With a handful of matches left due to a storm suspension to finish the first round of the BMW Championship, the second playoff of the FedEx Cup being held from Thursday to Sunday at the Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado, all eyes are on Keegan Bradley (-6). The golfer from Woodstock, who minutes before finishing last Sunday’s FedEx St. Jude Championship had one foot out of the final series of the PGA Tour, took advantage of an unexpected twist of fate and seems ready to make the most of it.
He moved from 51st place in the circuit’s general ranking to 50th, right on the cut that gave access to the second event of these playoffs, thanks to a real debacle by Tom Kim, who finished his tournament and his adventure this season on the American tour with a bogey, double bogey and double bogey. And the opportunity that came to him to move forward is being squeezed as much as possible by the good Bradley, who this Thursday has been the best with a round of 66 strokes, free of bogeys, with six birdies.
Staying hot 🔥
@HidekiOfficial_ moves to T2 @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/wVp2DNIcVL— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 22, 2024
After these first 18 holes of the penultimate tournament of the course, he leads the classification alone with a one-stroke advantage over Japanese Hideki Matsuyama (-5), who won last week in Memphis (without his caddie and without his coach, victims of a robbery during an air stopover in London) and could not finish his round due to a suspension due to thunderstorms, and two over the quartet formed by Sungjae Im (-4), Alex Noren (-4), Adam Scott (-4) and Corey Conners (-4).
In addition to the Japanese, seven other players could not complete their first round due to the suspension, so we will have to wait until tomorrow to definitively certify Bradley‘s first place alone. A leadership that, if it becomes a victory at the end of the week, would shoot him up to fourth place in the FedEx general, climbing no less than 46 places, and would put him fully in the fight for the final victory on the circuit alongside the big favourites.
The first round of the @BMWChamps has been suspended due to inclement weather near Castle Pines. pic.twitter.com/23XisiGmx3
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 22, 2024
Scottie Scheffler (-1) started with a round of 71 strokes, one step away from the top 10, although with lumbar discomfort (“maybe I hit too many balls yesterday,” he said); Xander Schauffele (-3) shot 69 strokes, pushing his chances of reaching Atlanta at the head of the FedEx. While Collin Morikawa (-2) and Rory McIlroy (-3) were one hole away from being able to complete their respective rounds, well positioned. There is still a lot to decide in this just started BMW Championship to determine which 30 players access the TOUR Championship… and with what result they start the grand final.
