ATLANTA — Min Woo Lee made his first trip to the Tour Championship a memorable one, playing bogey-free on a rain-softened East Lake for an 8-under 62 that matched his career low on the PGA Tour and gave him a two-shot lead Thursday.
A pair of runner-up finishes this year, at Pebble Beach and the Scottish Open, made Lee a lock to be among the top 30 players who get a shot at the FedEx Cup, the $10 million prize and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour. He just hasn't felt like a top-30 player in recent weeks.
“Very average two weeks the last two weeks. It was probably the saddest I’ve been on the golf course, which is not good,” Lee said. “We’re really lucky to be out here and play some good golf to get into the playoffs. It just felt so hard.”
There was no such feeling in the opening round of the final event of the FedEx Cup season. He rarely was under stress to make par, made four of his eight birdies from outside 10 feet and wound up with a lead over Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup.
Scottie Scheffler started his day with a 6-foot par putt and never came close to another bogey in his round of 65. He also was nearly recovered from the hand, foot and mouth disease he picked up last week that gave him blisters on his feet, hands and throat. The hands were the biggest problem. Those are fine. There's still a few in his throat, and he sounded much better than a week ago.
The greatest testament came from Matt Fitzpatrick, who also played with him in the opening round at Bellerive last week.
“I played with him last week and he said, ‘Man, I thought I pissed you off or something. You didn't talk to me for two days,'” Scheffler said. “I was like, ‘No, man, I just couldn’t speak.'”
Scheffler is No. 1 in the FedEx Cup — he picked up a $23 million bonus last week — but that doesn't matter at East Lake. Under the current format, any of the 30 players who win the Tour Championship are deemed the FedEx Cup champion.
Tommy Fleetwood, who opened with a 66 in his title defense, was the FedEx Cup champion despite not winning all year until the Tour Championship. Lee is in the same situation this year. Only one other — Ludvig Aberg — from the eight players at 65 or better has yet to win this year.
The immediate payoff for Lee was changing to a slightly heavier shaft in his irons after his coach felt he was swinging faster than usual. The shaft helped to slow it down, and it worked.
He birdied the par-5 18th for a 62, matching the score he shot at the Nicklaus Tournament course at PGA West to start the year. That was the California desert at The American Express, a tournament known for its low scoring. This one might have been easier given the conditions.
Rain about an hour before the first tee time made the greens softer, and it showed in the scoring. All 29 players in the field were at even par or better, and the course played to 66.7
Missing from the field was 2025 U.S. Open champion J.J. Spaun, who withdrew after five holes because of a shoulder injury.
Spaun said he felt a sharp pain in his right shoulder blade on Tuesday and he spent two days trying to manage it.
“Today it felt a lot better, like mobility-wise,” he said. “But I think with the torque and the amount of force in a golf swing, it just doesn’t feel very comfortable. I’m nowhere in my game health-wise to be able to compete at the highest level.”
BMW Championship winner Wyndham Clark birdied two of his last three holes to salvage a 67.
Gary Woodland, back at the Tour Championship for the first time since 2019, Adam Scott and British Open champion Ryan Fox were among those joining the group of players at 68. Rory McIlroy, the only three-time FedEx Cup champion, opened with a 68.
Russell Henley, who grew up just over an hour south in Macon, had 18 pars in his round of 70.
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