Round 1 Notebook: BMW Championship

Weather: Mostly sunny with highs in the lower 70s. Winds NE 5-10 mph.

Matt Kuchar, No. 1 in FedExCup points

BMW

Round 1 scores
Scorecard: Kuchar
Live Report
Transcripts
Photos: Round 1

• FedExCup points leader Matt Kuchar posted a 7-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the BMW Championship, continuing his excellent play of late. He has finished inside the top 10 in six of his last nine starts, including a win at The Barclays, T6 at the U.S. Open and T10 at the PGA Championship.

• Kuchar's 64 is the second-best opening round of his career (63, 2008 Justin Timberlake Shriners Hospitals for Children Open, finished 2nd). He has now opened with rounds of par or better in 21 of 23 starts (stroke-play events) this season.

• Kuchar, who won the 1997 U.S. Amateur Championship at Cog Hill G&CC, is making his third start at the BMW Championship (T60-2003, T10-2009).

• Kuchar has held the first-round lead/co-lead two times in his career on the PGA TOUR: 2004 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am (finished T48) and the 2010 PGA Championship (T10).

• Kuchar has now played the last 265 holes without a three-putt, the longest current streak on TOUR. Kuchar's last three-putt came on the fifth hole of the third round of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. Ted Purdy owns the longest streak of the season (287 holes without a three-putt).

Ryan Moore, No. 58 in FedExCup points

• Moore opened the 2010 BMW Championship with a 6-under 65, including a Cog Hill G&CC record 7-under 29 on the back nine. The 2009 Wyndham Championship winner sat at just 1-over through 10 holes, but birdied seven of his final eight holes (only par during that stretch was on the par-4 13th hole).

• Jim Furyk holds the nine-hole scoring record at the BMW Championship with a front-nine 7-under 28 during the second round in 2008 (Bellerive CC).

• This is the second-consecutive week Moore has jumped out of the gate with a solid round, posting a first-round 64 at last week's Deutsche Bank Championship en route to a T67 finish. He enters the week ranked No. 58 in the FedExCup standings.

• Moore is making his 11th-career start in the Playoffs, with a T18 at the 2007 BMW Championship his best finish. This is his fifth start at the BMW Championship, with the T18 in 2007 the best of three made cuts.

Ian Poulter, No. 44 in FedExCup points

• Poulter posted a 5-under 66 despite going 0 for 3 in sand saves and carding a double bogey on the par-4 10thhole -- his first hole of the day. This is his third start at the BMW Championship (T10-2007, T20-2009).

Retief Goosen, No. 20 in FedExCup points

• Goosen opened the BMW Championship with a 4-under 67 in his second start at the event (T23-2009). The seven-time PGA TOUR winner has been a model of consistency all season, with his only missed cut in 17 previous starts coming at the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am. He is currently No. 20 in the FedExCup standings and has been consistently ranked inside the top 40 all season.

Luke Donald, No. 5 in FedExCup points

• Donald, a former standout at nearby Northwestern University, continues to shine at the BMW Championship. After missing the cut as an amateur in 2000, he has yet to finish outside of the top 30 in seven previous professional starts, with a T3 in 2004 his best outing.

• Donald opened on Thursday with a 3-under 68, equaling his best start at the BMW Championship (2002).

Dustin Johnson, No. 16 in FedExCup points

• Johnson's 3-under 68 is his first sub-70 opening round since a 69 to start the British Open (T14).

Steve Stricker, No. 3 in FedExCup standings

• 1996 BMW Championship winner Steve Stricker, the only player to have played all 57 rounds in the four-year PGA TOUR Playoffs, bogeyed the final two holes to card a 1-under 70 on Thursday.

Charley Hoffman, No. 2 in FedExCup points

• Hoffman followed up his win at last week's Deutsche Bank Championship with a 1-under 70 on Thursday. He is making his fifth consecutive start at the BMW Championship (T21-2006, T25-2007, T60-2008, T61-2009).

• Hoffman is seeking to become the first player to follow up a win at the Deutsche Bank Championship with a win at the BMW Championship.

Tiger Woods, No. 51 in FedExCup points

• Defending champion Woods double bogeyed the first hole and bogeyed the last en route to a 2-over 73, equaling his second-worst start at the BMW Championship in 12 professional starts. He opened with a 76 in 1998 before battling back to a T9 finish -- one of nine top-10 finishes here.

• Woods, who hit just five of 14 fairways and 10 of 18 greens on Thursday, is seeking to become the first player to successfully defend a title at the BMW Championship since Nick Price in 1993-94. If he wins this week, it would mark the fifth event that he has won at least six times.

FedExCup Notes

• Any player in the top 16 this week could jump into first place with a win at the BMW Championship.

• The two rookies remaining in the Playoffs got off to differing starts, with Rickie Fowler (No. 25 FEC) posting an even-par 71 and Rory McIlroy (No. 29 FEC) a 5-over 76.

• Four players entered the Deutsche Bank Championship ranked between Nos. 71-100 in the FedExCup standings and played their way into the BMW Championship. Here's a look at how they fared on Thursday: Vijay Singh (70), Tom Gillis (70), Jason Dufner (74) and Andres Romero (80).

• Three players began the Playoffs ranked outside of the top 100 and have advanced to the BMW Championship: Kevin Streelman (71), Tiger Woods (73) and Andres Romero (80).

• Three players have finished inside the top 15 in the FedExCup standings in the first three seasons:

• Three players have started in all 15 PGA TOUR Playoff events, including Stewart Cink (70), Steve Stricker (70) and Hunter Mahan (71).

• Of the eight players who own the most rounds in the 60s in PGA TOUR Playoff events (57 overall rounds), none were able to crack 70 on Thursday:

Miscellaneous Notes

• The first-round leader/co-leader has gone on to win just eight of 38 stroke-play events on the PGA TOUR this season, most recently Arjun Atwal at the Wyndham Championship. Incidentally, dating to 1970, the first-round leader/co-leader at the BMW Championship has also won eight (out of 40) times, most recently Camilo Villegas in 2008.

• BMW Championship past winners and their first-round scores: Steve Stricker (70), Camilo Villegas (70), Tiger Woods (73), Jim Furyk (73), Stephen Ames (74) and Scott Verplank (76).

• Did you know? First held in 1899, the BMW Championship is the oldest tournament on the PGA TOUR and second oldest nationally to the U.S. Open. Past winners include Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Arnold Palmer, Byron Nelson, Gene Sarazen, Sam Snead and Ben Hogan.

• Brian Gay (68) managed the only bogey-free round on Thursday.

• Scoring Averages at the par-71 Cog Hill G&CC:

• The par-3 second hole played the toughest on Thursday, with a 3.414 average. The par-5 15th hole was the easiest, at 4.400.