Min Woo Lee surged to the top of the leaderboard early in the PGA Tour’s season‑closing Tour Championship, while Rory McIlroy experienced a mixed opening round in his quest for another FedExCup title. Lee posted an immaculate, bogey‑free 62 at East Lake Golf Club, tallying eight birdies as the course played under preferred lies because of rain the night before. Remarkably, every one of the 29 competitors who finished the round managed to stay at or above par, underscoring the difficulty of the conditions.
The 28‑year‑old Australian now enjoys a two‑stroke lead over a trio of contenders – Chris Gotterup, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa – after world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler rallied with a birdie‑birdie finish to post a 65, pulling within three shots of the top spot.
Joining Scheffler at five under are Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia and Ryan Gerard, while defending champion Tommy Fleetwood trails by an additional stroke in a group that also includes fellow Brit Matt Fitzpatrick and Open champion Ryan Fox. Last week’s BMW Championship victor Wyndham Clark sits five shots back after a solid three‑under 67. McIlroy, who is aiming for a record‑extending fourth FedExCup crown, finds himself tied for 20th after a roller‑coaster 68 that combined five birdies with three bogeys.
His start was marked by a promising birdie on the sixth hole but also by a costly three‑putt bogey on the 17th that left him scrambling to stay in contention. Lee’s round was largely uninterrupted after his playing partner, JJ Spaun, withdrew on the sixth hole due to a shoulder injury.
The Australian capitalized on the solo stretch, stringing together consecutive birdies on holes four and five, then again on the eighth and ninth, finishing the front nine without a single bogey. He later added birdies on the 12th, 16th and a closing birdie on the 18th to cement a two‑stroke cushion over his nearest rivals. "It felt a bit odd at first, like I was looking for a partner and there was no one there," Lee reflected. "I just had to keep my tempo, not rush, and slow down a little.
It ended up working out." Hovland, who had shared the lead for much of the day, saw his flawless round end with a three‑putt bogey from 25 feet on the 17th. He responded quickly, however, by salvaging a birdie from a greenside bunker on the final par‑five, setting a clubhouse target of six under. Lee matched that birdie on the 18th, preserving his two‑stroke advantage and tying the lowest round of his PGA Tour career.
Collin Morikawa recovered from an opening‑hole bogey to fire seven birdies, pulling level with Hovland. Gotterup, meanwhile, birdied three of his final five holes, creating a three‑way tie for second place.
Åberg finished strongly with a three‑birdie finish, joining Bhatia and Gerard at five under. Scheffler completed his round with a decisive 10‑foot birdie putt on the 18th, marking his fourth season in five where he has opened with a 65 or better.
"Except for the first hole, I wasn’t really fighting for par," Scheffler said. "That’s always a good sign at a venue like this. Miss a fairway here and you’re going to struggle to make par.
I gave myself some chances and managed to finish with a couple of birdies at the end." McIlroy’s round featured a brief dip to the bottom of the leaderboard after he failed to get up and down from a bunker on the first hole and then made a bogey on the fourth. He did manage a birdie on the sixth and another on the ninth, but missed a short birdie opportunity from four feet on the ninth. He rebounded on the back nine, birdieing two of three holes early, then recovering from a clumsy bogey on the 14th with a six‑foot birdie on the next par‑three, and adding another birdie on the 17th.
Despite these flashes of brilliance, only five players remained below him after the round. The tournament continues to shape a dramatic FedExCup race, with all four rounds available to watch live on Sky Sports.
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