2026 BMW Championship – First-Round Notes 

Weather: Partly cloudy. High of 83. Wind NNE 5-10 mph.

 First-Round Leaderboard

• Seventh event this year, and second consecutive, with five or more first-round co-leaders (PLAYERS Championship/5, PGA Championship/7, Charles Schwab Challenge/6, RBC Canadian Open/6, Genesis Scottish Open/5, FedEx St. Jude Championship/5, BMW Championship/5)

• Four U.S. Open champions among the top five players on the leaderboard (Woodland, Clark, McIlroy, Spaun)

Gary Woodland (T1/-6)

Gary Woodland – Image PGA Tour

• Hit 17 consecutive greens in regulation before missing No. 18 to card his lone bogey of the round

• Cards first-round 64 for the ninth time, tying his low opening-round score on TOUR (most recent, 2026 3M Open/T10)

• Holds first-round lead/co-lead for the sixth time on TOUR (most recent: 2022 CJ CUP in South Carolina/T67); also held first-round lead solo-lead at 2018 PGA Championship at Bellerive (T6) and co-lead at the 2014 BMW Championship (T23); 0-for-5 to date

• 2019 U.S. Open champion seeks sixth PGA TOUR victory and second this season (Texas Children’s Houston Open)

• Began the week at No. 31 in the FedExCup standings; projected No. 14 after the opening round; attempting to advance to the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2019

• Previous best finish in nine prior starts at the BMW Championship: T12/2018

• One of 17 players in this week’s field who competed in the 2018 PGA Championship held at Bellerive CC (finished T6)

• Holed out from 99 yards for eagle at the par-4 11^th hole; one of three eagles in round one and the only eagle on a par-4 hole

 Wyndham Clark (T1/-6)

Wyndham Clark. Image PGA Tour

• Bogey-free 64 includes five birdies in his last six holes; marks his low 18-hole score at this event (17^th round)

• Holds first-round lead/co-lead for the ninth time in an individual stroke-play event on TOUR (most recent: 2026 U.S. Open/Won); 1-for-8 to date

• Reigning U.S. Open champion seeks third win this season (THE CJ CUP Byron Nelson)

• Began the week at No. 5 in the FedExCup standings; projected No. 3 after the opening round; advanced to the TOUR Championship twice (2023/3^rd, 2024/8^th)

• Previous best finish in four prior starts at the BMW Championship: T13/2024

Rory McIlroy (T1/-6)

Rory McIlroy – What a difference a week makes. Image PGA Tour

• Entered this week No. 13 in the FedExCup standings; projected No. 7; only player with three FedExCup titles (2016, 2019, 2022)

• Holds the first-round lead/co-lead for the 27^th time in an individual stroke-play event, fourth this season (The Genesis Invitational, Master Tournament, Genesis Scottish Open) and sixth at the BMW Championship; 4-for-26 to date

• 2012 BMW Championship victory is included among his seven top-10 finishes in 15 prior starts at this event

• Competes in his 16^th BMW Championship, the most of any player since the FedExCup began in 2007

• With a win, would become the first player since Tiger Woods (1997) to win the Masters Tournament and the BMW Championship in the same year

• Four top-10s in 12 starts this season (Won/Masters Tournament, T2/The Genesis Invitational, T7/PGA Championship, T7/Genesis Scottish Open)

• Seeks his fifth consecutive season with multiple PGA TOUR titles (3/2021-22; 2/2022-23; 2/2024; 3/2025)

J.J. Spaun (T1/-6)

• 64 for the 2025 U.S. Open champion marks his low 18-hole score at the BMW Championship (13 rounds)

• Making fourth appearance at this event (2018/T45, 2022/T23, 2025/T23)

• Holds first-round lead/co-lead for the 10^th time on TOUR (most recent: 2026 Memorial Tournament presented by Workday); 1-for-9 to date (2025 U.S. Open)

• Began the week at No. 21 in the FedExCup standings; projected No. 12 after the opening round; looks to advance to the TOUR Championship for the second time (2025/T25)

• 2026 Valero Texas Open victory marked his third win on TOU

Chris Gotterup (T1/-6)

• In his 90^th PGA TOUR start, five-time PGA TOUR winner seeks his fourth victory this season (Sony Open in Hawaii, WM Phoenix Open, John Deere Classic)

• Holds first-round lead/co-lead for the second time on TOUR (2026 WM Phoenix Open/Won)

• Began the week at No. 7 in the FedExCup standings; projected No. 5 after the opening round; looks to advance to the TOUR Championship for the second time (2025/T10)

• Making second appearance at the BMW Championship (2025/T33)

• One of six PGA TOUR University alumni competing in the BMW Championship (others: Ludvig Åberg, Jacob Bridgeman, Alex Fitzpatrick, Michael Thorbjornsen, Michael Brennan)

Additional notes

• Ryo Hisatsune (T6/-5) seeks his first PGA TOUR title in his 87^th start; would become first player from Japan to win the BMW Championship and the 13^th player since 1940 to make this event his first PGA TOUR victory

• Matt Fitzpatrick (T6/-5) cards his low round at this event; (previous: 66, three times, R1, R3 and R4 at Olympia Fields in 2023)

• Ludvig Åberg’s (T8/-4) birdie putt from 54 feet, 9 inches on his final hole marks his longest made putt on TOUR

• Michael Thorbjornsen (T8/-4) sat No. 69 in the FedExCup standings before his first victory at the Rocket Classic earlier this month; now projected No. 35 through round one

• Additional opening-round scores:

  • 2026 PGA Championship winner Aaron Rai (T21/-2)

  • Reigning FedExCup Champion Tommy Fleetwood (T26/-1)

  • 2026 Open Championship winner Ryan Fox (T37/+1)

  • 2026 PLAYERS Championship winner Cameron Young (T37/+1)

  • World No. 1 and defending champion Scottie Scheffler (T44/+2)

 FedExCup Playoffs:

• Following this week’s BMW Championship, the top 30 players will advance to next week’s TOUR Championship (East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia)

  • In 2025, one player (Harry Hall) moved into the top 30 with his performance at the BMW Championship

• Players projected to move into the top 30:

  • Gary Woodland (T1), from No. 31 to No. 14

  • Jake Knapp (T12), from No. 35 to No. 29

• Players projected to fall out of the top 30:

  • Kurt Kitayama (T44), from No. 28 to No. 31

  • Bud Cauley (T48), from No. 29 to No. 32