BMW comes down to the final day

Six players are within five shots of the lead going into final Sunday

By Jim Bebbington

Of course it would end like this.

On Friday night PGA Tour veteran Adam Scott had a commanding lead and the final result of the 2024 BMW Championship looked like it could already have been decided.

Then on Saturday Scott struggled on the back nine of Castle Pines Golf Club, several players crowded the top of the leaderboard.

The leaders going into Sunday are

1. Keegan Bradley, 12-under
2. Adam Scott, 11-under
3. Ludvig Aberg and Alex Noren, 10-under
4. Xander Schauffele and Wyndham Clark, 7-under

Bradley had the tournament lead Thursday, fell back Friday, and as Scott stuggled Saturday regain the top spot with a 2-under par 70.

“It was tough out there today,” Bradley said. “It was really windy, a lot of elevated tees that were into the wind, which makes it really tough. (I’m) proud of the way I fought today. I played some brilliant golf but I hit also some terrible shots, too. I guess that’s the way of the world.”

Scott on Friday night looked capable of running away with the tournament. Then he went 4-over par on the first four holes Friday and suddenly it was a tournament again.

“I kind of felt like I made a meal of (the opening holes), and I didn’t feel like I did that much wrong,” he said. “A couple of drives were just not quite right, and a three-putt, and all of a sudden I’m kind of chasing. I really struggled mostly on the greens today. They were just so different from yesterday’s round speed-wise and firmness and look and everything. Felt like I was on a different course almost, and I just battled that most of the round.”

And somewhat quietly back in the mix is Schauffele, who like Clark climbed the leaderboard slowly and steadily Friday and Saturday.

“Today was a little weird, too, starting out,” Schauffele said. “I kind of got gusted, I think, on 3. I hit an 8-iron that literally went — I got like 25 yards of hurt, which we haven’t had all week. I kind of was posing, and it was a little embarrassing for that thing to hit the wall and go in the water 20 yards off. Then hit a flagstick a hole later. Felt like I had to dig deep in my little patience bucket that’s running thin this late in the year on a Saturday.”

Schauffele is the only player who has a chance to surpass Scottie Scheffler in FedEx points going into next week’s PGA Championship in Atlanta. The FedEx leader starts the tournament at 10-under par before they swing a single club; the second-place FedEx finisher starts at 8-under par.

Clark, as he has done in many of his recent tournaments, started the week much further down the board. But with strong Friday and Saturday rounds, he’s again in the hunt.

“My goal, my caddie and I, we just wanted to be in contention,” he said. “Regardless of what happens tomorrow, at least I had the juices flowing this week and battled a lot of the adversity of handling hometown kid, the pressure. Then also I haven’t been starting very well in tournaments, and I just feel like I’ve overcome a lot of good things. Regardless of what happens, at least I have good momentum going into next week.”

Clark said Saturday helped many of the players, including himself, put themselves in a position to succeed.

“But it is really nice that guys came back a little bit,” he said. “This golf course there’s a lot of scoring holes and then there’s a lot of holes you can make big numbers. If you can kind of avoid the disasters and then take advantage of those birdie holes, you can really get on a run and cover some ground.”

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