Rory McIlroy produced an impressive six-under-par 64 on Thursday to join a five-way tie for the lead at the BMW Championship, the second event of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs.

The strong opening round was a welcome return to form for world number two McIlroy, who admitted he felt “lost” after finishing 66th at last week’s St. Jude Championship in Memphis. That was his first tournament since a tied-40th finish at the Open Championship.

McIlroy ended the opening day level with three US Open champions — Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark and JJ Spaun — as well as Chris Gotterup at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis, Missouri.

Meanwhile, world number one Scottie Scheffler endured a difficult day and found himself well outside the leading group.

The defending Masters champion hit only six of 14 fairways and 11 of 18 greens in regulation on his way to a two-over-par 72. His round included five bogeys and left him tied for 44th in the 50-man field.

McIlroy, who captured his second consecutive Masters title in April, picked up two birdies on the front nine before adding four more on the back nine, including consecutive birdies at the 17th and 18th.

“It’s my style of golf course. I do well on these golf courses, they’re big, they’re long. You can get away with missing some tee shots at times,” McIlroy said.

One of his impressive birdies came at the par-five eighth, where he recovered from a wayward tee shot before sinking a 10-foot putt.

McIlroy then hit a precise tee shot at the par-three 13th to set up a seven-footer for birdie. He also capitalised on a powerful drive at the 15th, converting a four-foot putt.

At the par-five 17th, McIlroy reached the green in two and comfortably made his birdie with two putts before finishing his round with a nine-foot birdie putt at the 18th.

The Northern Irishman said the work he had done since last week had helped him feel he was “at least back on the right path” with both his swing and overall game.

“It’s certainly a work in progress. Days like this are encouraging, obviously. There’s still a lot of work to be done.”

Woodland Sets Early Pace

Gary Woodland was among the first players to set the pace, matching McIlroy’s six-under score after producing an eagle at the 11th.

The 2019 US Open champion holed out from 99 yards in the fairway for the eagle.

“I was just trying to get it past the hole,” Woodland said. “It’s a little bit elevated so we couldn’t see it go in.”

Woodland reached seven-under after another birdie at the 17th but dropped a shot at the final hole after finding a greenside bunker.

JJ Spaun, the 2025 US Open champion, also reached seven-under before a bogey at the 18th prevented him from taking the outright lead.

Wyndham Clark, who won his second US Open title in June, joined the leading group after making five of his six birdies on the back nine. He finished strongly with three consecutive birdies, including a 38-foot putt at the 16th.

Chris Gotterup completed the five-player leading group after recording three birdies on each nine.

The quintet hold a one-shot advantage over Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick.

Meanwhile, Alex Fitzpatrick, Ludvig Aberg, Michael Thorbjornsen and Jacob Bridgeman sit two shots off the lead at four-under par heading into Friday’s second round.