Robert MacIntyre atop FedEx Cup playoffs' BMW Championship - ESPN

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Robert MacIntyre seized on a softer Caves Valley after a two-hour storm delay and rode the best putting round of his year with six straight birdies to post an 8-under 62 for a three-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood in the BMW Championship on Thursday.

MacIntyre finished it with a 5-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole, and that was the easiest of his final six birdies, the longest streak by any player to end a FedEx Cup playoff round since the inception of the playoffs in 2007. He holed a 65-foot birdie putt on the 12th and followed that from 40 feet.

And he kept going until he matched his low round on the PGA Tour and left everyone chasing after the opening round of the penultimate postseason event.

«The last six holes is probably as good as I've ever putted in a stretch of holes,» said MacIntyre, who finished with 195 feet, 2 inches of putts.

Scottie Scheffler was tied for the lead when he returned from the delay and birdied three of his final four holes for a 66. Rickie Fowler was another shot behind, a big step toward making the Tour Championship for a shot at the FedEx Cup.

MacIntyre looked unstoppable except that he ran out of holes.

«When I went back out, I had a 7-footer for birdie, which was going to set the tone for the rest of the afternoon, and I rolled that in nicely,» said MacIntyre, who then rolled along quite nicely.

It was a different course when the top 50 in the FedEx Cup arrived at Caves Valley, which hosted the BMW Championship in 2021. Patrick Cantlay won in a playoff over Bryson DeChambeau after both finished at 27-under 261.

Caves Valley has gone through a big renovation, changed to a par 70, and it was playing tough enough that Viktor Hovland at 67 had the low score of the morning