Keegan Bradley barely scraped into the FedEx Cup top-50 field for this week's BMW Championhip, but he proved he deserved his place there as he shot a 6-under 66 to grab the lead on Thursday.
Bradley, the 2025 Ryder Cup captain for the USA, shot the only bogey-free first round at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado.
The 38-year-old, 2011 PGA Championship winner finished his round in style, sinking a 10-foot birdie putt on the 18th.
The smile on his face was in marked contrast to the nerves he felt on Sunday at the St. Jude Championship in Memphis where he did just enough to get inside the top 50 in the Cup standings and extend his season.
"Sunday afternoon was one of the toughest afternoons of my PGA Tour career. It was really brutal. It's such a relief to be here," said Bradley, who previously won the BMW Championship in 2018.
"I just felt a lot calmer today. But I played really, really well," he added.
The three-tournament FedEx Cup sees the top-70 field cut to 50 for the second event, and then down to 30 for next week's deciding Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Bradley said that being involved this week was particularly crucial, given his Team USA role and also the fact that the FedEx Cup top 50 spots ensure spots in the PGA Tour's 'Signature Events' next season.
"I want to be out there with the guys and the Ryder Cup team. I want to be playing with them, on the range with them, in the locker room, in the tournament. It was really important for me to be in this top 50," he said.
Hideki Matsuyama, the winner at Memphis last week, continued his fine form - he was five-under and on the fairway on the 18th when play was suspended due to lightning and an impending storm, but he later returned to make par.
South Korea's Im Sung-jae, Sweden's Alex Noren, Canada's Corey Conners and Australia's Adam Scott were all two shots off Bradley on 4-under.
Scott's first ever PGA Tour tournament was at this course in 2000 and he was pleased to have delivered a strong opening round.
"I don't think I played particularly well 24 years ago here, but it was kind of the start of my career and my first-ever PGA Tour start. To think about however many events it is that I've played now and been successful out here for a long time, it was inspiring at the time, and it's fun to come back to where it all began," he said.
Scott said the unique challenges of the Colorado course had forced a high level of focus.
"I think playing at this altitude and working quite hard on every shot with the numbers just to not make mistakes kept me sharp out there, and fell in a good rhythm quickly," he said.
Rory McIlroy, the three-time FedEx Cup winner, was three-under and on the 18th hole when play was stopped. He had made an eagle on the par-5 14th, but when play resumed, he made a bogey on the 18th to end with a 70.
FedEx Cup standings leader Scottie Scheffler, the Masters champion, shot a 1-under 71, with bogeys on the 13th and 15th.
