Collin Morikawa fired a career-best, 9-under-par 61 to forge a tie for the lead with Viktor Hovland and Keegan Bradley in the first round of the Tour Championship on Thursday in Atlanta.
The three-way lead was made possible by a late triple bogey from Scottie Scheffler, who had started the week in first place at 10 under through the season finale’s staggered start based on FedEx Cup points.
Hovland, the rising star from Norway, began in second and shot a 68, while Bradley made seven birdies and no bogeys for a 63 at East Lake Golf Club. Scheffler’s 71 left him in fourth at 9 under.
Morikawa was 24th in FedEx Cup points and began Thursday at 1 under. The two-time major winner was one shot off Zach Johnson’s course record of 60, yet because of the tournament format, he doesn’t have a hefty lead on the field.
“I’ve heard both sides of we like (the format), we don’t like it,” Morikawa said. “But at the end of the day, if you play really good golf for four rounds and you win the tournament without the strokes, I mean, you can’t be too mad about yourself, right? You played some good golf and you beat 29 other guys and that’s kind of the goal this week. That was the goal at the beginning of the week, but obviously where I sit now, it’s to keep pushing and not let my foot off the gas.”
Morikawa easily eagled the par-5 sixth hole after his second shot rolled to inside 4 feet of the pin. He birdied each of his final three holes, including an up-and-down from the greenside bunker at the par-5 18th hole.
Bradley joined Morikawa at 10 under by needing just 25 putts to get around the course, including a 27 1/2-foot birdie at No. 15.
“I’m just proud of the way I played,” Bradley said. “This is a tough track. Like, the margin for error on this course are similar to Augusta in that they’re so small.”
Playing in the final group with Hovland, Scheffler brought the lead as low as 13 under thanks to three birdies in his first six holes. But he had three-putt bogeys at Nos. 8 and 11, and he was just 11 under when he stepped to the tee at the par-3 15th.
After pulling his 5-iron off the tee far left and into the water hazard, Scheffler had to take a drop and reached the green in three. He then three-putted again from inside 16 feet, lipping out a 4-foot double bogey try.
“I guess it’s a little bit of a blessing to have a pretty bad day and still be in the tournament,” Scheffler said after a birdie at No. 17 brought him to 9 under. “So, yeah, go out there (Friday) and just keep fighting.”
Hovland played a steady round, with two birdies and 16 pars. He missed some birdie opportunities during the closing stretch to grab the lead outright.
“Even though I kept on hitting great shots and didn’t really get rewarded for it, I didn’t freak out or lose my mind or take a chance that I wasn’t supposed to take. I stayed patient,” Hovland said.
Morikawa’s playing partner Thursday, Adam Schenk, made a stellar Tour Championship debut by shooting a bogey-free 63 to move up to 8 under. He’s tied for fifth with Russell Henley (65).
It was revealed that Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland injured his lower back earlier in the week, and he played through the pain to shoot an even-par 70, winding up back where he started the tournament at 7 under. He was tied with Jon Rahm of Spain (69) and Matt Fitzpatrick of England (67).
“I was always going to tee off. It was just a matter of how I felt on the course,” McIlroy said. “And it got progressively a little tighter as I went, but it will hopefully get loosened up here and just another 20 — or 18 hours of recovery and go again (Friday).”
McIlroy went out in 2-over 37 before getting his first birdie of the day at the par-4 10th when his approach shot stopped 2 feet from the cup. He gave the stroke back with a bogey on the next hole.
He hit a groove late, birdieing Nos. 13, 15 and 16. But his third shot at No. 18 sprayed from the rough to a bunker, and he went on to finish with a bogey.
Tyrrell Hatton of England (64), Xander Schauffele (67), Wyndham Clark (68) and Brian Harman (68) are tied for 10th at 6 under.
–Field Level Media
