Rory McIlroy fires 64 after digging through garage for 3-wood and putter

OWINGS MILLS, Md. – For the second consecutive PGA Tour round, Rory McIlroy let it fly.

This time, though, it wasn’t quite as literal.

After tossing his 3-wood into the brush alongside the New Jersey Turnpike on Monday at Liberty National, McIlroy, armed with a pair of new woods, hit the ball better off the tee than all but one of his 68 competitors on Thursday at the BMW Championship. His opening 8-under 64 was good enough to earn McIlroy a share of the first-round lead with Jon Rahm and Sam Burns, and he had his replacement 3-wood to partly thank.

Cruising along at 6 under with three holes to play at Caves Valley Golf Club, McIlroy piped a drive 311 yards down the fairway at the par-5 16th…