BMW Championship 2022: Keegan Bradley Takes Early Lead Behind Opening-Round 64

Keegan Bradley sits atop the leaderboard in the 2022 BMW Championship at Wilmington Country Club in Wilmington, Delaware, after a scorching first round that saw him finish with a seven-under 64.

Bradley and Adam Scott went toe-to-toe through much of the first round, but the latter couldn't match the leader's performance on Thursday despite carding seven birdies in a nearly perfect outing.

Here's a look at the leaderboard after one day of action:

---

1. Keegan Bradley: -7

2. Adam Scott: -6

T3. Harold Varner III: -5

T3. Shane Lowry: -5

T3. Justin Thomas: -5

T6. Chez Reavie: -4

T6. Collin Morikawa: -4

T6. Xander Schauffele: -4

T6. Christiaan Bezuidenhout: -4

T6. Tyrrell Hatton: -4

T6. Russell Henley: -4

Full results available via PGATour.com

---

Bradley's sizzling performance on the front nine helped secure him the lead.

The 36-year-old carded six birdies through the first nine holes before carding two more birdies and a bogey on the back nine to close out the day.

Bradley hit 10 of 14 fairways and 15 of 18 greens in regulation, per PGATour.com. He also did not miss a putt within 10 feet.

The Vermont native has four PGA Tour victories in his career, with his last coming in the 2018 BMW Championship. His best finish this year came when he tied for second at the Wells Fargo Championship in May.

At one point during Thursday's action, it looked liked Rory McIlroy was going to take charge and secure the lead, but a triple bogey on the 15th hole dropped him to three under.

Will Zalatoris, who won the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind last week in a playoff against Sepp Straka, finished Thursday's first round one under and in a tie for 33rd place.

Zalatoris got out to a rather slow start, carding a double bogey, birdie and bogey on the front nine before closing out with a scorching back-nine performance, carding four birdies to improve his standing entering Round 2 on Friday.

While it appeared he figured things out, the 26-year-old fumbled on the 18th hole, carding a bogey.

Considering there's still three more days of action in Wilmington, we could see a lot of movement on the leaderboard, and it will be difficult for Bradley to maintain his lead with several players within striking distance.