MacIntyre unstoppable, Day endures another poor finish

Perth Now

19 hours ago

One day it was the putter, the other it was the irons. There appears to be no stopping Robert MacIntyre at the halfway mark of the BMW Championship.
The 29-year-old Scot fired a six-under 64 on Friday to hold a five-shot lead over world No.1 Scottie Scheffler heading 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 five 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 Australian 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 five-foot birdie he missed on the 18th and another birdie chance inside eight 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.
Day, however, endured another frustrating finish to drop down the leaderboard.
He started the tournament in 44th position in the FedexCup standings and in need of a high finish to make the top 30, who will compete in next week's Tour Championship.
He was close to the lead on Thursday until two birdies on 17 and 18 dropped him to a tie of seventh, which had him at No.29 in the rankings.
Day, the only Australian in the field, followed that with a one-over 71 on Friday - the worst round among the top 20 - to drop into a tie for 16th at one under.
His round included five bogeys, two of which came on the 16th and 17th, which now leaves him in 35th position.
Scheffler had his 15th consecutive sub-70 round and pulled within five shots on No.12 when he hit a four-iron from 221 yards to seven 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 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."
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.