England’s Justin Rose made a blistering start to his bid to win the US PGA Tour’s version of the BMW Championship with a stunning front nine of 29.
A further two birdies on the tenth and 11th took Rose to eight under par through 11 holes at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club, but he, understandably, could not maintain his stunning start and dropped two strokes on his way back to the clubhouse to join Colombian Camilo Villegas in a share of second place, one stroke behind Jonathan Byrd after the American’s opening 64.
Rose, who lost out for The European Tour’s BMW PGA Championship after a sudden-death play-off with Denmark’s Anders Hansen at Wentworth Club, said: “It was a dream start. I hit a few shots close, had some nice little tap-ins and was four under through six holes without making a putt.
“It’s always disappointing when you're eight under through 11 and you finish six under but it’s certainly not an easy course. There were some tough holes coming in and I was a little bit in between clubs.
Rose ever so briefly contemplated the thought of shooting the magical 59, but just as quickly realised it was probably the worst thing to do.
“When you’re playing well and staying in the moment, you're not getting ahead of yourself and I was doing all those things today," he said. “That's one of the reasons I played well.”
Sergio Garcia of Spain and England’s Ian Poulter are the next best European Tour Members in the BMW Championship field after the pair carded opening scores of three under 68.
