Bob MacIntyre hailed the jaw-dropping finish to his opening round at the BMW Championship as his finest putting performance as he took a three-stroke lead over an impressively resilient Tommy Fleetwood in Maryland.
The Scot, whose six top-10s this year include that dramatic runner-up spot at the US Open, rolled in six consecutive birdies for a back nine of just 29 and an eight under round of 62. This putting potpourri started with a 66-foot odyssey and he also made efforts from 40ft and 17ft. Fleetwood showed his sense of humour remains intact after last week’s crushing disappointment when it was relayed to him that he and Hideki Matsuyama were the only two players not to drop a shot. “Bob wasn’t even bogey-free?” he said. “Pathetic.”
He knew it was terrific, even on more receptive greens at Caves Valley following a two-hour weather delay, and MacIntyre made a whopping combined 195 feet of putts in all. “The last six holes are probably as good as I’ve ever putted in a stretch,” said MacIntyre. “So consistent. I changed putting coach at Pebble Beach this year and I’ve turned the right corner. I expect to roll in putts. I work hard at it. I do a lot on my reads. I do a lot on my touch. When you get the eye in, it’s free-flowing and it’s nice.”
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His new putting coach is Mike Kanski, the long-time lead coach for the Phil Kenyon Putting Academy at Formby Hall, and MacIntyre explained that a mid-tournament change of putters at the US PGA Championship had been part of the revamp. “I wasn’t feeling comfortable so we adjusted that. We changed putters and we changed technique. The priority is getting that putter face as square as I can on impact, which isn’t rocket science but it’s difficult to do.”
If he was understandably delighted with his start to the second FedEx Cup play-off event, the same went for Fleetwood, who now has 43 top-10 PGA Tour finishes without a win, which is more than anyone since 1983. Squandering a lead in Memphis last week inevitably provoked more questions about his inability to close out stateside tournaments, but this was a gutsy comeback.
“You just keep going, don’t you?” he said after his 65. “There’s so many layers to it when you are disappointed (and) getting myself into contention and not being able to finish it off — I think the easiest thing to do is let that get to you. It takes effort to see the positives and make sure you prepare properly.”
Fleetwood did not drop a shot in his first round at Caves Valleys Golf Club
NICK WASS/AP
There is an irony in attracting so much flak for not winning, notably in Memphis and at the Travelers Championship, when he is playing as well as ever for most of the time. “I’ve been a pro for I don’t know how long and I’ve had my fair share of playing rubbish. I’ve spent weeks playing terrible. So playing well and being in contention is a privilege. You’ve got to enjoy those times.”
Enjoying it less was the errant driver Rory McIlroy who finished eight shots behind MacIntyre and described his round as “awful”. Scottie Scheffler is third, a shot behind Fleetwood, followed by Viktor Hovland, Ben Griffin and Rickie Fowler. Justin Rose is one over with the US Ryder Cup captain and possibly player, Keegan Bradley, another shot back and needing a little more to guarantee a place in the top 30 for the Tour Championship finale next week.
At the Danish Golf Championship, Rasmus Hojgaard finished two off Marco Penge’s seven-under lead as he seeks to impress Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald. His fellow hopeful Matt Wallace had a mediocre start and is back at level par.