CASTLE ROCK, Colorado — The PGA Tour returned to the Rocky Mountains for the first time in over a decade, and playing at an elevation of over 6,200 feet and dealing with the altitude was a hot topic of conversation as players tried to figure out how to adjust to the thin air.

“I think the highlight (of the day) was when I shot a 430 on the 10th hole,” said Adam Scott.

Castle Pines Golf Club was a Tour fixture for 21 years before retiring at the start of the FedEx Cup era in 2007. Jack Nicklaus redesigned the course for the pros’ recent visit, lengthening it to 8,130 yards. Justin Thomas described Castles Pines on Sirius/XM PGA Tour Radio as “like Shadow Creek and Caves Valley had a baby.”

On Thursday, Keegan Bradley, the last man in the field at No. 50, shot to the top of the leaderboard with an opening-round 66 before play was suspended due to lightning in the area. It would be his 11th lead or co-lead after the first round, and he has 0 of 10 attempts to defend those previous leads, including at the 2022 BMW. Here are five things to know about the opening round of the BMW Championship.

The last shall be first

The last man of the 50-strong field of participants in the BMW Championship is at the top of the rankings after the opening round.

Keegan Bradley holed his second shot on the 18th from 159 yards to 10 feet and sank the birdie putt to shoot 6-under-par 66 at Castle Pines Golf Club and take a two-stroke lead on the clubhouse course in the second match of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who won last week, was one shot back playing on the 18th when play was suspended at 5:33 p.m. ET due to thunderstorms in the area.

Bradley, who was named captain of the 2025 U.S. Ryder Cup in July, struggled at the FedEx St. Jude Championship last week, finishing T-59.^th place in the season race to a precarious position at cutoff No. 50, and that was changing by the minute. After finishing his round in Memphis, he went back to his room and debated whether to move on to the second of three playoff events or go home and hang out with his two kids.

“I had the FedEx Cup booth, the coverage on, the featured holes, my phone. I had everything in view,” said Bradley, who finished 50th as a “bubble boy.” “Sunday afternoon was one of the toughest afternoons of my PGA Tour career. It was really brutal. It’s such a relief to be here. I just felt a lot calmer today.”

That showed when he made six birdies and no bogeys and holed a 10-foot par putt on the 7th hole to keep his momentum going. He is expected to improve from bubble boy status to No. 4 ahead of the FedEx Finals. This week, the new cut-off is to make the top 30 and advance to the Tour Championship at East Lake, where the winner will receive $25 million in bonus money. Despite the pressure to finish in the top 30, Bradley said he and his caddie have talked about continuing their normal routine and not forcing anything.

“I’m trying to make a birdie on every hole,” Bradley said. “That was the plan.”

Scheffler pinches his back

It’s never nice to see a professional golfer clutching his lower back after a shot. It’s even worse when that golfer is world number one Scottie Scheffler, who is looking to win the FedEx Cup for the first time and cap off a spectacular season.

But on the 17th^th Hole, Scheffler hit his second shot and touched his lower back with his left hand.

Scheffler finished with a couple of pars and made three birdies and two bogeys for an opening round of 1-under 71. Afterward, Scheffler downplayed a possible injury, saying, “It’s OK.”

Scheffler admitted, however, that he woke up with back pain and had difficulty relieving it.

“It was hard for me to get through that and I struggled most of the day to get the ball through,” he explained. “On 17, I tried to hit a high draw and that’s a shot where I really have to make a big turn and big movement.”

When asked to describe in more detail what happened, he said, “Maybe I hit a few too many balls yesterday or something. It was just a little sore. I’m sure I’ll put some ice on it and stuff, and I’ll be fine tomorrow.”

Would he want special treatment? “Just the normal routine. Like always,” he said.

Scheffler was paired Thursday with Xander Schauffele, who is second in the FedEx Cup, and shot a 69 to beat Scheffler, the FedEx Cup leader, by two strokes.

Schauffele said he noticed Scheffler was stiff when he tried to turn his head, but joked that might be a bigger problem for the field than for Scheffler, noting that he needed treatment on his neck at The Players Championship and elsewhere when he won. “I guess it’s a bad sign for everybody else,” he said.

Scott returns 24 years later

Adam Scott was among the players who tied for third after shooting 4-under-par 68. Scott made his tour debut in 2000 at the Castle Pines International, a tour event that was discontinued in 2006. Scott and Jason Day (2006) were the only two players in the field this week who have played here before.

“When I think about how many events I have played and how successful I have been here for a long time, it was inspiring back then and it is fun to go back to where it all began,” said Scott.

The 43-year-old Australian begins the week ranked No. 41 in the FedEx Cup, but when asked if he knew where he needed to finish to get into the top 30, he said: “Well. I mean, I don’t know. It fluctuates so much. Top five is obviously kind of the goal. I think a top five would be enough. Everything else you never know. I feel like I’ve been playing on a dime all year and if I don’t pull away by six shots on Sunday, I’ll probably be on a dime all week this week if I play well.”

Conner’s Search

Corey Conners has a lot at stake this week. He began the week ranked 33rd in the FedEx Cup and has a lot of work to do to make it to East Lake. This is nothing new for Conners, who has held this position before.

“Just like always,” he said.

He got off to a strong start and finished with a 4 under 68.

“I hit the ball really well,” he said. “Lots of fairways, lots of greens, and that’s the recipe I wanted to stick to today and I did pretty well.”

For Conners, it’s also about securing an automatic spot on the international team for the Presidents Cup. The Canadian started the week in seventh place on the points table and only the top six qualify automatically. The Presidents Cup takes place in Montreal at the end of September and he is determined to make it onto Mike Wier’s team.

FedEx Cup Bubble Clock

Only 30 players will make it to the Tour Championship, the FedEx Cup final to be played in Atlanta next week. When play was suspended in the first round due to lightning strikes in the region, the plan was for four players to advance and four to be eliminated.

IN

Keegan Bradley from 50th place to 4th place.

Corey Conners from No. 33 to No. 20.

Adam Scott from No. 41 to No. 22.

Alex Noren from No. 45 to No. 23.

OUT OF

Brian Harman (T-22) from No. 29 to No. 31.

Denny McCarthy (T-15) from No. 30 to No. 32.

Jason Day (T-49) from No. 25 to No. 35.

Davis Riley (T-44) from No. 26 to No. 36.

But there will be a lot more volatility in the days ahead. Nick Dunlap started the day in 49th place and was 5 under par after 14 holes, improving to 9th. He then made a double bogey on hole 15 and dropped to 39th. So get ready for some Sunday drama as to who goes to East Lake.

This article originally appeared on Golfweek: Keegan Bradley moves from last man to top of leaderboard, Scheffler’s back strain is one of 5 things to know at 2024 BMW Championship