Danny Lee has recovered from an early triple bogey to stay in with a chance of progressing to the richest tournament in golf.
The 30-year-old Kiwi shot a three-over 73 on the opening day of the BMW Championship to sit six shots off the lead at the penultimate PGA Tour playoff event.
A triple bogey six on his fourth hole saw him drop to dead last on four-over par in the 70-player field, but Lee managed to hole two birdies before dropping a shot on his 17th hole to sit in a tie for 35th.
Lee needs a big result this week to qualify among the top 30 players who will advance to next week's Tour Championship in Atlanta. He is 46th on the live FedEx Cup standings.
Only three players shot under par at the Chicago event, with Hideki Matsuyama leading at three-under by one stroke over Tyler Duncan.