Min Woo Lee surged ahead early in the PGA Tour’s season‑closing Tour Championship, while Rory McIlroy’s opening round was a mix of highs and lows as he chased another FedExCup title. Lee produced a flawless 62, posting eight birdies without a single bogey on the softened fairways of East Lake Golf Club, where preferred lies were in effect after an overnight rainstorm. None of the 29 competitors who completed the round managed to stay under par, underscoring the difficulty of the course even under gentler conditions. The 28‑year‑old Australian now enjoys a two‑stroke lead over a trio of contenders—Chris Gotterup, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa.
World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, however, closed his opening‑round 65 with a dramatic birdie‑birdie finish, 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 lags a shot behind his group that includes fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick and Open champion Ryan Fox. Last week’s BMW Championship champion Wyndham Clark sits five strokes back after carding a three‑under 67.
McIlroy, meanwhile, finds himself tied for 20th after a roller‑coaster 68 that featured five birdies offset by three bogeys. The Northern Irish star began his quest for a record‑breaking fourth FedExCup title with a promising start but was quickly reminded of the thin margins at this elite level.
Lee’s round was marked by a string of birdies from the fourth hole onward, and he was left to navigate the course largely on his own after playing partner JJ Spaun withdrew on the sixth tee due to a shoulder injury. Undeterred, Lee continued to trade the lead with Hovland, who was playing two groups ahead. Lee finished the front nine without a bogey, sealing a 20‑foot birdie putt on the eighth and adding another on the ninth to maintain his momentum. On the back nine, Lee again displayed precision, carding consecutive birdies on the 12th and 13th holes and adding a short‑range birdie at the 16th.
This surge gave him a two‑stroke cushion when Hovland, who had been flawless up to that point, stumbled with a three‑putt bogey from 25 feet on the 17th. Hovland quickly answered, salvaging the par‑five 18th by getting up and down from a greenside bunker for a birdie, setting a clubhouse target of six under. Lee responded with a matching birdie on the final hole, preserving his two‑shot lead and equalling the lowest round of his PGA Tour career.
"It felt a little odd at first, like I was searching for a playing partner and ended up playing solo," Lee reflected. "I just focused on keeping my tempo steady and not rushing. I had to slow down a bit, and it paid off." Morikawa, who began his round with a bogey, rallied by posting seven birdies to pull level with Hovland, while Gotterup birdied three of his last five holes, creating a three‑way tie for second place.
Åberg capped his round with a three‑birdie finish, joining Bhatia and Gerard at five under. Scheffler rounded out the top five, holing a 10‑foot birdie on the final hole to record his fourth 65‑or‑better round in five seasons.
"Aside from the first hole, I wasn’t really fighting for par much," Scheffler explained. "That’s always a good sign here.
Miss a fairway and you’ll be scrambling for par. I gave myself some chances and managed to make a couple of birdies at the end." McIlroy’s round was a study in contrast. He briefly fell to the bottom of the leaderboard after failing to get up and down from a bunker on the first hole and then making a bogey on the fourth despite a solid eight‑foot putt.
He recovered with a birdie on the sixth, but missed a short four‑foot opportunity on the ninth. The second half of his round was more promising: he recorded two birdies in three holes to start the back nine, erased a clumsy bogey on the 14th with a six‑foot birdie on the subsequent par‑three, and added another birdie on the 17th. Nonetheless, only five players remained below him after the first round.
As the tournament progresses, the race for the FedExCup will intensify. Fans can follow all four rounds of the Tour Championship live on Sky Sports, with additional coverage beginning Friday at 6 p.m.
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