Rory McIlroy carded a flawless 65 to share a one-stroke lead with American Brian Harman after the first round of the BMW Championship in Chicago.
The Northern Irishman picked up five birdies without dropping a shot, while Harman split six birdies with a bogey on the par four 12th.
The pair lead by one from a six-strong chasing pack which includes England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.
The 28-year-old dropped shots at the start and end of his opening round, but birdied six of nine holes around the turn.
“Only hitting three fairways today and coming up with 65 is a bit of a bonus,” said McIlroy.
“But with the golf course being so soft, it’s almost an advantage to be playing out of the rough going into some of these greens because you know the ball is not going to spin. I’m not saying I was trying to aim for the rough, but I was, I think, a lot of the tee shots I was just being super aggressive because I knew in the back of my mind I wasn’t really being penalized for it.
“The golf course is certainly not playing the way it played in 2020. That was not my approach a few years ago here.
“But hopefully with the wind and the sun, the golf course starts to firm up a little bit and starts to play a little bit more like how I think it should play.”
Meanwhile, Patrick Cantlay has some improving to do if he is to be successful in his bid for a third-straight victory in the BMW Championship.
The American carded a two under 68 on Thursday to sit equal-12th.
