JORDAN SPIETH GRABBED a one-stroke lead after the first round of the St. Jude Championship in Memphis on Thursday, making a strong start to the opening event of the FedEx Cup playoffs.
Thunderstorms caused a four hour delay to the start of play, and conditions were wet throughout the day.
But the wait did no harm to Spieth, who shot a bogey-free seven-under round of 63 which was crowned with an eagle on the par-five 16th where he brilliantly chipped in from 49 feet.
South Korea’s Tom Kim was a stroke behind, dropping out of a share of the lead with a bogey at his 16th hole, the par-four seventh — where he was in the rough off the tee.
Argentine Emiliano Grillo and American Collin Morikawa were both on five-under, two shots behind Spieth, while world number one Scottie Scheffler and number two Rory McIlroy both shot three-under scores of 67 to sit four strokes off the lead.
McIlroy made eagle on the 16th with a superb approach shot from 205 yards settling just inches from the hole but felt he could have gone lower.
207 yards ➡️ 1 foot 👀@McIlroyRory records the first eagle of the day on No. 16 @FedExChamp. pic.twitter.com/cF9pr9btWQ
— PGA TOUR (@PGATOUR) August 10, 2023
“I don’t know if I can remember a round where I’ve driven it that well, at least in recent memory. I drove it really well today and gave myself so many looks from the fairway,” McIlroy said.
“Sort of walking off the course disappointed with three-under. I felt on another day when I had have been on song a little bit more, especially with the putter, it could have been a 63 or a 64.
“It was a slow start, and then the eagle on 16 sort of got me going. I played solid. I just feel like I left a few out there,” he added.
Seamus Power, meanwhile, is one of five players tied for 54th place on one-over par.
– Updated 5.48am: An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated that Rory McIlroy made birdie on the 16th hole; he made eagle.
