Rory McIlroy fired a 67 to seize a share of the lead with Jordan Spieth and Gary Woodland after the opening round of the BMW Championship, which was postponed on Thursday because of darkness.
Four-time major winner McIlroy rolled in four birdies in a five-hole stretch around the turn at the US$8 million PGA Tour event at the Cherry Hills Country Club course.
“It’s tricky. We’ve had a couple of days to adjust to the altitude, so that’s fine, but these greens have gotten so much firmer over the last 24 to 48 hours,” McIlroy said.
Photo: AFP
US Open champion Martin Kaymer is one of nine players tied at two-under. He stands alongside Spain’s Sergio Garcia, Canada’s Graham DeLaet, Matt Every, Billy Horschel, Kevin Chappell, Russell Henley and Chesson Hadley.
Sweden’s Henrik Stenson is also two-under-par and was on the 18th hole when play was suspended. He and the others were to finish their rounds early yesterday. Stenson was one of nine players still on the course when the horn sounded.
World No. 1 McIlroy is aiming for his fourth win of the year, after major titles at the Open Championship and the PGA Championship.
Photo: AFP
McIlroy started on the back nine and after a pair of pars, he dropped his tee shot inside 5 feet at the par-three 12th and drained that for birdie.
He two-putted for birdie at the par-five 17th and parred hole 18 as he made the turn at three-under.
McIlroy surged to the top of the leaderboard on the front nine. He got up and down for birdie on the par-four first and followed with a 14-foot birdie putt on the second.
He made it three in a row with a four-footer for birdie on hole three.
He made bogey on two of his final three holes to finish at three-under. He admitted he is not happy with the ending.
“I am a little frustrated coming off the course because I feel like it should have been better than what I finished,” McIlroy said. “I just try to play a little bit more of feel and it seemed to work out pretty good.”
The 21-year-old Spieth rolled in a 22-foot birdie on the sixth hole and followed with a short birdie putt at the seventh to gain a share of the lead. Spieth parred the last two holes to post three-under.
“I really like the golf course. It’s nice to be back and to see the golf course and understand that this is one of the very few events where I may have more experience than a lot of guys,” said Spieth, who played the Cherry Hills course as an amateur.
Justin Rose, who won this event two years ago, shot a one-under 69. He was joined there by Erik Compton, South Korea’s K.J. Choi, Charles Howell, Ryan Palmer, Chris Stroud and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan.
Jerry Kelly and 2008 champion Camilo Villegas are also one-under-par, but have two holes and one hole remaining in their opening round.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two