Crowded at Top of BMW Championship


Though their scores didn't reflect it three players got off to a good start in the BMW Championship. The third of four events in the PGA Tour's season-ending FedEx Cup Playoffs started Thursday at a hard-and-fast Cherry Hills Country Club in Denver.

Gary Woodland, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy each carded 3-under 67s to tie for the first-round lead in the $8 million tournament.

Woodland had four birdies and a bogey, while Spieth posted six birdies and three birdies.

McIlroy, who began play on the 10th tee, forged a two-stroke lead at one point thanks to five birdies through his first 12 holes. But two bogeys on his 17th and 18th holes - a par-4 and par-3, respectively - dropped the No. 1-ranked player in golf to 3-under.

"I'm a little frustrated coming off the course, because I feel like it should have been better than what I finished," McIlroy told reporters. "You can see by the scores, it's pretty tricky out there."

Woodland concurred about the course's difficulty. "It's as firm as we have seen," the 30-year-old from Kansas said. "The greens are concrete out there. If we don't get any rain it can be pretty interesting by the weekend."

Only one stroke behind the pacesetters are Germany's Martin Kaymer, Canada's Graham DeLaet, Spain's Sergio Garcia and Americans Billy Horshel, Russell Henley, Chesson Hadley, Kevin Chappell and Matt Every.

The winner of last week's Deutsche Bank Championship and the Playoffs' overall points leader, Chris Kirk, opened with a 71, a score matched by - among others - No. 2-ranked Adam Scott and defending champion Zach Johnson, who won last year's the BMW Championship at Conway Farms in Illinois.

Hunter Mahan, the winner in the Playoffs' first event, The Barclays in New Jersey, carded a 75 on the classic, 1922 layout designed by William Flynn.

For all the scores, visit http://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html.