Rory McIlroy opened the BMW Championship with a 64 while Scottie Scheffler shot 72, flipping the script just days after Memphis humiliation.
A week can change everything in golf.
Just days after Scottie Scheffler crushed Rory McIlroy by 15 shots over their first two rounds at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the roles suddenly reversed at the BMW Championship.
McIlroy looked sharp. Scheffler looked human.
At Bellerive Country Club, McIlroy fired a bogey-free 64 to grab a share of the first-round lead, while Scheffler stumbled to a 2-over 72 and finished tied for 44th in the 50-man field.
That’s a massive swing from what happened in Memphis.
Scheffler had just won the St. Jude by eight shots, producing one of the most dominant PGA Tour performances of the season. McIlroy, meanwhile, looked completely out of rhythm.
Then came Thursday.
McIlroy hit only seven fairways, but his iron play was elite. He found 17 greens in regulation and ranked second in Strokes Gained: Approach.
He also closed like a superstar, making four birdies over his final six holes.
“Days like this are encouraging, obviously,” McIlroy said.
The turnaround wasn’t accidental.
Between tournaments, McIlroy returned to Florida for a short practice session with swing coach Michael Bannon. The goal was simple: find a feel he could trust.
“I felt like I'm at least back on the right path of what I'm doing with my game and with my swing,” McIlroy said.
Scheffler had the opposite experience.
He was 4 over through 10 holes and, at one point, sat dead last in the field. A pair of late birdies salvaged the round, but the bigger concern was where the damage came from.
Scheffler’s approach play and putting - the exact areas that powered his dominant win in Memphis - disappeared.
He ranked near the bottom of the field in both categories. That’s what makes this opening round so fascinating.
McIlroy looked broken last week. Scheffler looked unbeatable.
Now McIlroy is on top of the leaderboard and Scheffler is fighting just to stay relevant heading into Friday.
It’s way too early to call this a full reversal. But for one round at Bellerive, Rory landed the first punch. And Scottie finally blinked.
