Rory McIlroy, Brian Harman share BMW lead at soft Olympia Fields - ESPN

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. — Rory McIlroy didn't mind being in the rough at rain-soaked Olympia Fields, except for having trees and a bunker between him and the 17th green. And even that didn't matter Thursday in the BMW Championship.

McIlroy found the short grass only six times with 18 tee shots — three of them on par 3s — and no one would have guessed that looking at his card. He played bogey-free for a 5-under 65, giving him a share of the lead with British Open champion Brian Harman in the second FedEx Cup playoff event.

«Only hitting three fairways today and coming up with 65 is a bit of a bonus,» McIlroy said.

The greens were so soft from a two-hour rain delay in the morning that McIlroy realized trying to get at pins was easier coming from the rough, because the ball wouldn't have as much spin.

«I'm not saying I was trying to aim for the rough,» he said with a smile.

And certainly the spot he found himself in at the par-4 17th wasn't ideal. He only had 116 yards left on the 456-yard hole, but he had a stand of trees blocking his path to the green, a big bunker in front of the putting surface.

McIlroy punched 7-iron through a gap in the branches, just over the bunker, just over the green and then chipped in for birdie. It was that kind of day.

«There was a couple of branches above the window I was looking at, and I was like, 'If it hits those, it's just going to drop down near that front left bunker and I'll have a decent angle down the green and have a 10-footer or less to save par,'» McIlroy said. «It was a bit of a hit-and-a-hope. Just trying to thread that needle. It was either chip it out or take it on. And it's only Thursday.

»I thought, 'What the heck? I'll take it on and see what happens.'"

Harman, who returned