BMW Championship Round 1: Francesco Molinari leads; Rory McIlroy 6 back
Francesco Molinari leads the BMW PGA Championship by two strokes after posting a 7-under 65 on Thursday, and judging by his recent history at the tournament - tweeted by the European Tour - this performance should not be a surprise.
Francesco Molinari's position after each round of #BMWPGA since 2012: 8th, 6th, 8th, 7th, 12th, 14th, 6th, 9th, 37th, 47th, 7th, 7th, 1st.
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 21, 2015
This year's Masters ended a streak for the Italian who had qualified for 22 straight majors, but a T2 at last week's Open de Espana might have been the turnaround Molinari needed. He certainly was having fun Thursday as he waved this errant tee shot by Alvaro Quiroz goodbye.
Francesco Molinari waves goodbye to Alvaro Quiros' ball on the 17th. #Provisional pic.twitter.com/Gg7YqLgej6
— The European Tour (@EuropeanTour) May 21, 2015
Six shots back of Molinari is the world No. 1 and defending tournament champion Rory McIlroy. The Irishman vocalized displeasure in his play following the round, his patience wearing thin on the course.
Robert Karlsson sits two shots back at 5-under while Marc Warren, Miguel Angel Jimenez and 2009 PGA Championship-winner Y.E. Yang are among five players tied for third at 4-under.
Shots of the Day
A hole-in-one on the par-3 10th won Andrew Johnston a BMW as well as Shot of the Day honors. His shot and celebration can be seen here. Johnston is tied for 123rd at 5-over par.
Honorable mention goes to Luke Donald who sunk a pair of chip-ins with one to save par at the 7th and one for birdie at the par-5 12th. Donald sits five back at 2-under.
Leaderboard
| Pos. | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Francesco Molinari | -7 |
| 2 | Robert Karlsson | -5 |
| T3 | Marc Warren | -4 |
| T3 | Jorge Campillo | -4 |
| T3 | Chris Wood | -4 |
| T3 | Miguel Angel Jimenez | -4 |
| T3 | Y.E. Yang | -4 |
Notables
| Pos. | Player | Score |
|---|---|---|
| T14 | Luke Donald | -2 |
| T14 | Jamie Donaldson | -2 |
| T23 | Rory McIlroy | -1 |
| T23 | Justin Rose | -1 |
| T38 | Ernie Els | E |