- FedExCup Points: 50,000
- Purse: $7.0 million
- Winning Share: $1,260,000
- Yards: 7,547
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents
LEMONT, Ill. -- Justin Rose woke up from what he called a "dream start" on Thursday, but he still managed to come to rest among the leaders after the first round of the BMW Championship.
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That 65 Rose fired on Cog Hill's Dubsdread Course included an outward 29 and left him tied with Camilo Villegas, one stroke behind the leader, Jonathan Byrd, in the third event of the PGA TOUR Playoffs for the FedExCup.
Rose made eight birdies in his first 11 holes which he later admitted had him thinking about the magical 59 -- but just "briefly," he was quick to point out. Rose couldn't quite finish the round off, though, making two bogeys in his last four holes.
The key, the 27-year-old Englishman said, was staying focused on the shot at hand on this unseasonably cool and breezy late summer morning.
"When you do play well and you stay in the moment and you're playing shot for shot, you're not getting ahead of yourself, and I was doing all those things today," Rose said. "That's one of the reasons why I was able to play well."
Quality golf shots helped considerably, too. Rose's front-nine birdies came from 7, 4, 3, 5, 16 and 43 feet. "I didn't realize I was 29, which is always nice for nine holes," Rose said.
Rose followed with a 20-footer on the 10th hole and a 6-footer at No. 11 to move to 8 under. But he bogeyed the par-5 16th, when he couldn't save par from the greenside bunker, and dropped another shot on the 18th when he missed the green to the left.
"So it was a nice combination of a few putts made and a few close iron shots," Rose said. "Obviously, it's always disappointing when you're 8 under par through 11 and you finish 6 under, but at the same time, I think you've got to realize it's certainly not an easy golf course. There were some tough holes coming in, and I felt like I was -- yeah, a little bit in between clubs, which was funny.
"The front nine I had good yardages, I was able to hit aggressive shots, and on the back nine I felt like the wind was gusting and I didn't feel like I had a good number, so therefore you have to be slightly more defensive. That's how I felt coming in."
Rose found the greens receptive after Wednesday afternoon's downpour. Tee times were moved up and preferred lies were used due to the threat of more volatile weather -- although Rose admitted he didn't remember to lift, clean and place the first five holes.
"I was out the second group, so on the front nine the greens were rolling perfectly, and obviously on the back nine the greens having had a little bit of traffic on them, they weren't quite as smooth," he said. "But still, the greens were rolling nicely today."
Rose missed the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship last week -- which was his first early exit from a PGA TOUR event since October of 2006. Rose, who has six top-10 finishes this year, including a tie for second at the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, won't have to worry about that this week, though.
The BMW Championship has a field of 70 and will not have a cut. At the end of the tournament, the top 30 players in the FedExCup standings will advance to Playoff finale, THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola.
"Obviously I've been playing my golf without the cut being a factor or without the cut being an issue," Rose, who ranks 23rd in the standings, said. "So it shouldn't really make a difference. Obviously, it's still a four-round golf tournament every time you play, that's the mentality.
"The first round is as important as the last round. I think if you get off to a bad start, then it's great, if there's no cut. Then it's great. You can say I've got 68 more holes here or 60 holes to work my way back into the tournament. There's less pressure to get back to a decent number by 36 holes."
Rose is looking for his first PGA TOUR win. He had the second-best scoring average in the majors this year behind Tiger Woods, though -- finishing tied for fifth at the Masters, 10th at the U.S. Open and 12th at the British Open and PGA Championship.
The talented young Englishman prospered by changing his preparation for the majors. He visited three of the four venues in advance to identify the shots that would be required and then spent the week prior to the major working on them.
Rose has changed his preparation for the Playoffs, as well, in order to peak for the four-event series that will award a $10 million bonus to the FedExCup champion. He said he has a "mental shelf life" of three weeks where he feels fresh.
"I think this week I've made a conscious effort to rest more, definitely," Rose said. "I think for whatever reason the Friday start in Boston upset my normal routines and rhythm, what have you, and I felt a little bit ... it was funny, I felt tired but under-prepared.
"So this week I've gone back to the routine that works well for me and also rested up a little bit more, which I think is important because it's a marathon, not a sprint."
