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OWINGS MILLS, Md. -- Scottie Scheffler offered another reminder that he is and shoulders above the rest of the PGA Tour on Sunday at the 2025 BMW Championship. The world No. 1 put together a strong 67 at Caves Valley Golf Club, besting Robert MacIntyre by six shots in the final pairing to earn his 18th career victory on the PGA Tour and 12th in the last two seasons.
Whether Scheffler wins the FedEx Cup title next week at the Tour Championship is no matter; Scheffler once again stands as far and away the best player on the PGA Tour at the conclusion of another campaign. Given the year started with some uncharacteristic struggles -- he did not win his first event until after the Masters -- Scheffler has finished with a flourish claiming two major championship and a pair of big-money events all over the last handful of months.
Scheffler finished in the top 10 across an outrageous 13 consecutive events dating back to March, winning the PGA Championship and Open Championship along the way. It's the first time he won two majors in a single campaign, and Scheffler now stands only a U.S. Open away from the career grand slam. Along with those 12 wins over the last two years came an Olympic gold medal and a bit of history. Scheffler is the first player since Tiger Woods (1999-2003, 2006-07) to win 5+ times on the PGA Tour in consecutive seasons.
He finishes with more than double the amount of FedEx Cup points as Rory McIlroy, who stands in second place, and the Texan will take home another $8.6 million this week -- $3.6 million for the BMW Championship win along with $5 million in bonus money for being on top of the FedEx Cup standings going into the Tour Championship.
Scheffler's latest win came in typical fashion as he walked down MacIntyre, delivering a final dagger in in the form of a ridiculous ong-range chip-in on the 17th hole .
Despite Scheffler entering Sunday four shots short of MacIntyre's lead, there was a feeling of inevitability as soon as the first tee shots were struck. Scheffler ripped his down the left center of the fairway, while MacIntyre tugged his into the right rough -- a common theme for the Scotsman in the final round.
After MacIntyre left his approach short, Scheffler fired a wedge at the back right pin that left a 7-footer for birdie. When that putt dropped, you could feel the tension as MacIntyre stepped over his own 6-footer for par, which slid by the cup and quickly stripped away any feeling he had of a comfortable cushion.
By the 7th hole, MacIntyre's four-shot lead was gone, and Scheffler stood alone on top. The world No. 1 didn't do anything out of the ordinary, opting for his usual strategy of steadily plotting along, finding fairways and greens to give himself consistent looks at birdie.
"I definitely was sharper with the irons today," Scheffler said. "In this game, you're always looking for a little bit more out of yourself pretty much at all times, so I can think of a few that I wish I would have hit a little sharper. But I hit some really nice shots into -- really good wedge into 7, good shot into 8, good wedge into 11."
MacIntyre, meanwhile, struggled and seemed flustered by a poor start, making three bogeys in his first five holes. He seemed bothered by everything from the crowd to his swing. His driver was the club that let him down most, as he found one fairway on the front nine and that was with an iron on the short 5th. Without playing out of the short grass, MacIntyre couldn't dial in his distances, and after leading the field in ball-striking coming into the day, he finished 39th in strokes gained approach after playing out of the thick rough at Caves Valley for much of his round.
Scheffler didn't slam the door immediately. After taking a two-shot lead with a birdie on the 11th, he promptly came back to the field with bogeys on the 12th and 14th to trim his lead to one. A bounce back birdie on the 15th restored a two-shot edge with an 8-iron out of the fairway bunker he called his second-best shot of the day.
"Probably outside of the chip-in on 17, shot of the day was probably on 15 coming out of that bunker," Scheffler said. "That was a really important shot in the tournament, one that I think will fly a little bit under the radar. I had just made a sloppy three-putt on the hole before to kind of let Bob back into the tournament. Kind of brought my lead only back down to one, and all of a sudden, he hits it in there about seven feet on 15, it's a golf tournament now. I stepped up there and hit it inside of him to about 6-and-a-half feet and was able to hole that putt."
While that gave him a brief cushion again, he could only manage a par on the 16th, allowing MacIntyre to pull back to within one going to the long par-3 17th.
MacIntyre's tee shot looked incredible in the air, drawing in towards the flag tucked on the back right corner of the green over the water, but he flew it a couple yards further than he wanted and had it trickle off the back of the green. Scheffler, who made clear early in the week that he's not a fan of the 17th hole, took a much more conservative route and flew it just long and left, nestling down in the heavy rough with a lengthy chip down the hill towards the water.
At that point, it looked like MacIntyre could potentially walk off the 17th only trailing by one; instead, Scheffler delivered the knockout blow.
The chip-in that sent the masses around the 17th green into a frenzy was a perfect metaphor for Scheffler's win. He wasn't trying to do anything spectacular. All he wanted to do was pop the ball up, use the slope to get around the hole and set-up a stress-free par. The ball rolling in the cup was merely a bonus -- one that put to rest any doubts he would be the tournament winner.
PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 17, 2025"I missed [my tee shot] on the correct side. I think that's the most important. It was a chip we practiced. I knew how fast it was, and basically it was just trying to get it on the green," Scheffler said. "It was kind of a bowl pin back there to where everything kind of funnels towards it, and I knew it was just going to be really fast, and do my best to get it down there and give myself a good look for par. When it came out, it came out how we wanted to and then it started breaking and it started looking better and better, and yeah, it was definitely nice to see that one go in."
By executing the mundane perfectly, he created something spectacular. There's nothing more Scottie Scheffler than that. Grade: A+
2. Robert MacIntyre (-13): Stating after one of his rounds that, when his putter is rolling, there may not be many who can beat him, MacIntyre saw the inverse of that happen Sunday as he opened the door for the world No. 1 to march through. The left hander hit only one fairway on his front nine (with an iron in hand) and had a case of the rights with the big stick off the tee. This hindered his chances on approach and made it so many of those high leverage putts were not for birdie but rather for par. He trailed by one stroke with four holes to play but missed an 8-foot birdie look and watched as Scheffler rolled his in from a similar distance to all but seal the deal. Grade: A
T8. Rickie Fowler (-7): Fowler started the week barely inside the top 50 and started the final day barely outside the top 30. The former Players Championship winner got rolling around the turn with five birdies in a seven-hole stretch to reach 10 under for the tournament. He was projected to move to No. 25 in the FedEx Cup standings when the mistakes begin to compound. A bogey-birdie exchanged occurred on Nos. 12-13 before a bogey-double bogey run from the middle of the fairway on Nos. 14-15 all but sunk his chances. While Fowler played his way into the signature events in 2026, he had a chance to add his name to major championship fields had he qualified for the Tour Championship. Now, he'll have to find another path to the four biggest events on the calendar as he is not qualified for them yet. Grade: A-
T12. Rory McIlroy (-3): It felt like every time McIlroy took a step forward, it was only a matter of time before he took a couple steps back. The world No. 2 carded four double bogeys and a boatload of bogeys on the week to go along with 17 birdies and an eagle. The scoring prowess was there, but if he is to win his fourth FedEx Cup crown next week at East Lake, he will need to clean up the mistakes and sharpen his iron play. There was perhaps some competitive rust early in the tournament given his lack of reps since The Open.
"The game was awful for the first six holes and then actually felt like I found something, especially on the back nine there," McIlroy said. "So definitely something to build off going into next week. This week was [a consequence of] my three weeks off. I really didn't do anything in those three weeks. I was probably expecting too much to get in contention, but there was glimmers of really good stuff in there this week. As I said, I felt like I found a bit of a groove over the last nine holes, so certainly something to build off going into the Tour Championship next week." Grade: B-
T28. Xander Schauffele (+3): The first year in which the Tour Championship will see every player start from the same point, Schauffele will be nowhere to be found. Missing the postseason finale for the first time in his career, the two-time major champion was never able to get anything going outside of Baltimore where he entered the week at No. 43 in the season-long race. Missing time early in the year due to injury, he was never able to replicate the form from his career year in 2024. Everything was just slightly off -- he made more mistakes, missed more putts, and his driver was far looser than a season ago. Schauffele had previously won the Tour Championship his rookie season and shot the lowest 72-hole total at East Lake during the staggered start era.
"Everyone out here is trying really hard," Schauffele said. "There's nothing worse than trying your hardest and playing like ass. It's the worst combo. Some of us do it, some of us don't. It's been a while since I have, and I did it for a few weeks now, and it sucked. It's going to be nice to sit back and be at home and away from golf." Grade: C-
T33. Chris Gotterup (+6): The Scottish Open winner entered the week inside the top 30 but quickly needed to play offense after a slow start saw his name drift outside the projected cut-off point. Gotterup got things going on Sunday as he was 3 under through his first 15 holes but was unable to take advantage of the par-5 16th and dropped a shot on the difficult par-3 17th. For much of the afternoon, it appeared Gotterup would fall on the wrong side of the number, but when others stumbled, he started to climb and so much so that he snuck onto the tee sheet at the Tour Championship.
"I want to give myself another chance to play well and climb the Ryder Cup rankings and all that stuff," Gotterup said. "But if I go home today or if I play next week, I've had a great year regardless. We were talking the other day, like if we were a month out and you said you were going to be here with a chance to fight for East Lake, you would have signed for that. I would have liked to have played better these last couple of weeks, but all things considered, big picture, it's been a good season." Grade: D+
Scheffler chips in for birdie on No. 17, puts tournament on iceWhat more is there to say?!?!?! Scottie Scheffler chips in for birdie on the most difficult hole at Caves Valley to regain a two-stroke lead. That was DRIP speed into the hole and gives him a little more breathing room up the last.
The lead is back down to one as Bobby MacIntyre lasered a fairway wood just long of the green of the par 5 and gets up and down for his birdie. Meanwhile, Scheffler makes a little bit of a mess of the easiest hole on the course and is unable to add a circle to his scorecard to maintain his two-stroke lead. Instead, he is one clear with two to play.
Scheffler bounces back with birdie on No. 15After making a mess on No. 14 with a putter in hand, Scottie Scheffler does what he does best and bounces back. This time it is a 6-foot birdie bid on No. 15 and it puts him two strokes clear of Robert MacIntyre who had a look from inside 8 feet but watched as it was low all the way. Scheffler goes two clear with three to play.
Rickie Fowler doubles the 15th and falls out of the top 30After a bogey on No. 14, Fowler needed to play the final four holes in even par, but Fowler launched his approach over the green on the 15th and then fluffed his first chip to leave it in the rough and lead to a double bogey. That will knock him out of the Tour Championship unless he can pick up two more shots over the next three holes -- but he will have a par 5 to try and get back on track.
Scheffler slips up on No. 12That was a poor, poor bogey from the world No. 1 and it gives Robert MacIntyre some life. Scottie Scheffler more-or-less 3 putts for bogey from just off the green and misses a 4-foot par putt to give one back to the field and one back to MacIntyre who made his par attempt moments early from outside 7 feet. The lead is trimmed to one with six holes to play.
Scottie Scheffler extends his lead to twoAfter MacIntyre jammed a wedge to the back of the green on the 11th, Scheffler stuffed one to four feet and finally converted a short birdie putt after missing two on the 8th and 10th. Now he's 15 under, two clear of MacIntyre at 13 under and three ahead of Sam Burns, who is trying to make a charge from the penultimate group.
Now they head to the long par-4 12th, which will be a challenge for both players, and MacIntyre is going to have to find two of his best shots of the day if he's going threaten a birdie to answer what Scheffler did on the 11th.
Sam Burns throws his hat in the ring at 12 underIt's no longer just a two-horse race at Caves Valley, as Sam Burns is red-hot right now, getting to 4 under for the day and 12 under for the tournament after his latest birdie on the 11th. Burns has been playing well since the Masters and he, like Cam Young, are suddenly making it very hard for Keegan Bradley not to pick them for the Ryder Cup team next month.
Thoughts from walking the front nine with Scottie Scheffler and Robert MacIntyreAfter the long, hot walk around the front nine, here are my main thoughts and takeaways from the first nine holes from the final pairing:
Bobby Mac is in the blender. He hasn't looked comfortable from the jump, especially off the tee. That tee shot on the 10th was the first driver he's hit today that's found the short grass. He handled the Scheffler circus well on Saturday, but it's clear he's hearing a lot of what the crowd's saying today today. I didn't hear anything particularly over the line, but there are a lot of "let's go Scottie" and USA chants popping up from the gallery. When he's playing well, he can quiet that, but as it's gotten away from him it's only gotten worse.
Scottie Scheffler is just inevitable. If he does make a mistake it's very minor and he's just always there. Every time MacIntyre looks up he sees Scheffler in the fairway or on the green pin high. It's just gotta wear on you so much when it feels like any mistake you make is going to get punished because the Scottie machine just keeps moving forward.
He also has an unbelievable ability to block out the noise in a way MacIntyre (and most others) can't. He ignores everything, is never moving people around from the gaggle of media/volunteers/photographers/cameramen following him, and never seems to notice anything going on around him other than the shot he's trying to hit.
Scheffler snags solo leadThrough seven holes, Scottie Scheffler has made up five strokes on Bobby MacIntyre with his 6-foot birdie on No. 7 giving the world No. 1 the solo lead. He stands one clear of MacIntyre and three clear of his good friend, Sam Burns, who is 3 under in his round and 11 under for the tournament
Rickie Fowler makes a giant moveRickie Fowler is running downhill as he makes the turn. Four birdies in his last six holes have Fowler at 9 under for the tournament and into a share of fourth place only four behind Scottie Scheffler and Robert MacIntyre. The move is enough to push Fowler inside the top 30 in the projected FedEx Cup standings at No. 27.
Scheffler pulls square with MacIntyreJust five holes in and it is a tied ballgame. Robert MacIntyre misses the green from the middle of the fairway with a wedge in hand and is unable to make his par putt from just outside 10 feet. Meanwhile, Scottie Scheffler makes no such mistake and instead rolls in a birdie bid from 12 feet to pull even. MacIntyre is now 3 over for his round and his four-shot edge is gone.
Scheffler lets a couple chances slip byAfter cutting three strokes into Robert MacIntyre's lead after two holes, Scottie Scheffler has his first three putt on No. 3 to give one back and misses a birdie bid from roughly 15 feet on the par-5 4th. Scheffler remains two strokes back as Sam Burns begins his surge as he has gotten to 10 under and within four after a birdie on the short par-4 5th.
Bogey-bogey start for Bobby MacAnd all of a sudden, Robert MacIntyre's lead is down to one. He misses right off the tee for the second straight hole and is unable to get up and down from the rough on the left side of the green. Scheffler splits the fairway, finds the green and two putts for par to cut into his lead once again. MacIntyre is back down to 14 under, one clear of Scheffler and only four ahead of Ludvig Aberg who could factor given the early start.
Two-shot swing on the openerWell, that did not take long. Scottie Scheffler connects from 6 feet, 8 inches for an opening birdie as he finds the fairway, throws a wedge in close and knocks it home. Meanwhile, Robert MacIntyre missed wide right off the tee and was unable to get up and down from short of the green. The overnight lead of four is now down to two as MacIntyre leads at 15 under.
Not the best start for Rickie Fowler as he drops a shot on the opener and is unable to roll in a birdie look on No. 2. He is now projected to be No. 33 in the FedEx Cup while Chris Gotterup has moved inside the top 30 with only a couple of holes remaining.
Eyes on Rickie Fowler as he starts his final roundThere are a few bubble boys Rickie Fowler, Michael Kim and Chris Gotterup who are all jockeying for the same points. Fowler's opening tee shot is near (possibly in) the penalty area left of the first fairway as he starts the day at T8 and 6 under for the tournament projected just outside the top 30.
Ben Griffin steadily improvingBen Griffin has started triple bogey, double bogey, bogey and now par on the par-5 4th as he steadily improves in his fourth round. Griffin will have a chance to continue this trend with a birdie on the short par-4 5th and potentially an ace on the par-3 6th.
Not the way you want to start your day Gotterup has got to giddy upChris Gotterup tacks on a birdie on No. 8 and makes the turn at 2 under for his round and possibly staring down the final nine holes of his season. The Scottish Open winner is projected to drop to No. 31 in the FedEx Cup standings as things currently stand at 6 over for the tournament. Not only would Gotterup miss out on the Tour Championship but also another chance to make a case to Keegan Bradley for the Ryder Cup team.
