Keegan Bradley, the final entrant to the BMW Championship, delivered a solid 6-under-par 66 in the first round on Thursday at Castle Pines Golf Club located in Castle Rock, Colorado, putting him in the lead. Despite a three-hour pause of play caused by severe thunderstorms, which led to eight golfers deferring their rounds, Bradley managed to secure his one-shot lead. His nearest rival, Hideki Matsuyama of Japan, ended his last hole post the weather disruption and achieved a 5-under 67.
Meanwhile, Rory McIlroy scored a 21-foot eagle away from the green on the par-5 14th hole which took his score to 3 under. However, the arrival of inclement weather delayed his 20-foot par putt at the 18th. On his return, he exceeded the putt by 4 feet, which led him to accept a bogey, ending up with a 2-under 70.
Following his victory at the previous week’s playoff opener, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, Matsuyama climbed to third place in the FedEx Cup standings. Bradley, on the other hand, fell short at the St. Jude but narrowly secured a spot in this week’s tournament, ranking 50th on the points table.
Regardless of his standings, Bradley, who is the forthcoming US Ryder Cup captain, had an impressive day on Thursday, carding a round free of bogeys including six birdies, with a 10-foot finish at 18. The playoff events handing out four times the regular season’s points, a victory for Bradley would see him skyrocket into the top five on the leaderboard.
Reflecting on his challenging experience earlier, Bradley said, “The Sunday afternoon was amongst the hardest of my PGA Tour career, it was horribly tough. It feels so good to be here, I felt noticeably relaxed today and I played fairly well.”
Bradley managed birdies on three out of four par-5 holes on the 8,130-yard course, the longest ever in PGA Tour history due to its high altitude, made easy due to the thin air.
Bradley emphasised the importance of the fairway, “If you strike the ball into the fairway, it affords you many scoring clubs. Mastering your numbers with the altitude is incredibly crucial. We did a commendable job today. The key is to get the ball in as many fairways as possible.”
South Korean Sungjae Im, Sweden’s Alex Noren, Australia’s Adam Scott and Corey Conners from Canada all finished in joint third position, noting a score of 4-under 68. A slightly lower score of 3-under 69 was achieved by Xander Schauffele, Nick Dunlap, and Si Woo Kim from South Korea.
Scottie Scheffler, ranking number one in the world and the leader of the FedEx Cup, produced a score of 1-under 71. There were concerns though, as Scheffler was spotted struggling with his lower back at his second-last hole. Despite, waking up feeling sore on the Thursday, Scheffler explained that he was just “laboring” and had not sustained any injury.
Viktor Hovland of Norway, the current holder of the BMW Championship and the FedEx Cup, also began with a score of 71.