A week after admitting he felt “completely lost” with his swing during a rough start at the FedEx St. Jude Championship in Memphis, McIlroy roared back into contention on the opening day of the BMW Championship at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis.
He carded his way to 6-under par and moved into a share of the lead with Gary Woodland, Wyndham Clark and J.J. Spaun as Round 1 played out Thursday.
What a difference a week makes 👏
Rory McIlroy bounces back in a big way to end his round T1 @BMWChamps. pic.twitter.com/YrcTCDp3lr
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 20, 2026
A Difficult Week Behind
McIlroy came into the week in uncharted territory, at 13th in the FedEx Cup standings after a quiet stretch through the back half of the season.
And that makes this week at Bellerive more meaningful, with the top 30 in points advancing to next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Playing in the morning group off the tee alongside Xander Schauffele, McIlroy showed the kind of steady aggression that had been missing in Memphis, moving up the leaderboard hole by hole.
Top of a Busy Boardroom
He’s not out there by himself. Woodland entered the week needing a big result just to stay inside the playoff picture, and got off to a hot start with a bogey-free round.
Clark got hot late, making five birdies in his last six holes to join him. Spaun’s drive completed the four-way tie at the top of a leaderboard that also has Justin Thomas and Patrick Cantlay just behind.
Stakes Beyond The Trophy
There’s more at stake this week than the $20 million purse in the playoffs.
Scottie Scheffler still has a stranglehold on the overall FedEx Cup standings after his win last week, and McIlroy knows a strong finish at Bellerive, hosting a PGA Tour event for the first time since the 2018 PGA Championship, would go a long way toward building momentum heading into Atlanta.
