Tranlate this title McIlroy from worst performance to co-leading in spanish

In just one week, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy has gone from his worst form to one of his best, sharing the lead after the first round of the BMW Championship on Thursday at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis with four birdies in the last six holes.

Rory McIlroy, results

The six-time major champion carded a 64, six under par, tied with Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark, J.J. Spaun, and Chris Gotterup at the end of the opening day. Japan’s Ryo Hisatsune and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick finished one stroke back with a 65 (-5). Matt’s brother, Alex Fitzpatrick, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, Jacob Bridgeman, and Michael Thorbjornsen all shot a 66 (-4).

At the FedEx St. Jude Championship, McIlroy had a very inconsistent performance, finishing eight over par in 66th place out of 68 golfers. And yet, he overcame this setback with a flawless round on Thursday, which was marked by a 6-foot birdie putt on the par-3 13th hole. On the 15th, his approach shot landed within 5 feet of the hole for another birdie; on the par-5 17th, he sank a two-shot right-to-left putt from 10 feet to join the leading group.

Read also: Scottie Scheffler celebrates winning the final round of the St. Jude Championship golf tournament on the 18th green, Sunday, August 16, 2026, in Memphis, Tenn. (AP Photo/George Walker IV)
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«As I said yesterday, I came home and worked on some aspects, and at least I regained the mindset necessary to feel like I’m back on track with my game and my swing,» said McIlroy. «It’s certainly an ongoing process. Days like this are encouraging, obviously. There’s still a lot of work to be done.»

World number one and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler had a tough day, carding a 72 (+2). He comes off an eight-stroke victory at St. Jude and is now tied for 44th out of 50 players.