Keegan Bradley, the last man standing in the BMW Championship, shot a 66 (six under par) to take the lead in the first round at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado on Thursday.

Bradley’s one-stroke lead remained intact even after a three-hour delay due to severe thunderstorms that forced eight players to postpone completing their rounds. His closest rival is Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama, who finished his final hole after the delay with a score of 5 under par, 67 strokes.

Matsuyama won the first playoff game, the FedEx St. Jude Championship, last week to shoot up to third place in the FedEx Cup standings. Bradley didn’t fare as well at the St. Jude, but made the field this week at No. 50 on the points list.

That didn’t seem to matter on Thursday, however, as the future USA Ryder Cup captain posted a bogey-free round with six birdies, including a 10-foot putt, to finish tied for 18th. With playoff tournaments worth four times as many points as a regular-season tournament, a win in the thin Colorado air would catapult Bradley into the top five in the points standings.

“Sunday afternoon was one of the toughest afternoons of my PGA Tour career,” Bradley said. “It was really brutal. It’s a huge relief to be here. I just felt a lot calmer today. But I played really, really well.”

Bradley managed a birdie on three of the four par-5 holes on the 7,750-meter course, which is the longest in PGA Tour history due to the thin air at altitude.

“When you hit the ball down the fairway, you’re going to need a lot of clubs to score points with,” Bradley said. “You really have to have a good handle on your numbers at that height. We did a good job of that today. You just have to hit as many fairways as you can.”

Third place went to South Korean Sungjae Im, Swede Alex Noren, Australian Adam Scott and Canadian Corey Conners with 4 under 68 strokes. Xander Schauffele, Nick Dunlap and South Korean Si Woo Kim achieved 3 under 69 strokes.

Northern Irishman Rory McIlroy made a 21-foot eagle from outside the green on the par-5 14th hole to move to 3 under par. He was facing a 20-foot par putt on the 18th hole when the weather delay began. When he returned, he sank the putt 4 1/2 feet and settled for a bogey.

The three-time FedEx Cup winner fell to 2-under 70, tying Collin Morikawa, Tony Finau, JT Poston and Russell Henley.

World number one and FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler shot 1-under-par 71 and was seen clutching his lower back during his penultimate hole. Scheffler later said he woke up Thursday morning sore and “in labor” but was not injured.

“I had trouble loosening it up,” Scheffler said. “… On 17, I tried to make a high draw, and that’s a shot where I really have to make a big turn and a big move. I really just felt it a little bit. But other than that, it’s all good.”

Reigning BMW Championship and FedEx Cup winner Viktor Hovland of Norway also opened with a 71.

–Field level media