Second-ranked Rory McIlroy and British Open champion Brian Harman sank stunning 17th-hole birdie chip shots to share the lead after Thursday’s opening round of the PGA Tour’s BMW Championship, the penultimate FedEx Cup playoff event.
Reigning FedEx Cup champion McIlroy, a four-time major winner from Northern Ireland, and US left-hander Harman, who captured the Claret Jug last month at Royal Liverpool, fired five-under par 65s at Olympia Fields in suburban Chicago.
That was good enough for a one-shot lead over five Americans — Sahith Theegala, Chris Kirk, Rickie Fowler, world number one Scottie Scheffler and reigning US Open champion Wyndham Clark — plus England’s Matt Fitzpatrick, last year’s US Open winner.
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McIlroy, who won his third Tour Championship…