Snedeker surges to BMW lead
Brandt Snedeker doesn’t get on a big run of birdies like this very often, so he wanted to make the most of it Thursday in the BMW Championship.
Snedeker made seven straight birdies on his way to an 8-under 63, giving him a one-shot lead over Zach Johnson in the third FedEx Cup playoff event. Conway Farms had a good debut, too. The course north of Chicago yielded some low scores, including 66s by Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker.
On the other side was Rory McIlroy, who might have ended his hopes of going to the Tour Championship with one round. He had a double bogey and a triple bogey for a 78. Lee Westwood battled back pain and shot 80, making it unlikely he’ll go to East Lake.
Herman lead Web.com tourney: Jim Herman shot a 7-under 64 and built a two-shot lead over Sean O’Hair and Danny Lee among those who finished the rain-delayed opening round of the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship on the Web.com Tour.
Rain caused a three-hour delay in the morning, and the first round could not be completed until Friday.
Former Washington resident Steve Wheatcroft shot an even par and is tied for 44th place.
Herman hit one shot before the delay, and then returned to hit 9-iron to 10 feet for birdie. That turned out to be his longest birdie of the round.
Andrew Svoboda, who won last week in North Carolina to clinch a PGA Tour card, was 4 under through 16 holes when darkness stopped play.
Jiminez leads European tour: Nearly two decades after winning this tournament, Miguel Angel Jimenez of Spain shot a 6-under 64 for the first-round lead at the KLM Open.
Jimenez, the 1994 champion, is the oldest player in the field at 49 and would like to add another Spanish name to the trophy.
“Seve’s first win on the European Tour was here in 1976, and Jose Maria (Olazabal) also won here in 1989,” he said. “So hopefully I can win here, too. That would be fantastic.”
Jimenez had two bogeys and eight birdies in a round in which he took advantage of good conditions. One of his birdies came when he holed a wedge from 40 yards at the 16th. Another on the 18th gave him the outright lead.