Rory McIlroy made an immediate recovery from his worst tournament in more than five years, shooting a bogey-free 6-under 64 to share the first-round lead at the BMW Championship.
McIlroy finished Thursday level with Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun and Chris Gotterup at Bellerive Country Club. Matt Fitzpatrick was among those one stroke behind, leaving five US Open champions at 65 or better.
The performance came four days after McIlroy completed the FedEx St. Jude Championship without breaking par in any round. It was his first event following a four-week break after The Open, and he returned home to Florida to work with swing coach Michael Bannon before travelling to Missouri.
“I went home and I worked on a few things and at least got myself back in a frame of mind where like I felt like I’m at least back on the right path of what I’m doing with my game and with my swing,” McIlroy said. “It’s certainly a work in progress. Days like this are encouraging, obviously. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”
McIlroy Improves His FedExCup Position
McIlroy began the week 13th in the FedExCup standings but was projected to climb to seventh after the opening round. He is the only three-time FedExCup champion, having won the season-long title in 2016, 2019 and 2022.
This was his 27th first-round lead or co-lead in an individual stroke-play event, although he has converted only four of the previous 26. It was also his sixth opening-round lead at the BMW Championship, an event he won in 2012.
A second PGA Tour victory of the season would give McIlroy multiple titles for a fifth consecutive campaign. It would also make him the first player since Tiger Woods in 1997 to win The Masters and BMW Championship in the same year.
Woodland Strengthens East Lake Bid
Woodland produced the standout moment among the leaders, holing a sand wedge from 99 yards for eagle at the 11th. He did not miss a green until making his only bogey at the 18th.
The 2019 US Open champion entered the week 31st in the FedExCup standings, one place outside the top-30 who qualify for the Tour Championship. Woodland, still managing his recovery from brain surgery, said controlling his heart rate remains important during rounds.
“When I’m struggling I put my hand on my heart to just remind myself that I’m alive, and if I can feel my heartbeat, I know I’m breathing,” Woodland said.
Clark birdied five of his final six holes, while Spaun recorded seven birdies before dropping a shot at the last.
Illness Disrupts Scheffler’s Start
Scottie Scheffler opened with a 2-over 72, his highest first round since the US Open in June. The world No. 1 arrived at Bellerive after winning the FedExCup Playoffs opener by eight strokes, but his voice was hoarse and he said he was ill before heading to the locker room.
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| Pos. | Player | To Par | R1 |
|---|---|---|---|
| T1 | Gary Woodland | -6 | 64 |
| T1 | Wyndham Clark | -6 | 64 |
| T1 | Rory McIlroy | -6 | 64 |
| T1 | J.J. Spaun | -6 | 64 |
| T1 | Chris Gotterup | -6 | 64 |
| T6 | Ryo Hisatsune | -5 | 65 |
| T6 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -5 | 65 |
| T8 | Ludvig Åberg | -4 | 66 |
| T8 | Alex Fitzpatrick | -4 | 66 |
| T8 | Michael Thorbjornsen | -4 | 66 |
| T8 | Jacob Bridgeman | -4 | 66 |
| T12 | Justin Thomas | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Sungjae Im | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Kristoffer Reitan | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Akshay Bhatia | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Eric Cole | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Patrick Cantlay | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Jake Knapp | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Russell Henley | -3 | 67 |
| T12 | Maverick McNealy | -3 | 67 |
| T21 | Aaron Rai | -2 | 68 |
| T21 | Ben Griffin | -2 | 68 |
| T21 | Adam Scott | -2 | 68 |
| T21 | Collin Morikawa | -2 | 68 |
| T21 | Robert MacIntyre | -2 | 68 |
| T26 | Justin Rose | -1 | 69 |
| T26 | Alex Smalley | -1 | 69 |
| T26 | Michael Brennan | -1 | 69 |
| T26 | Nico Echavarria | -1 | 69 |
| T26 | Min Woo Lee | -1 | 69 |
| T26 | Tommy Fleetwood | -1 | 69 |
| T32 | Si Woo Kim | Par | 70 |
| T32 | Xander Schauffele | Par | 70 |
| T32 | J.T. Poston | Par | 70 |
| T32 | Ryan Gerard | Par | 70 |
| T32 | Matt McCarty | Par | 70 |
| T37 | Sahith Theegala | +1 | 71 |
| T37 | Ryan Fox | +1 | 71 |
| T37 | Sam Burns | +1 | 71 |
| T37 | Cameron Young | +1 | 71 |
| T37 | Alex Noren | +1 | 71 |
| T37 | Rickie Fowler | +1 | 71 |
| T37 | Viktor Hovland | +1 | 71 |
| T44 | Tom Kim | +2 | 72 |
| T44 | Hideki Matsuyama | +2 | 72 |
| T44 | Kurt Kitayama | +2 | 72 |
| T44 | Scottie Scheffler | +2 | 72 |
| T48 | Sepp Straka | +3 | 73 |
| T48 | Bud Cauley | +3 | 73 |
| T48 | Nicolai Højgaard | +3 | 73 |
Simon Bale
Simon Bale is the publisher of Golf Today. A low single-figure handicap golfer, he was previously a major shareholder and course reviewer for Top100GolfCourses.com for over a decade, starting in 2010. Through this role, he developed extensive knowledge of golf course design and architecture while playing more than 300 courses worldwide.