Rory McIlroy charges into BMW Championship lead after candid admission about his game
The Northern Irishman bounced back from his disappointing Memphis showing with a bogey-free 64 at Bellerive to grab a share of the first-round lead alongside four others.
Rory McIlroy described his opening round at the BMW Championship as “unexpected” – but the Northern Irishman looked back to his best as he charged into a share of the lead at Bellerive Country Club.
The World No.2 carded a bogey-free 6-under 64 on Thursday to join Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun and Chris Gotterup at the top of a packed leaderboard.
It was a welcome response from the 37-year-old after a miserable week in Memphis, where he finished 66th at the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
McIlroy returned home after that disappointment and spent Monday working with longtime swing coach Michael Bannon and caddie Harry Diamond. The work appeared to pay immediate dividends.
“I went home and I worked on a few things and at least got myself back in a frame of mind where I felt like I'm at least back on the right path,” McIlroy said.
“It’s certainly a work in progress. Days like this are encouraging.”
McIlroy made birdies at the 4th and 8th holes to reach the turn in 33 before finding more fairways on the back nine and birdieing four of his final six holes.
He has also added a rehearsal of his takeaway to his pre-shot routine as he continues to work on his swing.
Although he admitted he is still thinking about his mechanics too much, he felt better able to visualise and execute his shots.
“It went as well as it could have today, for sure,” he said.
Bellerive also appears to suit McIlroy’s game, with its expansive layout giving him room to attack.
The cooler conditions compared with Memphis were another bonus.
McIlroy shares the lead with four players, while Ryo Hisatsune and Matt Fitzpatrick are one shot back at 5-under par.
Ludvig Åberg, Alex Fitzpatrick, Michael Thorbjornsen and Jacob Bridgeman are another shot behind.
Elsewhere, Collin Morikawa and Adam Scott are 2-under par, while Tommy Fleetwood and Justin Rose are 1-under par.
World No.1 and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler struggled to a 2-over 72 and sits T44 in the 50-man field.
BMW Championship R1 Leaderboard
Pos | Player | R1 |
|---|---|---|
T1 | Gary Woodland | -6 (64) |
T1 | Wyndham Clark | -6 (64) |
T1 | Rory McIlroy | -6 (64) |
T1 | J.J. Spaun | -6 (64) |
T1 | Chris Gotterup | -6 (64) |
T6 | Ryo Hisatsune | -5 (65) |
T6 | Matt Fitzpatrick | -5 (65) |
T8 | Ludvig Åberg | -4 (66) |
T8 | Alex Fitzpatrick | -4 (66) |
T8 | Michael Thorbjornsen | -4 (66) |
T8 | Jacob Bridgeman | -4 (66) |
T12 | Justin Thomas | -3 (67) |
T12 | Sungjae Im | -3 (67) |
T12 | Kristoffer Reitan | -3 (67) |
T12 | Akshay Bhatia | -3 (67) |
T12 | Eric Cole | -3 (67) |
T12 | Patrick Cantlay | -3 (67) |
T12 | Jake Knapp | -3 (67) |
T12 | Russell Henley | -3 (67) |
T12 | Maverick McNealy | -3 (67) |
T21 | Aaron Rai | -2 (68) |
T21 | Ben Griffin | -2 (68) |
T21 | Adam Scott | -2 (68) |
T21 | Collin Morikawa | -2 (68) |
T21 | Robert MacIntyre | -2 (68) |
T26 | Justin Rose | -1 (69) |
T26 | Alex Smalley | -1 (69) |
T26 | Michael Brennan | -1 (69) |
T26 | Nico Echavarria | -1 (69) |
T26 | Min Woo Lee | -1 (69) |
T26 | Tommy Fleetwood | -1 (69) |
T32 | Si Woo Kim | E (70) |
T32 | Xander Schauffele | E (70) |
T32 | J.T. Poston | E (70) |
T32 | Ryan Gerard | E (70) |
T32 | Matt McCarty | E (70) |
T37 | Sahith Theegala | +1 (71) |
T37 | Ryan Fox | +1 (71) |
T37 | Sam Burns | +1 (71) |
T37 | Cameron Young | +1 (71) |
T37 | Alex Noren | +1 (71) |
T37 | Rickie Fowler | +1 (71) |
T37 | Viktor Hovland | +1 (71) |
T44 | Tom Kim | +2 (72) |
T44 | Hideki Matsuyama | +2 (72) |
T44 | Kurt Kitayama | +2 (72) |
T44 | Scottie Scheffler | +2 (72) |
T48 | Sepp Straka | +3 (73) |
T48 | Bud Cauley | +3 (73) |
T48 | Nicolai Højgaard | +3 (73) |
McIlroy knows one good round does not mean his swing issues are suddenly fixed.
As he put it, quoting his father’s favourite saying: “One swallow doesn’t make a summer.”
But after a bruising week in Memphis, this was certainly a start – and McIlroy heads into Friday with a share of the BMW Championship lead and renewed confidence.
Andy Roberts first joined GolfMagic on a month's work experience back in April 2011.
Andy then assumed the role of GolfMagic Editor in 2015.
