The first round of the Tour Championship got off to a fast start as the early tee times put up some birdies in the soft conditions. That would be a theme throughout the day as seemingly everyone short of Patrick Cantlay played the opening round under par at East Lake Golf Club.
That group certainly includes World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who started the day with a two-shot lead and grew it to five after he posted the second-best round of the day at 5-under. Scheffler only had one blemish on the card and closed in impressive fashion with birdies on each of the final three holes. Play like that would be tough to beat in a normal week, but he’ll be especially difficult to catch this week because of his starting advantage.
Xander Schauffele will play with Scheffler on Friday as the Tour Championship realigns the tee times throughout the week. Schauffele’s 4-under 66 has him at 10-under and trailing by five. Matt Fitzpatrick and Joaquin Niemann will play from the penultimate pairing as they matched each other for the low round of the day with 6-under 64s. They are six and seven shots back of the lead and will need to continue that premier play to get in the hunt over the weekend.
This is a different week, so I expect things to be different in this column as well. I may focus a little more on the short term and look to buy odds in placement positions, but I’ll also be sure to point out any outrights worth a gamble.