Redemption is the Theme on Day One at BMW Championship

Guys that are playing this week while seeking some measure of redemption are floating atop the leaderboard in the opening round of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill.

Rory Sabbatini is currently tied for the lead at -5.  He was slighted earlier this week when Presidents Cup International Team Captain Greg Norman picked 17 year Ryo Ishikawa and struggling Australian Adam Scott in lieu of the South African for the final two spots at Harding Park.  Perhaps motivated by the slight, Sabbatini made seven birdies against two bogeys at Cog Hill to assume the lead.

UPDATE 12:10am: Sabbatini's post-round comments indicate that he felt slighted about not getting even the hint that he would be picked by Greg Norman for the Pres Cup team.  From Bob Harig's report:

"There was not a single conversation or a single phone call, period -- from anybody," Sabbatini said Thursday at the BMW Championship, where he shot 66 to tie for the first-round lead with Steve Marino.

"You could say I was a little disappointed."

Tied with Sabbatini is Steve Marino.  Marino, who has seemingly been my fantasy golf pick every week this season, has also floundered when in contention at various times throughout the year.  He lost in a three man playoff at Colonial.  Entering the third round of the Open Championship with a share of the lead, Marino failed to maintain striking distance.  He made mistakes down the stretch in New Orleans that allowed Jerry Kelly to win.  And, most recently, he had a poor final round at Liberty National as he sought to win The Barclays.  Maybe four letdowns in a year will motivate Marino to be a contender again this week.

Padraig Harrington is probably motivated by his marked consistency in melting down in pressure situations.  From snowmans at Akron and Hazeltine to that hooker he his on 18 last week in Boston, Harrington may be in need of the Heimlich manuever.  Still, he is a part of a group in the clubhouse at -3.

In that group, too, is Tiger Woods.  His failures in recent weeks may only be overshadowed with the way he handled them in public, from avoiding all media at times to flinging his club into tall fescue on a one-hopper.  Woods ended the Deutsche Bank on a positive, though, by shooting 63 and finishing T11.  Now eclipsed by Steve Stricker in the FedEx Cup rankings and without a win since Akron, Woods has a lot of motivation in a tournament he loves.

These players are certainly not alone as David Toms, Anthony Kim, and Geoff Ogilvy all lurk near Sabbatini's lead at Cog Hill.