Marino, Sabbatini Open BMW with Solid Rounds

Rory Sabbatini and Steve Marino certainly made their presence in the FedEx Cup Playoffs known on Thursday with a round of of 65 (5-under) to take a one-shot lead in the BMW Championship at Cog Hill.

Both players seemed to adjust very well to the newly-renovated course while other players seemed to get off to a slower start despite ideal scoring conditions. Tiger Woods also opened with a rather solid round of 67 to get within 2 shots of the first round leaders and looks to continue his success as we enter round two.

Sabbatini's showing was probably most impressive, since his most recent tour outings have been less than ideal for the veteran.

"I drove it obviously very well out there, and on this golf course that's key because just since the redesign, they've made it a lot more of a chess game around the greens," Sabbatini said. "I hit the ball great out there and obviously if you give yourself opportunities and the putts drop, it takes a little bit of the pressure off and things start to happen" (Examiner.com, 2009)

FedEx Cup points leader Steve Stricker seemed to struggle slightly on the first professional round following his tour win at the TPC Boston with a 71.