Rory McIlroy, chasing a fourth FedExCup victory, posts a bogey-free 65 to set the early pace in Illinois; Scottie Scheffler and Jon Rahm among the other big names in contention; watch the second round live on Friday from 3pm via the red button and 6pm on Sky Sports Golf
By Ali Stafford
Last Updated: 18/08/23 6:19am
Rory McIlroy shares the lead with Open champion Brian Harman after the first round of the BMW Championship
Rory McIlroy overcame an erratic day off the tee to set a share of the lead after a weather-delayed opening round at the BMW Championship.
McIlroy, currently third in the season-long standings as he chases a record fourth FedExCup victory, found just three fairways but registered five birdies in a blemish-free 65 at Olympia Fields Country Club in Illinois.
The four-time major champion failed to take advantage of the par-five first and missed a six-foot birdie attempt at the fourth as he opened with six straight pars, only to follow a 12-foot gain at the seventh by rolling in from 15 feet at the ninth to reach the turn in 33.
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McIlroy whacked the ball through the trees from the rough and then chipped in for birdie at the 17th in Illinois
The world No 2 started his back nine with a birdie and got up and down from a greenside bunker to add another at the par-five 15th, then chipped in from off the back of the 17th green to help close out a bogey-free start to the tournament.
McIlroy said: “There’s a few courses on the PGA Tour where you can swing away at it and know if you miss the fairway you’re usually going to be okay.
“I rode my luck a little bit. I got decent lies in the rough and from there I was able to get club on the ball and control my distance okay.”
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McIlroy feels he has been lucky to play on a soft golf course after hitting only three fairways on the opening day of the PGA Championship
McIlroy was joined on five under by Open champion Brian Harman, who birdied two of his opening three holes to match the Northern Irishman’s 65, while Rickie Fowler briefly made it a three-way tie at the top until he bogeyed his penultimate hole after finding water off the tee.
Fowler finished in a group of six players a shot off the pace that contains world No 1 Scottie Scheffler, who made four birdies in a five-hole stretch from the 11th and missed further chances over his closing holes, with Sahith Theegala also one back after an unlikely hole-out eagle at the par-four 14th.
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Sahith Theegala grabbed an eagle at the 14th, sinking his approach from 167 yards
England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, US Open champion Wyndham Clark and Chris Kirk complete the group on four under, with Collin Morikawa, Corey Conners and Cameron Young all within two of the lead.
Fitzpatrick was 40th in the FedExCup standings heading into the BMW Championship, with only the top 30 at the end of this tournament advancing to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The 2022 US Open champion has risen to a projected spot of 29th after his opening 66 in Illinois, a round which featured six birdies in nine holes between the seventh and the 15th, plus bogeys at the third and the 17th.
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Patrick Cantlay, looking to win this event for a third successive season and go one better than last week’s runner-up finish at the FedEx St Jude Championship, is in the group on two under that also includes Masters champion Jon Rahm and former FedExCup champion Jordan Spieth, with 22 of the 50-man field under par after the opening day.
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