McIlroy Shares BMW Championship Lead as Scheffler Slips in St Louis

Rory McIlroy opened the BMW Championship with a six-under-par 64 to claim a share of the first-round lead at Bellerive Country Club in St Louis, while FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler struggled to a two-over 72. BBC Sport reported that McIlroy finished Thursday level with four Americans: Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark, JJ Spaun and Chris Gotterup.

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The round marked a sharp recovery for McIlroy after he placed 66th in the 70-player field at the St Jude Championship a week earlier. The reigning Masters champion reached the turn at two under, added a birdie at the 13th and then made three more across the final four holes to join the five-way lead.

McIlroy credited work between the two playoff events with swing coach Michael Bannon and caddie Harry Diamond for helping him move his game in the right direction. He also told Golf Channel that Bellerive's wider playing corridors suited him better than the course used in Memphis, giving him greater comfort even when he missed some shots from the tee.

Scheffler arrived in St Louis after winning the St Jude Championship by eight strokes, but the strongest elements of his performance in Memphis did not carry into the BMW opener. According to BBC Sport, his approach play ranked third-worst in the field for the round and his putting ranked fourth-worst. His 72 left him tied for 44th in the 50-player field and only one stroke better than the day's highest score.

Despite the contrasting starts, both McIlroy and Scheffler have already secured places in next week's Tour Championship, the season-ending event reserved for the top 30 players in the FedEx Cup standings. Scheffler remains at the top of those standings as the three-event, no-cut playoff series moves toward its finale.

Japan's Ryo Hisatsune and England's Matthew Fitzpatrick finished one stroke behind the leaders at five under, with Fitzpatrick birdieing the final two holes. Alex Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Aberg, Michael Thorbjornsen and Jacob Bridgeman were among the players at four under. Scotland's Robert MacIntyre posted a two-under round after withdrawing before the second round in Memphis following an opening 82.