Min Woo Lee surged ahead early in the season‑closing Tour Championship on the PGA Tour, while Rory McIlroy got off to a mixed start in his quest for FedExCup supremacy. Lee posted an immaculate, bogey‑free 62 at East Lake Golf Club, tallying eight birdies as the course played under preferred‑lie conditions after an overnight rain. None of the 29 competitors who completed the round managed to stay under par, underscoring how challenging the setup was.
The 28‑year‑old Australian now enjoys a two‑stroke cushion over Chris Gotterup, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who finished his opening round with a birdie‑birdie finish to card a 65, trimmed the gap to three shots.
Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia and Ryan Gerard also sit five under par, while defending champion Tommy Fleetwood lags a shot further back in a group that includes fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick and Open champion Ryan Fox. Last week’s BMW Championship victor Wyndham Clark trails by five strokes after a solid three‑under 67.
McIlroy, meanwhile, occupies a tie for 20th after a roller‑coaster 68 that featured five birdies offset by three bogeys, a performance that left his FedExCup aspirations hanging in the balance. Lee’s round was marked by a string of birdies on holes four and five, after which he was left to play solo when his partner JJ Spaun withdrew on the sixth tee with a shoulder injury. Undeterred, Lee continued to swap the lead with Hovland, who was playing two groups ahead. He closed a flawless front nine by sinking a 20‑foot birdie putt on the eighth and adding another on the ninth, preserving his clean‑sheet status.
The tournament’s live leaderboard showed Lee extending his advantage with consecutive birdies on the 12th and 13th, and another from close range on the 16th. Hovland’s day was marred by a three‑putt bogey from 25 feet on the 17th, but he quickly responded, 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 lead and equalling the lowest round of his PGA Tour career. Reflecting on his solitary round, Lee said, "It felt a bit odd at first, like searching for a playing partner and finding none.
I focused on maintaining my tempo and not rushing. I had to slow down a little, and it paid off." Collin Morikawa, who began with a bogey on the first hole, rallied by making seven birdies and pulling even with Hovland.
Gotterup birdied three of his final 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 completed the group tied for fifth after holing a 10‑foot birdie on the last hole, marking his fourth season with a 65 or better. Scheffler commented, "Aside from the first hole, I wasn’t really fighting for par.
That’s always a good sign here. Every missed fairway at East Lake makes par a struggle, so I created a few chances and managed to finish with a couple of birdies." McIlroy’s round was a study in contrast. He briefly found himself at the bottom of the leaderboard after failing to get up and down from a bunker on the first hole and scrambling a bogey on the fourth. He did, however, recover with a birdie on the sixth, though he missed a short four‑footer on the ninth.
The second half of his round saw two birdies in three holes, a clumsy bogey on the 14th, and a swift six‑foot birdie on the subsequent par‑three. He added another birdie on the 17th, but still entered the next day with only five players below him. The Tour Championship not only decides the season‑ending champion but also crowns the FedExCup winner, a prize that carries a $25 million bonus. The event’s format, a staggered‑start stroke‑play competition, rewards the top‑ranked players with a head start, making every shot critical.
East Lake’s demanding layout, featuring narrow fairways, thick rough and fast greens, tests both precision and mental resilience. Fans can follow all four rounds of the championship live on Sky Sports, with coverage continuing Friday from 6 p.m.
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