Justin Rose powers his way up in the first round of BMW Championship on FedExCup Playoffs
The first round of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club turned out to be an English affair with Justin Rose climbing to the top of the leaderboard with an eye on the Top 30 who will proceed to the next event of the FedExCup Playoff Championship.
He shot his best round of the year to finish for a whopping eight-under, 63 on a cold and breezy day at Cog Hill.
"I looked to the weather, looked at the temperature, and I thought today was going to be a day to hang in there," Rose said. "Little did I know I was about to play so well -- certainly my best round of the year by a long, long way. And could have been top
five, top 10 rounds I've ever played for sure."
Having had a bad year so far where he was hardly able to manage a Top 10 after his stellar performance in the Masters, Rose is currently poised at 34th on the FedExCup rankings and knows well that he will need to snap out of his complacent putting
in order to stay on course for the $10-million event. He cleared the rest of the field by two shots with an amazing spree of nine birdies and dropped just one shot at par-four, 13th.
Rose also revealed that he received a couple of putting instructions by the swing guru Sean Foley on Tuesday which enabled him to jump back in form in the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs. His round of 63 equaled the best opening round ever shot on the
BMW Championship and the record is also held by Tiger Woods in 2003, Nick Price in 2000, George Fazio (1951/Davenport CC). Although Woods was the only player who was able to capitalize on the early gains and romped all the way to the victory stand.
Runners-up included the Greensboro champion Webb Simpson alongside Mark Wilson, both of whom closed for a six-under, 65 to stay two shots behind the leader. The Players champion K.J. Choi finished for an outright fourth with his score of four-under, 67.
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