OWINGS MILLS, Md. — After Patrick Cantlay and Bryson DeChambeau ripped Caves Valley apart to the tune of 27-under-par at the 2021 BMW Championship, club administrators did the same — literally moving thousands of tons of dirt and eliminating two strokes off the course to avoid a repeat result.
Robert MacIntyre didn’t play in that tournament. And he didn’t get the memo about this year.
After six straight birdies to close with a first-round 62, the Scotsman backed it up with a bogey-free 64 on Friday to keep the lead at the BMW Championship, now at 14-under.
“I’ve played beautifully the last two days,” he said. “Yesterday the putter was on fire. Today I felt like my iron play was exceptional. But I’ve been putting in the work the last couple of weeks to make it — to improve on what I was doing.”
Nearly half of his holes have resulted in birdies — 16 of 36 — with only two bogeys, both in the first round. MacIntyre’s putting has been prodigious. His meticulous routine — lining them up like a billiards player with a cue stick and pointing the mallet at the hole at eye level with one eye closed — has helped him lead the field in strokes gained putting at 6.7.
“I’ve always said when I’m comfortable with a putter in my hands, it’s a dangerous thing. Since the PGA [Championship], it’s been feeling great in the hands,” MacIntyre said. I do a lot of technique stuff with that, and then once I’ve done that, it’s just, ’Let it flow.’”
Three other players matched MacIntyre’s 64 to tie for the low round of the day: Ludvig Aberg, who’s six strokes back in third place at -8, his playing partner Hideki Matsuyama, who replicated McIntyre’s six-birdie, bogey-free feat and sits at -7 and in fourth, and Maverick McNealy, who is in a tie for fifth at -6.
“I think overall, the greens are rolling nice, quite breaky putts, quite tricky and fast going down the hills,” Aberg said, “and you’ve got to leave yourself in the right spots, which is the way it’s supposed to be.”
MacIntyre knows his advantage is not insurmountable. “It’s only 36 holes gone. There’s a long way to go” — especially with the ultimate of final bosses lurking just behind in second place. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler shot a 5-under 65 to stay within five strokes of MacIntyre headed into the weekend.
“Bogey-free is always nice,” Scheffler said. “I would have liked to get 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, and did a good job of saving pars when I needed to on the back.”
In the lead-up to the tournament, Caves Valley had touted its recently installed PrecisionAire system, which allows grounds crews to push and pull air into and out of the greens to achieve a specific moisture level. For the first two rounds — and after a significant thunderstorm during round one — the system has benefited players with forgiveness.
An extremely receptive putting surface has allowed for aiming and firing at pins with abandon and little fear of the ball scooting too far away from the hole. Still, the surface remains fast, as MacIntyre noted on the par-5 16th, where his ball wouldn’t rest at its original mark on the green following his second shot.
“I’ve had a couple this week … the greens are running at about 13 on the stimp[meter] on the flat, so the minute you get on a slope, they’re running about 16, 17,” he said. “So they’re quick, and the ball will not sit on certain slopes.”
Multiple major winners and former FedEx Cup champions lurk behind MacIntyre, who would vault into the top five in the playoff standings if he can continue his pace for two more days.
“I believe I’m able to compete at this level,” he said. “I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe that, and I’ve had so many experiences in my life that have helped me to get here. … Yeah, I’m ready for the weekend.”
• George Gerbo can be reached at ggerbo@washingtontimes.com.
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