Scottie Scheffler began his dream bid for his first FedExCup victory after taking a seven-shot lead after the opening round of the PGA Tour Championship last season.
The world No. 1 has won six times on the PGA Tour this season and arrives at East Lake with a two-shot cushion over nearest challenger Xander Schauffele, with Scheffler recovering from a bogey start to take control of the tournament.
Scheffler shot seven birdies – including five in the final seven holes – to close with a round-of-the-day 65 and jump to 16 under, making the 28-year-old the overwhelming favorite to win the season finale and claim the $25m jackpot.
Schauffele’s one-under 70 left him tied for second alongside Collin Morikawa, who started the back nine with six consecutive birdies, with Hideki Matsuyama and Keegan Bradley – winners of the first two Playoff events – in the group tied for fourth at eight under .
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Two-time major champion Collin Morikawa fills the leaderboard at the Tour Championship with six consecutive birdies on the back nine!
How Scheffler sets the pace at East Lake
Scheffler’s double pre-tournament advantage was temporarily lost on the par-four first, where he failed to get up and down from short of the green to save par and Schauffele holed an eight-foot birdie to move to nine under.
The FedExCup leader pulled back with a close-range birdie at the third, but missed a chance from 10 feet deep to double the cushion at the fifth, allowing Schauffele to pull back level when he set up a close-range birdie on the par-five sixth.
Xander Schauffele is also looking to win the FedExCup for the first time
Scheffler responded with a 35-footer at the seventh to regain his solo advantage and reach the turn one ahead, though he only stayed in front when Schauffele squandered an eight-foot birdie opportunity at the par-four 10th.
Schauffele failed to convert from six feet to save par at 11 and quickly fell further behind, as Scheffler posted back-to-back birdies from 12 to jump to 13 under and four out of the field.
Scheffler begins the Tour Championship as the FedExCup leader for the third year in a row
Scheffler missed an eagle attempt from 20 feet on the par-five 14th but tapped in for the third straight birdie, as Schauffele holed out from 15 feet and took a shot before bogeying the 16th to drop five strokes adrift.
The lead grew when Scheffler added a 15-foot birdie at the par-four 17th, before an up-and-down from the greenside bunker saw him take advantage of the final par-five and build his biggest opening-round lead since the opening stroke. performed at the Tour Championship in 2019.
“Yes, I like today,” Scheffler told Sky Sports. “I tried not to think about the lead or anything, my job was to go out and execute and I thought I did a really good job. I thought I did some good things to start. I had a bogey, but after that I thought I played really good golf.
Schauffele mixed three birdies with two bogeys in a frustrating opening round, with Morikawa’s 66 initially equaling the lowest score of the day until Scheffler eventually birdied.
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Matsuyama and Bradley were joined in the back eight by Adam Scott, Sam Burns and Wyndham Clark, with Sahith Theegala jumping to ninth after five birdies in the last six holes.
Rory McIlroy’s bid for a record fourth FedExCup victory required three birdies in the final five holes to salvage a two-under 69, leaving him 10 strokes behind, with defending champion Viktor Hovland at four under and tied for 20th despite making seven birdies in his opening-round 69. .
Who will FedExCup? Watch the season-ending Tour Championship live all week on Sky Sports. Early coverage from East Lake begins on Friday at 4pm on Sky Sports +, before full coverage from 6pm on Sky Sports Golf. Stream the PGA Tour, DP World Tour and more with NOW.
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