Rose leads by two over Simpson, Wilson
LEMONT, Ill. - Justin Rose set the pace in the third of four Fedex Cup playoff events by shooting 8 under par 63 to lead by two over Americans Webb Simpson and Mark Wilson at Cog Hill Golf and Country Club on Thursday in the first round of the BMW Championship.Rose said a little tweaking with coach Sean Foley on Tuesday paid dividends in his opening round.
"Yeah, just basically the line of the club at the top of the backswing, just got a little bit more on line instead of a little bit laid off," Rose said. "When I have it a little bit laid off, I can throw it quite quickly on the way down. When I have it nicely in the slot at the top of the backswing, the club just falls down nicely into the ball. We just spent about an hour on that, and it feels pretty easy. I'm sort of managing to do it with a nice, simple thought, and I think that's the key, is if you can take simple thoughts from the range, that's how you're going to take them to the golf course."
Simpson, looking for his third victory in his last four starts, felt he took advantage of what the course was offering as he carded a bogey-free round.
"I think we did a good job on the holes where we had to -- the birdie holes, you know, like 10 and 11," said Simpson. "We birdied 15, we birdied -- unfortunately we hit it in the greenside bunker on 9 and didn't make birdie. But like I said, the pins are -- the greens are so undulating that you can get balls to feed towards the pin. But if you short-side yourself, this is one of the most penalizing courses we play in terms of short-siding yourself.
"You've got to think your way around the golf course, you've got to think your way into the greens, and my caddie and I, I think, did a really good job of that today," he added.
Wilson, a Wisconsin native playing before a home crowd, shook off early nerves to share second with Simpson.
K.J. Choi was alone in fourth at minus-4, while Jim Furyk and Camilo Villegas kept their hopes alive to make next week's Tour Championship by shooting 3 under par 68s, and stand five off of Rose's pace.
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