Late eagle helps McIlroy heat up at BMW as Scheffler stalks halfway leader MacIntyre 

Among the late Friday wave at the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, both Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry dug hard for momentum with Scotland's Robert MacIntyre setting a daunting target

MARYLAND CLICKING: Rory McIlroy, of Northern Ireland, plays on the 11th hole during the second round of the BMW Championship golf tournament Friday, Aug. 15, 2025, in Owings Mills, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Having sat out the opening stop of the PGA Tour's end-of-season playoff stretch Rory McIlroy arrived in Maryland eager to find some fast fluency. 

At the halfway mark of the BMW Championship, the Irishman looks to be trending somewhat in that direction. But only after he dug himself an early hole with an ugly double bogey early in Friday's second round. McIlroy carded a crooked five on the short third hole to ensure his chase of runaway clubhouse leader Robert MacIntyre would not be a straight road.