Rory McIlroy opened with a six-under-par 64 to take a share of the first-round lead at the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club.
The world number two sits in a five-way tie at six under par alongside an American quartet comprising Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark, JJ Spaun and Chris Gotterup following Thursday's opening round in St. Louis.
The BMW Championship is the second of three events in the PGA Tour's postseason FedExCup Playoffs. The top 50 players in the playoff standings earned places at Bellerive Country Club in Missouri, competing to advance to the season-ending Tour Championship.
McIlroy arrived in St. Louis looking to rebuild form after a challenging period on tour. The Northern Irishman failed to contend at The Open last month before finishing 66th out of 68 players who completed last week's FedEx St. Jude Championship, after which he admitted he was far away from where he needed to be.
Seeking adjustments to his game, McIlroy spent time working with his long-time swing coach Michael Bannon at his home in Florida before traveling to Bellerive. The work paid immediate dividends as McIlroy delivered a bogey-free performance containing six birdies.
McIlroy's Opening Round at Bellerive
McIlroy made his first move on the scorecard at the par-four fourth hole, where he holed a 15-foot birdie putt. On the par-five eighth hole, he recovered from a wayward drive to take advantage and move to two under par.
After a steady run of pars, McIlroy rolled in an eight-foot birdie putt at the par-three 13th hole. He added another birdie from five feet at the 15th before closing his round with consecutive birdies on the 17th and 18th holes to join the clubhouse leaders at six under.
"I felt like I'm at least back on the right path of what I'm doing with my game and with my swing," McIlroy told reporters after his round. "It's certainly a work in progress. Days like this are encouraging, obviously, but there's still a lot of work to be done."
Speaking about his early progress at the tournament, McIlroy added: "For the first round with what I'm trying to do, it went as well as it could have today."
Challengers and Co-Leaders
Gary Woodland set the initial clubhouse target after producing a hole-out eagle on the 11th hole. Although Woodland finished his round with a bogey for a 64, he retained a share of the top spot. JJ Spaun also reached six under before dropping a shot at the 18th hole to slip back into the five-way tie.
Wyndham Clark recorded a bogey-free opening round of his own, mounting a late charge with five birdies across his final six holes to claim his share of the lead. Chris Gotterup briefly threatened the solo lead after a burst of three straight birdies starting at the 13th hole, before holing a 20-foot putt at the last to save par and preserve his 64.
England's Matt Fitzpatrick leads the chasing pack one shot behind the leaders after posting an opening-round 65. Sweden's Ludvig Åberg and England's Alex Fitzpatrick carded rounds of 66 to lie two strokes off the pace.
Scotland's Bob MacIntyre bounced back from his withdrawal last week at the FedEx St. Jude Championship to post a two-under-par 68. English pair Justin Rose and Tommy Fleetwood both completed their opening rounds five strokes off the lead.
Scheffler Struggles at Bellerive
Pre-tournament favourite Scottie Scheffler endured a nightmare opening day in St. Louis as he chases back-to-back PGA Tour victories. Scheffler won by eight shots at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week, but struggled early at Bellerive with four bogeys across his first seven holes.
The world number one stuttered to a two-over-par 72, leaving him eight strokes off the lead and tied for 44th place in the 50-man field.
BMW Championship Coverage
Live coverage of the BMW Championship continues throughout the week on Sky Sports Golf. Broadcasts begin from 3pm on Sky Sports+ and 5.30pm on Sky Sports Golf.
