Rainout in BMW opener

St. Louis added yet another chapter to its dreary decade of golf history when the first round of the BMW Championship was washed out by storms that dumped 3 inches of rain on Bellerive Country Club.

"We do know how to deal with adversity," said Jerry Ritter, the general chairman of the BMW Championship and a Bellerive member who has seen his share of it.

Dozens of players were at Bellerive getting ready for the American Express Championship the morning of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks in 2001. It was the first big event in St. Louis since the 1992 PGA Championship. Tiger Woods was playing in St. Louis for the first time in his career, but he only got in a practice round before the event was canceled.

Three years later, the US Senior Open came to town, and rain washed out the second round. At least they got in the tournament, with Peter Jacobsen going 36 holes on a creaky hip to win.

But it's not like the BMW Championship is a complete wash. The first round was postponed until today, with 36 holes tomorrow.

The BMW Championship is the third event in the PGA Tour playoffs for the FedEx Cup, with Vijay Singh holding such a large lead that he could wrap up the title before the season-ending Tour Championship.

Singh won the first two events, The Barclays and Deutsche Bank Championship.

European - Teenager Rory McIlroy shot an 8-under-par 63 to take the lead after the first round of the European Masters in Crans-Sur-Sierre, Switzerland.

The 19-year-old Northern Irishman had missed cuts during the last three weeks.

Garry Houston (66) chipped in for a birdie on the 18th hole for a share of second place with Kyron Sullivan and Julio Zapata. A large group at 67 included defending champion Brett Rumford.

A California state senator said he is seeking a legal opinion to determine whether the LPGA Tour's language requirement for players violates state or federal law.

Senator Leland Yee is upset about a policy that requires players to speak effective English starting in 2009. The rule is effective immediately for new players, while veteran members will be suspended if they can't pass an oral English test.

Yee, a Democrat from San Francisco, said the rule might violate California laws covering workplace discrimination or disabilities.