Robert MacIntyre leads Scottie Scheffler by 5 at BMW Championship - ESPN

OWINGS MILLS, Md. — One day it was the putter, another day it was the irons. No one had a lower score than Robert MacIntyre both of those rounds at the BMW Championship, and his reward for his 6-under 64 on Friday was a five-shot lead over Scottie Scheffler going into the weekend.

MacIntyre closed with six straight birdies in the opening round for a 62, and he started the second round with a shot into 5 feet on the 476-yard first hole for another birdie. He kept bogeys off his card this time and set a daunting target at 14-under 126.

Scheffler spent the steamy afternoon trying to keep in range. He had to settle for six pars at the end for a 65 and was at 9-under 131, at least booking a spot in the final group.

Ludvig Åberg shot 64 and was another stroke back.

It was the largest 36-hole lead at the BMW Championship since Jason Day led by five shots in 2015 at Conway Farms. Day won by six.

«It's only 36 holes gone. There's a long way to go,» MacIntyre said. «I'm comfortable with who I am. I'm comfortable with the team around me, and I'm comfortable on this golf course. Just go and play golf.»

He has made it look as easy as it sounds on a Caves Valley course that has been renovated, lengthened, has new greens and still hasn't put up too much resistance without much wind.

MacIntyre still putted well, except for the 5-foot birdie he missed on the 18th and another birdie chance inside 8 feet on the eighth hole. He has gained 6.8 shots on the field in putting through 36 holes to lead the key putting statistic.

But he was rarely out of position, even when he missed a fairway or green.

«Yesterday, the putter was on fire. Today, I felt like my iron play was exceptional,» MacIntyre said. «Obviously, coming from links golf back out