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