Byrd flies into lead at BMW

The first round of the BMW Championship is off and running--and no, not one of the power guys is leading the charge. It's none other than Jonathan Byrd, a PGA afterthought who is 30th in the FedEx standings, who fired a 7 under to begin the tourney, one shot ahead of second place.

It was his best score of the year, capped off by a string of birdies that began with a 25-foot birdie putt up the shelf on the par-3 sixth green and ended with a wedge into 6 feet on No. 8. Tiger Woods, a three-time winner at Cog Hill, was poised to join the leaders until a double bogey on No. 7 spoiled his round of 67. He went over the green with a pitching wedge, flubbed a flop shot that moved only about four paces and then chipped 12 feet by the hole.

Byrd must finish high in the tournament to secure a spot in the next round--by being in 30th, he is at the cutoff, and if someone behind him finishes in the top 10, he could be bumped out. "I'm the bubble boy this week, and I told my wife this is the worst bubble to be on," Byrd said.

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Byrd flies into lead at BMW

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