Leishman fires a 62, leads playoff event
Marc Leishman left his golf clubs in his garage during his week break from the FedEx Cup playoffs and it didn’t change anything. He made 10 birdies in the opening round of the BMW Championship for a 9-under-par 62 to build a twoshot lead.
Jason Day made the biggest change of his career and had a 64, his best start in 16 months.
The race to the FedEx Cup finale got off to a blistering start Thursday at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, Ill., led by Leishman. The Australian finished third at the TPC Boston two weeks ago, did nothing last week except practice putting in the room above his garage, and then ran off seven birdies in a nine-hole stretch in the middle of his round and matched his best score on the PGA Tour.
“When you play golf and all you’re thinking about is making birdies, it’s a lot easier than trying to not make bogeys,” Leishman said.
Day made five birdies on the back nine to atone for a sluggish start in a tournament where his expectations were up in the air. He decided last week that Colin Swatton, the most meaningful figure in his golf career, would no longer caddie for at least the rest of the year. Day instead used an old roommate from his school days in Australia, Luke Reardon. If that wasn’t enough, he also changed putters.
That might not have been nearly as significant as the good vibes from a six-shot victory at Conway Farms two years ago. Whatever the case, he had no complaints about his lowest score since a 63 in the AT&T Byron Nelson in May, and his best opening round since a 63 at the Players Championship a year ago, which was the last tournament he won.
“A good step in the right direction, especially with having Luke on the bag,” Day said.
Charley Hoffman birdied his last two holes for a 64. Jamie Lovemark also had a 64.
Jordan Spieth, a runner-up in the last two FedEx Cup playoff events to take over the No. 1 spot in the standings, turned a wild tee shot into a birdie on the opening hole, added a 30foot birdie from off the green at No. 5 and settled down the rest of the way for a bogey-free 65. Also at 65 were Rickie Fowler, Tony Finau, Keegan Bradley and Rafa Cabrera Bello, and Phil Mickelson played bogeyfree and opened with a 66.
The top 30 in the FedEx Cup after this week make it to the Tour Championship at East
Lake for a mathematical shot at the $10 million bonus, with odds significantly higher depending on the position in the standings. LPGA Tour: Rain and strong winds forced Thursday’s play to be scrapped at the tour’s final major of the season, the Evian Championship in Evian-Les-Bains, France.
The tournament will start fresh Friday as a 54-hole event.
European Tour: Bernd Wiesberger and Richard Finch shot 5-under 66s to share the lead after a rain-shortened opening round at the KLM Open in Spijk, Netherlands. The leaders were early starters and avoided the worst of the wind and driving rain that flooded fairways and forced a suspension of play.