Bob MacIntyre blew a four-shot lead in the final round as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler produced a moment of magic to clinch victory at the BMW Championship in Maryland.
MacIntyre’s big overnight advantage was quickly clawed back after he started his round with two bogeys, and despite a gallant effort he could do nothing to quell the American’s mounting momentum.
Back within touching distance with two to play, MacIntyre watched as Scheffler nailed a remarkable chip from the rough to effectively confirm his victory on the penultimate hole.
It was hard to take for the Scot, who had produced his own memorable moment on the final hole on Saturday when he sunk a 41-foot putt to retain his significant advantage.
Seeking a win that would have banked him $3.6million and moved him into contention for next week’s $10m FedEx Cup bonus, the Oban left-hander was at least consoled by the knowledge he has secured his spot on Europe’s Ryder Cup team thanks to another hefty payday.
MacIntyre pocketed £1.6m for his second-placed finish, moving him up to ninth on the FedEx standings ahead of next week’s finale in Atlanta.
MacIntyre was one off the lead with two to play until Scheffler produced a moment of magic
Scheffler shows off the spoils of victory after overhauling Scotsman MacIntyre in Baltimore
Scheffler reacts with his stand-in caddie after holing a miraculous shot from the rough on 17
MacIntyre tees off on the second hole as he endures a horror start to his final round
Speaking afterwards, a deflated MacIntyre said: ‘Golf ball was going miles for me today. I hit good shots when I got control of the ball later in the day, but I didn’t feel I controlled distance well, so poor day.
‘Right now it’s absolutely disastrous. I won’t be positive standing here, it was abysmal without swearing, absolutely abysmal.’
A final round of 67 shunted Tommy Fleetwood up to a tie for fourth place behind American Maverick McNealy. Rory McIlroy was hampered by back-to-back double bogeys on the fifth and sixth holes respectively as he failed to make inroads on the chasing pack.
Scheffler will take a huge lead over McIlroy and the rest of the chasing pack to East Lake next week as he continues to assert his dominance on the sport.