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Rose blooms but Byrd soars

07/09/2007

American Jonathan Byrd leads the field after the first round of the BMW Championship in Chicago, despite a solid first day from England's Justin Rose.

Byrd leads by one shot after carding an excellent seven-under-par 64 at the Cog Hill golf and country club.

Rose is tied for second alongside Colombian Camilo Villegas on six under par with the American trio of Stewart Cink, Troy Matteson and Pat Perez all in a tie for fourth after five-under first rounds of 66.

World number one Tiger Woods is still very much in contention after carding a solid four-under-par 67 to sit in joint-seventh alongside four other players, including countryman Woody Austin and Japan's Ryuji Imada.

Byrd's round started badly, with a par four on the first hole followed by a bogey four on the par-three second.

However, he bounced back immediately with pars on the fourth and fifth and a run of five birdies in the next seven holes to take the lead.

He picked up further shots on the 12th and back-to-back birdies on the 15th and 16th to move ahead of Rose who, despite carding an incredible eight birdies in the opening 11 holes, shot bogies on the 15th and 18th to go into the clubhouse one behind the leader.

"It was a dream start today. I hit a few shots close and was four-under through six holes without making a putt," the Englishman said.

"It's always disappointing when you're eight under through 11 and you finish six-under but it's certainly not an easy course.

"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. That's one of the reasons I played well."