Scottie Scheffler Wins the BMW Championship, Erasing a Four-Shot Deficit in Five Holes

Four shots, built over three days of Robert MacIntyre playing out of his mind, and it took Scottie Scheffler exactly five holes on Sunday to make them disappear.

Scheffler shot 3-under 67 at Caves Valley to win the BMW Championship at 15-under 265, two shots clear of MacIntyre, who closed with a 73. Maverick McNealy shot 66 to finish alone in third at 11 under, and Tommy Fleetwood and Sam Burns tied for fourth at 10 under. It is Scheffler's fifth PGA TOUR win of 2025, and he heads to East Lake as the No. 1 seed in the FedExCup.

Five Holes, Four Shots

The final pairing was the same as Saturday, and the start could not have been more different. MacIntyre, who had been nearly flawless for 54 holes, made bogeys at the 1st, 2nd and 5th. Scheffler played that stretch in 1 under, and just like that, the four-shot cushion was gone.

Scheffler took the lead for good at the 7th, flicking a wedge to 6 feet and rolling in the birdie. From there, the world No. 1 did what he does: fairways, greens, no drama. He did leave a few on the table, missing chances to stretch the lead at the 8th, 10th, 12th and 14th, and he three-putted the 14th to open the door just a crack.

"Great battle all the way through," Scheffler said, per the PGA TOUR. "Did a good job of staying patient and executing when we needed to."

MacIntyre Fights Back

To his credit, MacIntyre never folded. He went without a birdie until the 16th, but when it came, it pulled him within one with two holes to play. After 18 birdies in his first 45 holes of the week, MacIntyre made only two in his last 27, per the AP, and that number tells you how the tournament flipped.

For a moment, though, Caves Valley had a real fight on its hands. One shot, two holes, and a crowd that had been on Scheffler's side all weekend suddenly had reason to hold its breath.

The Chip on 17

Then Scheffler ended it. From the left rough on the par-3 17th, he faced a chip of roughly 80 feet. He landed it well short of the hole, let it run, and watched it track all the way into the cup for a birdie and a two-shot lead. He said he knew the shot would come out fast and he just wanted to give himself a good look at par. Instead, he got the shot of the tournament.

He followed with a perfect tee shot on 18 and a closing par. MacIntyre knew what the chip meant the moment it dropped. "When he's pitched that in on 17 and then he's hit the perfect tee shot on 18, it's pretty much game over just then," MacIntyre said, per the AP.

The Scot was gracious and furious in equal measure. "He's the better player on the day," MacIntyre said, before admitting he wanted to go smash up his golf clubs. That is about as honest as a runner-up speech gets. The consolation is real, though: the week lifted MacIntyre to No. 8 in the world, his first time inside the top 10.

Tiger Territory

The numbers keep piling up for Scheffler. This was his fifth win of the season, making him the first player since Tiger Woods to win at least five times in back-to-back years. It was his 18th PGA TOUR title, and the third time he has come back from at least four shots down after 54 holes, per the PGA TOUR. He did it with a substitute on the bag, too: regular caddie Ted Scott was away for family reasons, and Michael Cromie, who normally works for Chris Kirk, filled in.

He now goes to the TOUR Championship as the top seed with a chance to become the first back-to-back FedExCup champion since the playoffs began in 2007.

Who's In, Who's Out

The race for the top 30 delivered its own Sunday drama. Harry Hall was the only player to climb into the top 30 on the final day, and he did it the hard way, bogeying the 16th before chipping in for birdie at the 17th. The Englishman came into the week 45th and finished sixth.

Rickie Fowler went the other direction. Bogeys at the 14th and a double at the 15th dropped him out of the top 30, ending his hopes of a trip to East Lake. Akshay Bhatia, whose hole-in-one on Saturday had pushed him inside the number, grabbed the 30th and final spot despite four back-nine bogeys on Sunday. Michael Kim, who had been on the bubble all week, came up just short.

The week also closed the book on U.S. Ryder Cup qualifying. Scheffler, J.J. Spaun, Xander Schauffele, Harris English, Russell Henley and Bryson DeChambeau are the six automatic qualifiers for Bethpage Black, per the PGA TOUR, with captain Keegan Bradley's picks still to come.

The Takeaway

MacIntyre played the best golf of his life for three days and still lost, which says plenty about the man who beat him. Scheffler did not need a 62 on Sunday. He needed patience, one wedge at the 7th and one chip at the 17th. Next stop: East Lake, where the FedExCup is on the line.

Relive the week in our Round 1, Round 2 and Round 3 recaps. Final scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's final-round recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (final-round recap, leaderboard, winner's story and Ryder Cup qualifying), AP, ESPN. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.