Bobby Mac Goes Absolutely Mental: Six Straight Birdies That Nobody Saw Coming originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
Watch enough golf, and you start recognizing the difference between a good round and something genuinely unhinged. Robert MacIntyre birdied the last six holes and seven of eight to shoot 8-under 62 on Thursday at Caves Valley Golf Club. That was pure madness.
Not the cute kind of birdie run where everything looks easy.
“The last six holes is probably as good as I’ve ever putted in a stretch of holes. Just so consistent,” he said afterward.
MacIntyre is now three shots ahead of Tommy Fleetwood and four clear of Scottie Scheffler at the BMW Championship.
Three shots. In a playoff event. After a rain delay.
The Weather Made Everyone Crazy
Here’s what happened: A storm rolled through the Baltimore area and completely changed the golf course. They said Caves Valley wouldn’t be a birdie-fest anymore, not after a massive renovation, but Mother Nature had other plans.
You know those renovation projects that supposedly make courses tougher? Beginning on July 31, 2023, they blew up the course and built a better one in 103 days, moving more than 45,000 cubic feet of dirt on the first hole alone. Well, the weather delay softened everything up, and suddenly guys were making everything.
All three came on putts from long range as he’s suddenly got the feel for the greens at Caves Valley — which have lost a little of their fire after the rain. MacIntyre caught that perfect window when conditions flipped.
This Isn’t the Same MacIntyre
Bobby Mac used to be the guy who’d fall apart after weather delays. Not anymore. MacIntyre changed putting coaches in February and began working with Mike Kanski and switched to his current putter during the PGA Championship in May.
“The priority is getting that putter face as square as I can at impact, which — it’s not rocket science, but it’s difficult to do. For me, that’s the priority now, just to go and do that.”
That’s not golfspeak. That’s a guy who rebuilt his putting stroke from the ground up, and it’s finally clicking. It was that sort of day for the Scotsman, who gained more than 5 ½ strokes on the greens, best in the field, as he made 10 birdies in all.
Tommy Fleetwood and His Beautiful Curse
Poor Tommy. He birdied the last for a bogey-free 5-under 65 and ended up three shots back because MacIntyre decided to go nuclear over the final stretch.
On Sunday at the FedEx St. Jude, Fleetwood squandered another chance to claim his first PGA Tour win.
The guy refuses to give up, though. You have to respect the grinding, even when it never quite gets over the line.
Scheffler Does Normal Scheffler Things
FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler is alone in third after posting a 4-under 66 without his regular caddie, Ted Scott. Michael Cromey is filling in this week while Scott tends to a family matter.
Scheffler birdied the first two holes and three of the first four, and looked like he was off to the races. But he hit a speed bump with back-to-back bogeys at Nos. 9 and 10. After the suspension of play, Scheffler birdied three of the last four holes to finish strong.
“I had a great start and a great finish,” he said. “In between was a little bit ‘meh.'”
When you’re Scottie Scheffler, shooting 66 with a substitute caddie is “meh.” That’s just ridiculous.
Where This Goes Next
MacIntyre has the lead, but this is still a long way from over. The course will play differently tomorrow. Weather delays always shake things up. The guys who adapt fastest usually win these playoff events.
Right now, that looks like MacIntyre. His putting stroke is dialed in, he’s got confidence from those wins earlier this season, and he just posted the kind of round that makes everyone else chase.
Finally.
Related: My Midweek Thoughts: Things to Watch at Caves Valley as Playoff Drama Heats Up
Related: My Take: The 20* Most Essential Golfers in History
Related: Tommy’s Torture: Winning on the PGA Tour is Hard, Statistically and Emotionally, But Fleetwood Will Be Just Fine
This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Aug 15, 2025, where it first appeared.
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