Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley took a surprising early lead at the weather-affected BMW Championship as Hideki Matsuyama impressed and Rory McIlroy made a solid start.

Bradley, 50th in the FedExCup rankings and the last player in the field for the second of three season-ending playoffs, shot six birdies in a bogey-free 66 to top the leaderboard at Castle Pines Golf Club.

Hideki Matsuyama, winner of last week’s FedEx St. Jude Championship, is one stroke back in second place after a weather-affected opening day in which storms caused a three-hour stoppage, while former world number one Adam Scott is two strokes back and shares third place with Sungjae Im, Alex Noren and Corey Conners.

Xander Schauffele is three strokes behind the leader and McIlroy is another stroke back, while world number one Scottie Scheffler is five strokes behind the leader after a score of 71 (one under par).

Bradley sets the pace early in Denver

Bradley missed a great eagle opportunity on the par-5 1st hole, but made his first of two birdies and then took advantage of the par-5 8th hole to make the turnaround in 33 shots.

A 15-foot birdie on the 13th hole was followed by another from close range on the next par 5 before Bradley holed out from 10 feet on the final hole, setting an unmatched clubhouse goal.

“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.”

When play was suspended, Matsuyama was just one stroke behind the leader heading into the final hole, but when the opening round resumed, the 2021 Masters champion missed a birdie chance from 2 feet out to grab a share of the lead.

McIlroy was about to make a 20-foot par putt on the 18th hole when he heard the horn to halt play. He then returned, made a two-putt par and closed his opening round with a 70 while Scheffler battled some “pain.”

“I woke up this morning with a little bit of pain. I just didn’t feel good, I was struggling a little bit today,” 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, everything’s good.”

“I will recover and rest.”

How can I watch the FedExCup Playoffs?

All events will be broadcast live on Sky Sports, with pre-match coverage of the BMW Championship starting on Sky Sports +The action continues on Sky Sports Golf at 7pm, following the conclusion of the AIG Women’s Open on Friday.

There will also be coverage of every round on Sky Sports+, with a variety of feeds to enjoy. Coverage on Sky Sports Golf begins at 7pm for each round.

Sky Sports+ has officially launched and will be integrated into Sky TV, the streaming service NOW and the Sky Sports app. This will give Sky Sports customers access to over 50 percent more live sport this year at no extra cost. Find out more here.