BMW Championship R1

McIlroy among leaders at Caves Valley

BMW Championship 2021 R1
August 26-29
Caves Valley Golf Club, Owings Mills, Maryland
$9,500,000
Round 2, Round 3, Round 4

Estimated reading time: 5 minutes


Rory McIlroy posted his best round in almost a year on a stiflingly hot day in Maryland to take a share of the lead at 8-under in the BMW Championship.


BMW Championship 2021 R1

He fired seven birdies, a single bogey at the 13th and an eagle at the par-5 16th for a 64 to tie alongside World Number 1 Jon Rahm and Sam Burns. His last 64 came at last season’s Tour Championship.


BMW Championship 2021 R1

McIlroy currently lies in 28th place in the FedEx Cup standings with only the top-30 moving on to the final event of the season at East Lake.

“I’ve went through playoff stretches before where you’re always in that lead group. You’re either 1, 2 or 3 in the FedExCup, and that can sort of take its mental toll,” he said. “I’m in a position where I need to play well just to play next week. There is an element of free-wheeling.”


BMW Championship 2021 R1

Rahm, who came third at Liberty National last week, fired five birdies and stayed bogey-free for his share of the lead.

“Played great golf last week, just a couple of bad swings down the stretch, and that’s the most important thing to remember.”


BMW Championship 2021 R1

Burns also managed to keep bogeys off his score card to produce his fourth 64 in his last eight rounds. He is one of several players aiming to get the final automatic qualifying spot for the U.S. Ryder Cup Team this week.

Sergio Garcia lies in fourth place at 7-under, followed by Abraham Ancer and Patrick Cantlay at 6-under.


BMW Championship 2021 R1

Northern Trust winner Tony Finau is tied in seventh place at 5-under alongside eleven players including Dustin Johnson and Patrick Cantlay.

Despite the favourable weather conditions the PGA utilized preferred lies in the opening round due to the remnants of Tropical Storm Henri that have kept the fairways soggy underneath. With temperatures to continue to rise over the next three rounds as well as the possibility of thunderstorms that could remain the case until the end of the event.

“Based on the remnants of Hurricane Henri that brought 2-3 inches of rain to Caves Valley Golf Club over the weekend, combined with extreme heat, high dew point and humidity, the PGA Tour Competitions Committee has granted players the ability to utilize preferred lies in closely-mown areas for Round 1 of the BMW Championship,” said Chief Referee Steve Rintoul.

“Unfortunately, the conditions we’ve been dealt, along with no wind to speak of, has slowed the drying of the golf course. In some instances, players will be dealing with some extreme mud adhering to the golf ball that will affect its flight in unpredictable ways. THE PGA Tour has a philosophy in place for using preferred lies for two reasons, one is temporary water and the second is for this exact situation which will allow us to deliver a more-even playing field.”

BMW Championship 2021 R1

Pos.
Player
To Par
R1
T1
Sam Burns
-8
64
T1
Jon Rahm
-8
64
T1
Rory McIlroy
-8
64
4
Sergio Garcia
-7
65
T5
Patrick Cantlay
-6
66
T5
Abraham Ancer
-6
66
T7
Tony Finau
-5
67
T7
Xander Schauffele
-5
67
T7
Keegan Bradley
-5
67
T7
Harold Varner III
-5
67
T7
Webb Simpson
-5
67
T7
Dustin Johnson
-5
67
T7
Hideki Matsuyama
-5
67
T7
Erik van Rooyen
-5
67
T7
Sungjae Im
-5
67
T7
Sebastián Muñoz
-5
67
T7
Emiliano Grillo
-5
67
T7
Hudson Swafford
-5
67
T19
Paul Casey
-4
68
T19
Carlos Ortiz
-4
68
T19
Lucas Glover
-4
68
T19
Phil Mickelson
-4
68
T19
Justin Thomas
-4
68
T19
Bryson DeChambeau
-4
68
T19
Daniel Berger
-4
68
T19
Ryan Palmer
-4
68
T19
Cameron Smith
-4
68
T19
Joaquin Niemann
-4
68
T29
Charley Hoffman
-3
69
T29
Aaron Wise
-3
69
T29
Stewart Cink
-3
69
T29
Tom Hoge
-3
69
T29
Harris English
-3
69
T29
Mackenzie Hughes
-3
69
T29
Patton Kizzire
-3
T29
Talor Gooch
-3
69
T29
Matt Jones
-3
69
T29
Brian Harman
-3
69
T29
Jhonattan Vegas
-3
69
T29
Maverick McNealy
-3
69
T29
K.H. Lee
-3
69
T29
Marc Leishman
-3
69
T43
Cameron Champ
-2
70
T43
Corey Conners
-2
70
T43
Viktor Hovland
-2
70
T43
Brooks Koepka
-2
70
T47
Kevin Streelman
-1
71
T47
Louis Oosthuizen
-1
71
T47
Shane Lowry
-1
71
T47
Charl Schwartzel
-1
71
T47
Alex Noren
-1
71
T47
Chris Kirk
-1
71
T47
Billy Horschel
-1
71
T47
Lee Westwood
-1
71
T47
Jordan Spieth
-1
71
T56
Kevin Na
E
72
T56
Collin Morikawa
E
72
T56
Keith Mitchell
E
72
T56
Russell Henley
E
72
T56
Max Homa
E
72
T56
Kevin Kisner
E
72
T56
Harry Higgs
E
72
T63
Robert Streb
+1
73
T63
Scottie Scheffler
+1
73
T63
Jason Kokrak
+1
73
T63
Cameron Tringale
+1
73
T63
Cam Davis
+1
73
68
Si Woo Kim
+2
74
69
Branden Grace
+3
75
Updated: October 6, 2022