MacIntyre 'wants to smash up clubs' as Scheffler wins

BMW Championship, Caves Valley GC, Maryland

-15 S Scheffler (US); -13 R MacIntyre (Sco), -11 M McNealy (US) -10 T Fleetwood (Eng), S Burns (US); -8 H Hall (Eng)

Selected others: -7 V Hovland (Nor); -3 R McIlroy (NI); -1 M Fitzpatrick (Eng); +1 S Lowry (Ire)

Full leaderboard

Frustrated Robert MacIntyre had the urge to "smash up my golf clubs" after letting a four-shot overnight lead slip to lose the BMW Championship to Scottie Scheffler.

The Scot had been hoping to land a third PGA Tour victory but opened with back-to-back bogeys and dropped a further stroke at the fifth hole.

World number one Scheffler was in front by the seventh and finished two clear in Maryland thanks to a remarkable chip-in at the 17th.

MacIntyre found just one birdie in his three-over par round of 73 and was at a loss to explain the number of shots he overhit.

"I got off to an absolutely horrific start," said the left-hander from Oban.

"I 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 been the last couple of days.

"My golf ball was going miles. I don't know why. I need to work that out. I feel I've hit good shots, and I've gone miles."

Open champion Scheffler showed his mettle and class - despite a few uncharacteristic slips - on his way to a three-under-par 67, taking him to 15 under for the week.

MacIntyre, runner-up at the US Open and tied for seventh at the Open, had been 16 under on Saturday evening after rounds of 62, 64 and 68.

The Scotsman denied he was rattled by his playing partner's consistency, while he chose not to comment on apparent heckling from the galleries.

Asked what he needs to improve, he replied: "Right now, not a clue. Right now I want to go and smash up my golf clubs, to be honest with you."

There was a glimmer of hope for an out-of-sorts MacIntyre when he moved to within a shot after the 12th, Scheffler missing a routine par putt.

But the Scotsman crashed an eight iron off the tee at the 13th to go over the green and a fourth bogey soon followed, only for Scheffler to make a mess of the next.

At the 15th, the American rolled in a birdie after watching MacIntyre miss his attempt but the roles were then reversed at the 16th.

Scheffler saved his best for the 17th, with an incredible chip-in from the greenside that rolled serenely into the hole to send the partisan crowd wild, giving himself breathing space for an 18th PGA Tour success.

With the ranking points that come with a cheque for £1.6m, MacIntyre moves up 11 places to ninth in the FedEx Cup rankings and is sure to have nailed down his Ryder Cup spot, alongside Rory McIlroy, Tommy Fleetwood, who tied for fourth, and Justin Rose.

England's Harry Hall made it into the top 30 for the series climax with a fine sixth place on eight under, which will boost his Ryder Cup chances.

The top six US choices for September's contest at Bethpage State Park, New York, were also settled, with Scheffler joined by J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Russell Henley Bryson DeChambeau and Harris English.