Scottie protects 7-shot Tour Championship lead

ATLANTA, Georgia (AFP) — World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler swiftly put himself in a commanding position at the Tour Championship, the finale to the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs, with his six-under 65 giving him a seven-shot lead.

Under the format for the playoff final, designed to reward players for their position in the FedEx Cup standings, Scheffler started the day at East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, on 10-under, combining with his opening round to place him at the top of the leaderboard on 16-under.

His closest challengers are Collin Morikawa, who shot a five-under 66 to move to nine-under, and Xander Schauffele, who started on eight-under and shot a one-under 70.

The Masters champion Scheffler let his advantage slip by a shot on the first hole, where he made a bogey on the par-4 hole, but that was the only blemish on his scorecard.

The American caught fire on the back nine, where he made five of his seven birdies, including three in a row from the 12th hole onwards.

“I’m trying not to think much about the starting strokes stuff,” Scheffler said.

“I think it’s still a bit weird with it not being a traditional event. But it was nice to get off to a good start in the first round, and I feel like I did a lot of things well today,” he said.

During the previous two years, Scheffler had come into this tournament with a lead, but had been unable to close out and clinch the Cup — but he said he is now trying to play the event as if it was a regular 72-hole competition.