McIlroy closes gap in FedEx Cup race
Rory McIlroy plays his shot from the second tee during the first round of the TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club on September 04, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
Rory McIlroy fired a warning shot across the bows of his FedEx Cup rivals when he finished with a hat-trick of birdies to open with a superb six-under 64 in the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
Playing his first round since becoming a dad on Monday, the two-time FedEx Cup winner rattled in 105-feet of putts as he made eight birdies in an impressive opening round.
Under the staggered format used for the final event of the season, the world No 4 began the tournament in 12th place, seven shots behind FedEx Cup leader Dustin Johnson on three-under.
But he ended the day alone in fourth place on nine-under, just four shots behind Johnson who shot 67 to share the lead with Jon Rahm, who shot 65 in a fascinating duel between them in the final two-ball, on 13-under.
Justin Thomas, who started the week three shots behind Johnson, remains third but now just two shots behind after his four-under 66.
“I don’t know how I couldn’t be satisfied after that,” said McIlroy, whose preparation on consisted of a nine-hole practice round late on Thursday.
“It could be the secret. Turn up the afternoon before you are supposed to tee off, play a quick nine holes and see where your game is at. At the start of the week, golf was the furthest thing from my mind.”
He set out his stall early, blasting a 330 yards drive down he middle before hitting the cloth of the flag with his short iron approach, leaving a six-footer he brushed home with ease.
His front nine was a mixture of the sublime and the careless as he mixed two bogeys with three birdies to turn in 34. But he moved up a gear on the homeward nine, hitting a series of wonderful iron shots.
After birdies from 20 feet at the 11th and 18 feet at the 13th, he made three more between five and 12 feet at the last three holes to card his lowest round in 25 trips around East Lake.
“I set myself a goal at the start of the day of trying to cut into that lead as much as I can,” said McIlroy, who was most pleased with his iron play. ”So any time you shoot 64 on this golf course, you’ve had a good day.”
“For the most part I hit a lot of good iron shots, good wedge shots again. That's been something in my game that's been pretty good over the last few weeks, even though the results haven't been there.
“I just need to get the ball in the fairway more. If I can get the ball in the fairway, I can take advantage of how my iron play is. I love these greens. I've always putted these green well and I putted them well again today. Just a few more balls in the fairway and hopefully I'll be right there.”
He added: “Golf was the furthest thing from my mind the first few days this week. And then once we got home on Wednesday and everything was good and mom and baby were healthy, that sort of took a load off my mind, and that meant I could come here and somewhat focus on what I'm supposed to do.
“It was just nice to get home, as I said, have that reassurance that everything is okay, and then if anything, what's happened the last few days, it's nice to get out on the course for four or five hours and just do this. Obviously I have a lot of good memories here at East Lake, and nice to have another really good round.”
While he said last week that the arrival of his first child was not to blame for his recent slip in form, he rowed back on those remarks yesterday.
“Subconsciously there was probably something in there that was lingering, but I think it was just a perfect storm of that going on in my life and really not adjusting well to life without fans out here, as well, and just not really getting an energy.
“You know, I've seen signs of my game that's getting a little better over the last couple weeks. I played okay last week in Chicago. It's nice when you come here, even though I've had success here, I was coming in with no expectations. I didn't touch a club for four days in between tournaments.
“As I said, I come in here and golf was sort of the furthest thing from my mind, and sometimes that's a good thing just to decompress and get away from it, and yeah, happy to have the start that I did.
“You know, it just shows you golf is such a mental game, and if you come in with low expectations, that's always how I've played well. Whether I don't feel like my game is in a good place or I'm not the favourite coming into a tournament, all that stuff, I feel like that's when I usually play my best and I can play with a bit of freedom, and that's what I did today.
Dustin Johnson (T1/-13)
FedExCup and World No. 1 entered the week at 10-under and holding a two-stroke advantage over Jon Rahm, with Friday’s 3-under 67 moving him into a tie with Rahm at 13-under
Hit five of 14 fairways and 12 of 18 greens; needed 27 putts
Qualified for the TOUR Championship for the 12th consecutive season (didn’t play in 2014 due to personal reason), the longest active streak on TOUR
Since the Return to Golf, has recorded two victories (Travelers Championship, THE NORTHERN TRUST) and two runner- up finishes (PGA Championship, BMW Championship)
In the FedExCup Playoffs, owns the most wins (5/tied with Rory McIlroy), top-fives (12) and top-10s (20)
Jon Rahm (T1/-13)
Hit three of 14 fairways and 14 of 18 greens; needed 27 putts
TOUR Championship finishes: 2017 (T7), 2018 (T11), 2019 (T12)
Last week’s BMW Championship victory was his fifth TOUR title, moving him from No. 9 to No. 2 in the FedExCup
One of four players with at least one win in each of the last four PGA TOUR seasons (Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin
Johnson, Justin Thomas)
Justin Thomas (3rd/-11)
Birdied three of his first four holes (including his only birdie on the opening hole in 13 rounds at the TOUR Championship) en route to a 4-under 66; at 11-under, sits two behind Johnson and Rahm
Only player with three victories this season (THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Sentry Tournament of Champions, WGC- FedEx St. Jude Invitational)
Nine top-10 finishes this season, tied with Bryson DeChambeau for most on PGA TOUR
Finished T7 or better in all four previous starts at East Lake Golf Club (T6/2016, 2nd/2017, T7/2018, T3/2019)
Rory McIlroy (4th/-9)
Birdied final three holes for a 6-under 64, equaling his best score (R4/2016) in 25 rounds at the TOUR Championship
64 equalled Abraham Ancer for the round of the day
The 64 marks his seventh sub-70 opening round in as many attempts at East Lake
18-time PGA TOUR winner has two wins at the TOUR Championship (2016, 2019)
One of two players with two FedExCup titles (Tiger Woods); the 2016 and 2019 champion is seeking to become the first three-time FedExCup champion and first to win in consecutive seasons
Additional Player Notes
Highlighted by a 25’6” eagle putt on the on the final hole, Abraham Ancer (5th) posted the day’s only bogey-free
round with a 64 (tied with McIlroy for round of the day); finished T21 during his TOUR Championship debut in 2019
2017 champion Xander Schauffele (T6) recorded a 3-under 67, his 13th round at par-or-better in as many attempts at
East Lake Golf Club; in three starts at the event, has won (2017), finished runner-up (2019) and T7 (2018)
Webb Simpson (T6) bogeyed four of his first five holes but rallied with birdies on Nos. 8, 10 and 13 for a 1-over 71;
entered the week No. 4 in the FedExCup standings
One week after opening the BMW Championship with a 10-over 80, Marc Leishman (T10) carded a 4-under 66 on
day one of the TOUR Championship for his first sub-70 opening round in five starts at the event
Miscellaneous Notes
For the first time in the FedExCup era, the top three in the FedExCup standings entering the TOUR Championship are also the top three in the Official World Golf Rankings
First-timers in field: Lanto Griffin (T10), Tyrrell Hatton (T10), Collin Morikawa (T14), Cameron Champ (T18), Sebastian Munoz (T18), Viktor Hovland (T24), Scottie Scheffler (T24), Mackenzie Hughes (T26), Joaquin Niemann (T26)
Rookies in the field: Scottie Scheffler (T24), Viktor Hovland (T24)
Three FedExCup champions are in the field: Justin Thomas (3), Rory McIlroy (4), Billy Horschel (T26)
Past TOUR Championship winners: Rory McIlroy (4), Xander Schauffele (T6), Billy Horschel (T26)
