Min Woo Lee surged ahead early in the season‑closing Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, while Rory McIlroy experienced an inconsistent start in his quest for FedExCup supremacy. Lee delivered a flawless 62 at East Lake Golf Club, tallying eight birdies without a single bogey. The round was played under preferred‑lie conditions after an overnight rain, and none of the 29 competitors who completed their rounds managed to stay under par. The 28‑year‑old Australian now enjoys a two‑stroke lead over Chris Gotterup, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, meanwhile, finished his opening‑round 65 with a dramatic birdie‑birdie finish, pulling within three shots of the leader. Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia and Ryan Gerard are tied with Scheffler at five under par, while defending champion Tommy Fleetwood trails by an additional stroke in a group that also includes fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick and Open champion Ryan Fox. Last week’s BMW Championship victor Wyndham Clark sits five strokes back after posting a three‑under 67.
McIlroy, who is aiming for a record‑breaking fourth FedExCup title, finds himself tied for 20th after a roller‑coaster 68 that featured five birdies but also three bogeys. Lee’s round featured consecutive birdies on holes four and five, and he played the remainder of his round solo after his playing partner, JJ Spaun, withdrew on the sixth hole because of a shoulder injury. The Australian kept swapping the top spot with Hovland, who was playing two groups ahead.
Lee wrapped up a bogey‑free front nine by sinking a 20‑foot birdie putt on the eighth and adding another on the ninth. He continued his momentum on the back nine, posting back‑to‑back birdies on the 12th and 13th, and then another from close range on the 16th, extending his lead to two strokes. Hovland’s flawless day was broken when he three‑putted from 25 feet on the 17th, resulting in a bogey. Hovland responded by getting up and down from a greenside bunker to birdie the final par‑five, setting a clubhouse target of six under.
Lee matched Hovland’s closing birdie, restoring his two‑stroke cushion and equalling the lowest round of his PGA Tour career. "It felt a little odd at first, like looking for a playing partner and ending up by yourself," Lee said. "I just focused on maintaining my tempo and not rushing.
I had to slow down a bit, and it paid off." Morikawa, who began his round with a bogey, rallied by recording seven birdies and pulling level with Hovland. Gotterup also surged, birdieing three of his final five holes to create a three‑way tie for second place. Åberg finished strong with three consecutive birdies, joining Bhatia and Gerard at five under.
Scheffler completed the top‑five cluster by holing a 10‑foot birdie on the final hole, marking his fourth round of 65 or better in five seasons. "Except for the first hole, I wasn’t really fighting for par very much," Scheffler explained. "That’s always a good sign at this venue.
Miss a fairway here and you’ll be scrambling for par. I gave myself some chances and managed to convert a couple of birdies at the end." McIlroy briefly found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard after failing to get up and down from a bunker on the first hole and making a bogey on the fourth. He did, however, birdie the sixth and missed a short birdie putt on the ninth. He rebounded on the back nine with two birdies in three holes, recovered from a clumsy bogey on the 14th by sinking a six‑foot birdie on the following par‑three, and added another birdie on the 17th.
Despite the ups and downs, only five players remain below him after the first round. The FedExCup race remains wide open. Fans can watch all four rounds of the Tour Championship live on Sky Sports, with coverage continuing Friday at 6 p.m.
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The leaderboard will continue to shift as the tournament progresses, with Scheffler, Lee, Hovland, Morikawa and others all vying for the coveted FedExCup title. Each round promises further drama, strategic play, and the inevitable battle for the final points that will determine the season’s champion.