Robert Theodorson
For a second consecutive day, Robert MacIntyre has stepped up to the challenge of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club and is well on his way to building a seemingly insurmountable lead after shooting a 64 and finishing 1st, 14-under par.
Joining MacIntyre with scores of 64 on the round were Ludvig Aberg (3rd; 8-under par), Hideki Matsuyama (4th; 7-under par), and Maverick McNealy (T5; 6-under par) all joining MacIntyre and, of course, Scottie Scheffler (2nd; 9-under par) in the Top 5.
MacIntyre’s tournament-best 62 on Thursday remains the reason for the separation between tournament leader MacIntyre and pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler.
Cantlay Makes a Push, Morikawa Falls Behind
Although he won’t be finishing anywhere near his 2021 score of 27-under par, Patrick Cantlay who won the last BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club rebounded with a 67 to move to 1-under par on the tournament, moving up fifteen spots to finish at T16.
Displeased with the high-scoring affair back in 2021, authorities at Caves Valley made sure to increase the difficulty of the course – a logical explanation for the current standings and scores, though we will point out that Robert MacIntyre could technically break Cantlay’s record by repeating his first two days.
Colin Morikawa, who spoke with reporters on his recent struggles compared to his early career, suffered a huge setback with a second round 74 finishing with only a single birdie, albeit on the 18th, to put himself into the proverbial hole he must now dig himself out of as he sits at T37; 4-over par.
Elimination Watch
While it’s still too early to tell, after Friday it appears that Ryan Gerard (49th; 11-over par), Lucas Glover, Brian Campbell, Andrew Novak, and Sam Stevens, all tied at (T45; 8-over par) have taken themselves out of the fight to join their colleagues in Atlanta for the Tour Championship.
Golfers of intrigue sitting right on the bubble include first-round Tour Playoff winner Justin Rose (T28; 1-over par) and American Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley (T32; 2-over par).
While Rose was never considered the favourite to win two tournaments in a row, the PGA Tour’s most recent champion’s early exit would be a shock for sure.
For Bradley, success, or lack thereof in this BMW Championship will likely figure into Bradley’s playing status at Bethpage in September.
Super Saturday
Starting today, pairings will correspond to the current standings.
Ryan Gerard has the dubious honour of getting the first tee time and playing by himself, while MacIntyre and Scheffler will take the final 1:45 PM ET tee time.
