Keegan Bradley goes from last man in to leading BMW Championship

Keegan Bradley went from a bundle of nerves waiting to see if he would advance in the PGA Tour postseason to a blissful day of birdies in mile-high air Thursday that led to a 6-under 66 and the lead in the BMW Championship.

Bradley, the newly appointed U.S. Ryder Cup captain, was the last man to get in the 50-man field at Castle Pines and he had to sweat it out Sunday. He was in his hotel room with the TV going, the FedEx Cup standings on another screen and his phone buzzing.

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

It showed on a course that could dole out punishment without a moment's notice. Bradley missed only two fairways and two greens, took advantage of the par 5s and made it look relatively easy on the 8,130-yard course, the longest in PGA Tour history.

Hideki Matsuyama, the winner in the playoff opener last week, was at 5 under in the middle of the 18th fairway when the opening round was suspended by lightning in the area, a common occurrence during the days of The International at Castle Pines.

Rory McIlroy was just settling over a 20-foot par putt on the 18th when he heard the horn to stop play, smiled and marked his ball. He was likely to wait three hours to putt.

Adam Scott, among two players who were at Castle Pines during its two-decade run on the PGA Tour, made a long par-saving putt on the 18th for a 68 and was joined by Sungjae Im, Alex Noren and Corey Conners.

Double major winner Xander Schauffele opened with a 69 while playing alongside Scottie Scheffler, who worked through some mild soreness in his back for a 71. Scheffler is assured of being the No. 1 seed at the Tour Championship next week unless Schauffele were to win.

It's all about numbers at Castle Pines, and that's not just the math required to figure out how far the ball is going in elevation at 6,300 feet above sea level. The simple math is take 10% off the yardage, simple enough except when a pond is guarding the front of the green.

The other number is 30, the players who advance to East Lake next week to compete for the $25 million FedEx Cup title. The higher the seed, the better the chance.

Bradley had reason to think he could join them the way he played, even with three rounds to go. The key was getting to the BMW Championship, which allows him to plan a schedule that will put him in the same place as players aspiring to be on the Ryder Cup team.

“I want to be out there with the guys on the Ryder Cup team,” he said. “I want to be playing with them, on the range with them, in the locker room, in the tournament. It was really important for me to be in this top 50.”

It was a good start for Noren, who has never been to the Tour Championship and is No. 45 in the FedEx Cup. Ditto for Scott at No. 41.

The Australian's experience at Castle Pines is a little overrated. Scott was a 20-year-old who received a sponsor exemption in 2000 to play his first regular PGA Tour event. He remembered a few of the holes, the elevation changes, the tough walk and the beauty.

“I remember being around all the players that I’d looked up to my entire childhood and feeling really not prepared for it, to be perfectly honest,” he said. “But it gave me inspiration to get better and work on my game and make sure I’m good enough to be out here.”

Scheffler stretched his neck to the side a few times, but then on the 17th he appeared to grab his lower back on a long iron shot to the par 5. His last two full shots looked fine, as did so much of the rest of his round. Scheffler said it was nothing to be alarmed about.

“I woke up just a little sore this morning. I had trouble kind of loosening it up,” he said. “I was laboring most of the day to get through the ball. On 17, I was trying to hit a high draw, and that’s a shot where I’ve really got to use a big turn, big motion. Really just felt it a little bit. But other than that, all good.”

Scheffler had a neck issue at The Players Championship and nearly withdrew in the middle of the second round. Two days later, he rallied from five shots behind to win. And the he won the Masters three weeks later.

“He was stiff at the Masters, at The Players and had to get worked on all those times,” Schauffele said. “I guess it’s a bad sign for everyone else.”