Robert MacIntyre has produced a fine three rounds at the BMW Championship this week and will now go head to head with Scottie Scheffler on the final day.
So far, MacIntyre has held his nerve and kept the world number one at bay.
The impressive Scottish star fired in another fine round of 68 in round three, albeit Scheffler managed a 67 to at least eat into the lead by one shot.
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Still, MacIntyre has done enough to go into Sunday with a four shot lead and as he chases a third PGA Tour win, he couldn’t be in a better position.
With MacIntyre proving his Ryder Cup credentials so far, it could be an intriguing battle at Caves Valley.
However, while MacIntyre will fancy his chances, he’ll also be firmly aware of Scheffler’s ability to come back from the dead, much like he did at The Players in 2024.
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For most players, having a four shot lead going into the final day would feel like the ultimate comfort blanket.
Bob MacIntyre is more than capable of holding onto that lead and even extending it. However, his problem lies in that the man chasing him down is indeed Scottie Scheffler.
Worryingly for MacIntyre as well, Scheffler has proven form of coming back from big shot deficits and eventually winning out.
Perhaps the most impressive example of this was when Scheffler went into the final round at The Players in 2024 some five shots behind Xander Schauffele and with a host of players in front of him as well.
Still, it was not a problem for the imperious Scheffler.
Instead of throwing in the towel, Scheffler did the opposite and went out to shoot a final round of 64 – where he made no bogeys – giving him a round of eight-under and propelling him above the trio of Schauffele, Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark in the process.
With Scheffler more than capable of going bogey free at any given time, MacIntyre could well start to feel the heat, especially if he makes a few errors early on.
Robert MacIntyre may have overcome the most difficult day at the BMW Championship
While we normally see the final round of any golf tournament being the one where pin positions and greens are at their most difficult, it was actually a really tough test in round three for the players at Caves Valley.
Indeed, MacIntyre suggested the pins were ‘brutal’ on day three.
“Yeah, the day was tough. As you would have seen, it wasn’t the plain sailing of the first two days, but yeah, I thought I managed it well. Missed it in the right spots. A couple of times I didn’t miss it in the right spots. But yeah, it was steady. Holed some nice par putts, missed a couple of chances that I felt I could have got,” he said.
“But the pins were absolutely brutal. You want to be underneath the holes, and where they cut the pins today you just couldn’t get underneath them and you were standing there with 15 feet coming down a steep slope, a lot of the time a lot of break.
“Even the first hole, put a bunker shot to 15 feet and you’re left with 4 on AimPoint, which from 15 feet you’re aiming a good three, three and a half feet outside the hole from 15 feet. So there was massive slope.
“I thought I did a good job.“
Still, this could be good news for the Scot as he looks to win out in round four.
If round three was as tough as it might get, then he’s already over the worst. If not, then things could get extremely tricky for everyone.
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