Medinah, Aug. 16 -- On the range, Justin Thomas had no idea where the ball was going. Some five hours later, he had a share of the course record at Medinah.

Ultimately, all that mattered Thursday in the BMW Championship was taking a good step toward an important goal. Thomas already is set for the Tour Championship next week and the chase for FedEx Cup and its $15 million prize. That's not what interests him.

"I don't give a crap about the money," he said. "It's about winning tournaments."

He made his first birdie after hitting a tree on the fourth hole, leaving him a 5-iron he hit to 2 feet. His last birdie was a putt from about 60 feet on the fringe from the back of the 16th green. He did enough right in between for a 7-under 65 and ...