OLYMPIA FIELDS, Illinois — Tyler Duncan had the outright lead late in Thursday’s opening round of the BMW Championship and is tied for second place after a 2-under-par 68.
Hideki Matsuyama birdied two of his final three holes, including a 67-foot-putt on No. 9, to break a tie with Duncan and take the lead at 3-under 67. Mackenzie Hughes was the only other player to go under par and is third at 1-under 69.
Duncan, a 2008 Columbus North graduate, birdied the first two holes and shot 2-under 33 on the front at Olympia Fields Country Club. He had one bogey and one birdie for an even-par 35 on the back. He got up and down from a bunker on No. 18, making an 8-foot putt for par.
The 68 by Duncan was his ninth consecutive round in the 60s since missing the cut at the PGA Championship three weeks ago. Ranked No. 32, Duncan is trying to move into the top 30 to earn his first trip to the Tour Championship, which is next week.
Rory McIlroy was among 10 players who finished at 70. Dustin Johnson, who won The Northern Trust last week at 30-under par, opened with a 71.
Tiger Woods needs to finish around fourth to have any hope of returning to East Lake next week in Atlanta to chase the $15 million bonus for the FedEx Cup winner. He was hovering around even par a few shots out of the lead. He finished with three straight bogeys for a 73.
The average score was 72.8, and only four of the 18 holes played under par. That included both par 5s. It was hot in the morning, baking out a dry course. The rough is 5 inches in spots. The greens were hard, making it tough to get the ball close and nearly impossible to get shots to stop on the green from out of the rough.
