Through two days of the BMW Championship at Caves Valley Golf Club in Owings Mills, Robert MacIntyre has stolen the show.
The Scotsman is 14-under par through two rounds after following up his 62 with a 64. Sitting in second place is Scottie Scheffler at 9-under par. He’s the only player within five shots of the lead.
Here are observations from Friday’s second round.
Isn’t it supposed to be hard?
Caves Valley underwent renovations and changed from a par 72 to a par 70 with the hopes of keeping crazy low scores off the card. There was an effort to make the course more challenging after Patrick Cantlay shot 27-under par in 2021 en route to winning.
But MacIntyre is making the course look easy.
“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.”
MacIntyre, 29, is the only player to reach 10-under par or better through two rounds, as the course has played tougher for everyone other than him. Can he keep up his torrid pace? That’s the question of the tournament.
No. 11 makes for incredible viewing
Among the best holes for spectators is No. 11, a drivable par 4 with water guarding the right side of the hole and the front of the green. On Thursday, players often took an iron and used a wedge to hit it close to the hole, which came with its challenges. Scheffler landed his wedge near the hole in Round 1, only for it to roll off the front of the green and into the rough.
“Typically around most places when you hit it right of the pin, it kind of stays somewhat around there, but for some reason they decided to put that pin right on a mound in the middle of the green there,” Scheffler said Thursday. “Very interesting pin location, and I landed just behind it, and then it catches another slope. I stared at it for a while because I thought I hit a really good shot, and it almost went in the water, so I was just a little bit surprised at the result of the shot that I hit.”
With the tees pushed forward Friday, fans were treated to a chunk of players trying to drive the green. Justin Thomas drove it to 20 feet and two-putted for birdie. Scheffler drove it to 30 feet and made birdie. Rory McIlroy drove the ball over the green of the 301-yard hole, using a finesse chip to get up and down for birdie.
Ryan Gerard took dead aim, but his drive floundered into the wind and splashed into water short of the green. He nearly recovered for par, sticking his third shot to six feet from 173 yards before missing the putt. Justin Rose suffered a similar fate, making a bogey after coming up short on his tee shot. Andrew Novak will be kicking himself after making a mess of the short par 4. The Ryder Cup hopeful laid up, only to leave his approach shot in the water. He made a double bogey.
The 11th hole was appointment viewing Friday.
Ogden holds court
At 6-9, Jonathan Ogden can’t hide in a crowd. He didn’t want to Friday at the BMW Championship.
The former Ravens offensive lineman and Pro Football Hall of Famer followed Maryland native Denny McCarthy for several holes on the back nine Friday. He joyfully interacted with fans, who stared in awe at one of their football heroes. Ogden is a Super Bowl champion and 11-time Pro Bowl selection.
Despite being in Maryland, Ogden wasn’t spared from interacting with Steelers fans. A small group of fans started playfully heckling Ogden with a Steelers chant. He joked back, referencing Pittsburgh’s failure to win a Super Bowl since 2008.
Looking for win No. 1
Tommy Fleetwood has yet to win on the PGA Tour in his career, despite several close calls. He nearly won last week in Memphis but faltered down the stretch, as he’s now up to 29 top-five finishes in 162 career starts.
He’s knocking on the door again this week in Baltimore. With a 1-under 69, he improved to 6-under for the week. He did, however, make bogies on three of his final five holes to fade into a deeper hole.
“A disappointing finish today, so that was probably the only bit of disappointment I’ve had over two days,” he said. “That’s going to come over a four-round golf tournament.”
He’s eight back of MacIntyre but solidly within the top 10. Most players in the field would love to swap places on the leaderboard, something the Englishman knows.
“I’m in fifth place, so it’s hard to moan too much about it,” Fleetwood quipped.
Have a news tip? Contact sports editor Bennett Conlin at bconlin@baltsun.com, 410-332-6200 and x.com/BennettConlin.