CARMEL, Indiana – World No. 1 Rory McIlroy birdied his final two holes to earn a four-way share of the lead in the first round of the BMW Championship Thursday while playing partner Tiger Woods was a shot back. McIlroy, fresh off his win at the Deutsche Bank Championship Monday, mixed an eagle, seven birdies and a lone bogey for an eight-under 64 at Crooked Stick Golf Club that put him in a tie for the lead with Americans Webb Simpson and Bo Van Pelt and Canadian Graham DeLaet. Van Pelt, who failed to make the US Ryder Cup team this week, may have had captain Davis Love III rethinking his picks after a bogey-free round while Simpson, an automatic selection, was equally impressive, particularly on the back nine stringing together four consecutive birdies from the 14th. DeLaet was the unknown on a leaderboard packed with former and current world No. 1s, multiple major winners and Ryder Cup members. But the unheralded Canadian certainly looked like he belonged, mixing seven birdies and an eagle against one bogey for his 64. With the suspense of Ryder Cup selections over, the focus is back on the FedEx playoffs this week and there is plenty at stake with the elite field of 70 players vying for one of 30 spots in the Sept. 20-23 Tour Championship finale in Atlanta where the overall points winner gets a $10 million bonus. The only players with three PGA Tour wins this season, Woods and McIlroy were paired together for the second time in three weeks. Woods was joined on seven-under by Fijian Vijay Singh while Briton Luke Donald and Americans Ryan Palmer and Ryan Moore are on six-under 66s. Storm takes early lead In Hilversum, Netherlands, Graeme Storm put a lean and emotionally testing spell behind him to take the first round lead in the KLM Open Thursday, while Ryder Cup star Martin Kaymer made a timely return to form. A fine 63 enabled the tall Englishman to reach seven-under, which put him two shots clear of Kaymer, who ended the day level with Fabrizio Zanotti of Paraguay and Frenchman Raphaël Jacquelin. Kaymer's European teammate Peter Hanson of Sweden was one of six players tied for fifth on four under, while Belgium's Nicolas Colsaerts birdied the last to go round in 70. — Agencies
