only control their own results, although two flying the flag in the Champions League would be a big help to getting us back to where we belong. Champions League playoff draw Crvena Zvezda vs Pafos Rangers vs Club Brugge Ferencvaros vs Qarabag Celtic vs Kairat Basel vs Copenhagen Bodo/Glimt vs Sturm Graz Fenerbahce vs Benfica Europa League playoff draw Lech Poznan vs Genk Panathinaikos vs Samsunspor Shkendija vs Ludogrets Maccabi Tel-Aviv vs Dynamo Kyiv Malmo vs Sigma Zrinjski vs Utrecht Rijeka vs PAOK Lincoln Red Imps vs Braga Midtjylland vs KuPS Aberdeen vs FCSB Brann vs AEK Larnaca Slovan Bratislava vs Young Boys Conference League playoff draw Breidablik vs Virtus Rosenborg bs Mainz Jagiellonia Bialystock vs Dinamo Tirana Celje vs Banik Crystal Palace vs Fredrikstad Santa Clara vs Shamrock Rovers Basaksehir vs Universitatea Craiova Gyor vs Rapid Vienna Sparta Prague vs Riga Levski Sofia vs Alkmaar Neman vs Rayo Vallecano Hamrun vs RFS Shakhtar Donetsk vs Servette Lausanne vs Besiktas Olimpija vs Noah Anderlecht vs AEK Athens Wolfsberg vs Omonia Hibs vs Legia Warsaw Polissya Zhytomyr vs Fiorentina Drita vs Differdange Strasbourg vs Brondby Shelbourne vs Linfield Rakow Czestochowa vs Arda Hacken vs Cluj
The Independent
an hour ago
- The Independent
Sparkling Bob MacIntyre surges into three-shot lead at BMW Championship
Bob MacIntyre carded a brilliant 62 to hold a three-shot lead after day one of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club. The Scot was among the later starters that got to take advantage of softer conditions after a two-hour rain delay, with darkness preventing Bud Cauley from completing his opening round. MacIntyre, who is on the verge of joining Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose in qualifying for Europe's Ryder Cup team, finished with six successive birdies and carded 10 in total against two bogeys. The highlight of the left-hander's day came when he holed a 66-foot effort for birdie at the 13th to spark his spectacular finish. 'The last six holes is probably as good as I've ever putted in a stretch of holes – just so consistent,' said MacIntyre. 'When you get the eye on, it's free flowing, and it's nice. 'I feel like the way I play golf is better suited for the tougher tests, where you're rewarded for hitting a fairway, you're rewarded for hitting a green, and then take your chances with the putter. Just happy with today's work.' MacIntyre leads by three from England's Fleetwood, whose wait for a first PGA Tour title goes on after he was pipped by Rose at the St Jude Classic last week. Scottie Scheffler 's hot streak continued as he fired an opening 66 to lie third. The world number one finished with three birdies in the final four holes to top the early leaderboard at the second FedEx Cup event. Scheffler, who has registered 12 successive top-eight finishes in a scintillating year, said on Sky Sports: 'It changed pretty significantly, a lot softer. The fairways were a little bit harder to hit this morning. 'They're still pretty wide, but they were still with the firmness, challenging to hit. And then with the softness coming in with the rain, the golf course got significantly easier.' Scheffler was playing with Masters champion Rory McIlroy, who carded a level-par 70. The Northern Irishman, who skipped last week's FedEx Cup event knowing he is guaranteed to be in next week's Tour Championship, had a slow start, with three bogeys in the opening six holes, but battled back.
