Sergio Garcia shoots a 64 to take lead at BMW Championship

Sergio Garcia hit great shots that led to eagle, birdie and par Friday for a six-under-par 64 to lead the BMW Championship at Cherry Hills Village, Colo.

Garcia holed out of a bunker for birdie on the second hole. He holed a lob wedge for eagle on the seventh hole. And after hitting into the water going for the par-five 17th in two, he still escaped with par by getting up-and-down from 70 yards.

Ryan Palmer also had a 64 and was one shot behind.

Rory McIlroy made three straight birdies late in his round for another 67 and was two shots behind, along with Billy Horschel, who shot a 66.

Garcia was at eight-under 132. Scoring was slightly easier because of overnight rain and an overcast sky that made the greens slightly softer.

Barring a charge that would make even Arnold Palmer proud, Phil Mickelson is playing his last PGA Tour event of the season. He twice hit into the water — making a triple bogey on the par-three 12th and a bogey on the 17th — and shot a 76. Mickelson, who needs to finish about fourth to qualify for the Tour Championship, was 14 shots behind and in a tie for 63rd in the 68-man field.

Jason Day withdrew on the ninth hole with a back injury and said he would try to be ready for the Tour Championship.

The only peculiar part of Garcia’s day was his left ear. He was on the sixth green when he felt a series of beeps, followed by a “pop” that made him feel uncomfortable for about the next hour before it finally went away. He’s not sure what it was. He’s not sure there’s a word for it in Spanish.

“It’s happened before, but usually I kind of blow it and it gets back,” Garcia said. “But for some reason, it just didn’t feel quite the same. And it still doesn’t, but it’s definitely better. It shouldn’t be too big of a deal.”

Chip Beck’s 65 good for lead in Quebec

Chip Beck eagled his final hole for a seven-under 65 and a one-stroke lead after the first round of the Champions Tour’s Quebec Championship.

The 57-year-old Beck, winless on the 50-and-over tour, hit his three-wood approach from 254 yards to a foot to set up the eagle on the par-5 nine hole.

The four-time PGA Tour winner also had six birdies and a bogey at La Tempete in the first PGA Tour-sanctioned event in the area since the 1956 Labatt Open at Royal Quebec.

Duffy Waldorf and club professional Craig Thomas were tied for second.

Brad Faxon, Loren Roberts and P.H. Horgan III followed at 67. Esteban Toledo, the winner last year in the then-Montreal Championship at La Vallee du Richelieu, opened with a 68.

Two-time U.S. Open champion Lee Janzen had a 71 in his first Champions Tour round. He turned 50 last week.