Despite storms trying to curtail the end of the first round at the BMW Championship, the first round is in the books and ironically it’s the man who started the week in the final qualifying spot, Keegan Bradley.
Scraping through to the BMW Classic by the skin of his teeth, Bradley has clearly arrived at Castle Pines with a mindset that he has nothing to lose. Having believed that he ended last week’s St Jude Championship just outside the top 50, a spectacular blow up from Tom Kim cemented his place in this week’s line up and the newly appointed U.S. Ryder Cup Captain is clearly keen to take advantage of his unlikely second chance.
Leading by one from a host of star players, there is plenty to play for as the 50 man field try to work themselves into a position to qualify or place themselves in the strongest position possible for next week’s Tour Championship. Here are the the first rounds main talking points.
Race to head into the Tour Championship takes twist as Scheffler hurts his back
Despite winning the Players Championship, Masters and four other PGA events, the enhanced nature of the points on offer during the FedEx Playoffs has left Scottie Scheffler in a tricky position.
Deserving to win his first ever FedEx crown due to his remarkable consistency, the world number one knew that a poor showing this week could see him supplanted at the top by Xander Schauffele or resurgent Hideki Matsuyama.
Clearly out of sorts at last week’s St Jude Championship, Scheffler has had an air of irritation surrounding him the last few weeks and although a steady round of 71 is an ok start to his challenge this week, he does find himself five shots off the pace.
Perhaps more worryingly for the world number one is what happened on the 17th fairway. Looking to draw his ball into the green, immediately after his swing, he pulled up in pain and grabbed his back. Although he was able to finish his round, it was a moment of concern for all those connected to the Texan and it will be interesting to see if there is anything lingering today.
With Scheffler struggling, both of his nearest rivals ensured they made the most of the opportunity that had been given to them.
Fresh off his victory at the St Jude Championship, Hideki Matsuyama has carried over the positive momentum from last week and is poised to strike today.
A magnificent round of 67 has moved the Japanese into second position just one shot behind Bradley, swinging the club as well as he has done since winning the 2021 Masters, Matsuyama looks in complete control of every facet of his game and is one to watch with real interest today.
Xander Schauffele could have won last week’s St Jude had it not been for a slow start, but an exceptionally strong final round saw him finish in a tie for second and he has clearly learnt from last week as a solid opening round 69 see’s him just three shots off the lead.
Although he has picked up two majors this season, there is still a quiet determination from the Californian and you can see how badly he wants to end the year as the overall FedEx Champion.
With Scheffler arriving at the course today with questions to answer over his fitness, the time for Schauffele to strike could be now.
Castle Pines helps add to the drama
The beautiful surroundings of Castle Pines will certainly add to the drama this week. The longest course to have ever hosted a PGA tournament, the altitude and sheer elevation of some of the holes have made watching the first round fascinating.
With both caddy and player needing to be dialled into their yardages due to the altitude, miscalculation is just around the corner and in some instances that has seen players make mistakes which could prove costly.
In today’s era of professional golf there are too few courses which require every shot to be thought through, but that isn’t the case here. With the greens small and often protected by bunkers, in order to win this week a player will need to find themselves near the top of the leaderboard and it looks unlikely that someone will be able to make a huge final round charge.
Befitting of a tournament of this stature, the next few days at Castle Pines could turn out to be exceptionally special.
Plenty of big names will look to move up the leaderboard today
Although most of the attention will fall on the trio of Schauffele, Scheffler and Matsuyama, there are plenty of big names that will hope to stay close to the top of the leaderboard.
After a disastrous St Jude Championship where he recorded one of his worst efforts since turning pro, all seems right in the world of Rory McIlroy this week and the world number three would have been happy with his opening round 70 that sees him four off the lead.
His driving woes from last week seem to be fixed and McIlroy will be hoping to use his distance off the tee to maximum effect over the next three days. With work to do, he will hope for another positive day today.
Collin Morikawa was another who didn’t really feature at the St Jude and is keen to make up for lost time here. Heading into this week ranked fifth in the overall standings, Morikawa will want to lay down a marker ahead of the Tour Championship and start closer to the Scheffler / Schauffele duo.
Also at -2 following an opening round 70, Morikawa will hope to move up the leaderboard today.
Patrick Cantlay has been a winner of this tournament before but due to the exploits of his Ryder Cup playing partner and best friend Schauffele, he now often heads into weeks like this flying under the radar.
His demure manner and slow and steady playing style do little to make him stand out on the course, but it’s easy to forget what a classy player he is.
As consistent as they come, this sort of layout at Castle Pines should be right up his street and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see him in the mix by the time that Sunday rolls around.
BMW Championship betting odds
If you fancy placing a bet ahead of the second round at the BMW Championship, here are all of the latest odds.
Xander Schauffele - 9/2
Hideki Matsuyama - 11/2
Scottie Scheffler - 11/2
Rory McIlroy - 12/1
Keegan Bradley - 12/1
Collin Morikawa - 14/1
Correy Connors - 16/1
Sungjae Im - 16/1
Adam Scott - 18/1
Patrick Cantlay - 22/1
Jack Hartman
A keen golfer and huge fan of the game, Jack has been covering golf for the last five years. Bringing you all the latest coverage and news from the PGA, LIV, LPGA and DP World Tours, never before has golf been so popular and Jack can’t wait to bring all the excitement to his readers.
