Three golfers - Peter Lawrie of Ireland, Northern Ireland's Graeme McDowell and Portugal's Jose-Felipe Lima - share the lead after the first round of the BMW Championship in Virginia Water, England.
All three fired 5-under-par 67s on the West Course in Wentworth, England. Former British Open champion Ben Curtis of the United States and Australian Nick O'Hern are part of a large group of golfers one stroke off the lead at 4-under-par 68.
Welshman Stephen Dodd, who won his second European Tour title of the season last week, is part of another group two strokes off the lead at 3-under-par 69.
Reigning U.S. Open champion Retief Goosen of South Africa, Nick Faldo of Britain and Ireland's Padraig Harrington are among those three strokes behind the leaders after firing 2-under-par 70s in the first round.
The tournament is being played on the Wentworth Club's West Course, a par 72-layout that measures 6,466 meters. The winner of this event takes home more than $834,000.
