OWINGS MILLS, Md. (AP) — Robert MacIntyre could only applaud from the scoring room when J.J. Spaun wrapped up the U.S. Open with his epic putt at Oakmont two months ago.
When Scottie Scheffler sank an even longer chip Sunday to take control of the BMW Championship, MacIntyre at least had a chance to answer back on the course — but by then, a tournament that had been slipping away from the Scot all day was almost gone.
“When he’s pitched that in on 17 and then he’s hit the perfect tee shot on 18, it’s pretty much game over just then,” MacIntyre said.
MacIntyre has been on the wrong end of two of golf's most memorable shots of 2025, although Sunday at Caves Valley he had himself to blame for being in that position. After a first-round 62, he shot progressively worse in each remaining round, capping the weekend with a 73 and losing by two strokes to Scheffler.
A four-shot lead entering the final round was gone within five holes thanks to three bogeys by MacIntyre.
“I got off to an absolutely horrific start,” MacIntyre said. "I just expected jumpers on (Nos.) 1 and 2. (No.) 1, it’s come out dead and then it’s got a massive mud ball just short of the green. Hard to control the chip. But I just felt great going out today. I wasn’t even expecting to be over par, to be honest.
“I was really expecting to go out there, foot down, and perform the way I have the last couple days.”
That did not happen, and after Scheffler's birdie on No. 11 gave him a two-stroke lead over MacIntyre, a fan loudly heckled MacIntyre on his way up the 12th hole, telling him the crowd was Scheffler's and “You ain't ready!”
MacIntyre just stared back during that episode and wouldn't comment afterward on the crowd. Plenty of fans were respectful, but enough weren't to get his attention at times. Scheffler, playing in his home country with the Ryder Cup coming up in September, had plenty of spectators rooting for him — and a few probably had some money on the world No. 1.
MacIntyre could be heard venting frustration after his tee shot went into a bunker on No. 14, but a birdie on the par-5 16th brought him to within a stroke. Then Scheffler made his majestic 82-foot chip for birdie on the par-3 17th.
The crowd erupted into a “U-S-A! U-S-A!” chant — then actually got behind MacIntyre a bit when he tried to chip in from the rough as well. If he'd been able to pull it off, he'd have remained one stroke back going to 18, but he wasn't able to match Scheffler's feat and settled for par.
One fairly anticlimactic hole later, MacIntyre's frustrating round was done.
“Right now I want to go and smash up my golf clubs, to be honest with you,” MacIntyre said.
MacIntyre was disappointed to miss long on a couple par 3s on the back nine, one of which he bogeyed.
“My golf ball was going miles today. I don’t know why,” he said. “I need to work that out. But when I got the game back in somewhat of a shape, I went over the back of the par 3s. I feel I’ve hit good shots, and I’ve gone miles.”
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AP golf: https://apnews.com/hub/golf
