Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy share the lead after day one of the BMW Championship at Aronimink Golf Club.
The superstar duo posted matching 62s to reach 8-under par, one clear of Xander Schauffele who shot a 7-under 63, and two ahead of a foursome including Justin Thomas, Billy Horschel, Alex Noren, and Peter Uihlein.
BMW CHAMPIONSHIP: 12 THINGS TO KNOW AFTER ROUND ONE
1. Tiger Woods leads for the first time in five years. The last time Woods led after 18 holes was at the 2013 WGC-Mexico Championship, which he would go on to win.
2. Today’s 62 marks Woods’ lowest score on the PGA Tour since a 61 in the second round of the 2013 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (won).
3. Of 28 previous 18-hole leads/co-leads on the PGA Tour, Woods has converted 14 times for victory, good for a 50% conversion rate.
4. Co-leader McIlroy’s round was highlighted by six-straight birdies (holes 9-14). The six-pack of gains marks his career-best streak. His previous best was five consecutive on two occasions, most recently in the third round of the 2015 Wells Fargo Championship.
5. Three of the last four FedExCup Champions are in the top 5 after round one: T1. Rory McIlroy (2016), T4 Justin Thomas (2017), T4 Billy Horschel (2014). Jordan Spieth (2015) sits T20.
6. While Tony Finau is considered the favorite to be Jim Furyk’s fourth and final Ryder Cup selection, a win by Xander Schauffele would throw a wrench into those plans. The 24-year old California native currently sits T3 (Finau is T20).
7. Paul Casey didn’t do a lot of scoring (one birdie) on Thursday, but didn’t lose a single shot either. The Englishman finished with 17 pars and one birdie.
8. Casey (69) was one of four players with clean cards. The other bogey-free rounds: Rickie Fowler (65), Brian Gay (66), and Henrik Stenson (66).
9. Justin Thomas (-6) and Hideki Matsuyama (-4) led the field in GIR, each hitting 17 of 18 greens (94.4%).
10. Brian Gay was the day’s most accurate, overall, hitting 13 of 14 (92.9%) fairways and 15 of 18 (83.3%) greens in regulation.
11. The toughest hole on Thursday at Aronimink GC was the par-3 8th hole(3.420), while the easiest was the par-5 16th (4.304).
12. Round-one scoring averages: Front 9: 33.826, Back 9: 34.304, Total: 68.130.
