RORY MCILROY IS four shots off the lead after his start at the Tour Championship in East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, as he finished on four-under following an opening 66, leaving him tied for eighth place.
The Holywood native is five shots adrift of the USA’s Russell Henley, who is top of the leaderboard following an impressive 61, enjoying a two-shot lead over top-ranked Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy, second in the standings coming in, produced a round that included a 30-foot eagle at the sixth and an unlikely birdie at 18, where his shot out of a greenside bunker flew the green, hit the grandstand and bounced back onto the putting surface to leave him a 17-foot putt.
McIlroy reached the turn at three-under and picked up another shot at the 11th. His finish to the round was a mixed bag – bogey on 14, birdie on 15, bogey on 17, and then that boost of the birdie on 18.
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry is tied for 23rd, following an even-par 70. Lowry had just the two birdies on his card, at the par-five 6th and par-four 13th, but he dropped shots on the par-four 1st and par-four 14th.
Henley, the world number four who captured his fifth PGA title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, broke free atop a crowded leaderboard with three birdies to close his round at East Lake.
The American had made a strong start with two birdies and an eagle on the front nine, adding back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 before he drained a 42-foot birdie at 16 to launch his closing burst.
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He added a 34-foot birdie at 17 and got up and down from a greenside bunker for birdie at the par-five 18th.
His 207 total feet of putts made included three from beyond 30 feet.
Russell Henley. Alamy Stock Photo
Alamy Stock Photo
Scheffler — who has won five times in his last 10 starts and nabbed major titles at the PGA Championship and British Open this year — closed with back-to-back birdies in a bogey-free seven-under par 63.
He was a stroke in front of five players sharing third on six-under 64. Scheffler got his round going with birdies at the second and third and added another at the sixth.
Unhappy with his approach at the 10th he nevertheless rolled in a 27-foot birdie putt, and after a birdie at 15 managed to get up and down for par from the dangerous right rough below the elevated green at 16.
He drilled another 27-foot birdie at 17, then blasted out of a greenside bunker to four feet at 18 and made that putt for solo second moments before approaching thunderstorms would have halted play.
Two-time major winners Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa were in the tie for third on 64 alongside fellow American Patrick Cantlay, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and England’s Tommy Fleetwood.
Thomas was in the lead at seven-under through 15 holes, but made a double bogey at 16, where his chip from the right greenside rough failed to reach the green.
Scheffler, the defending FedEx Cup champion, topped the standings heading into the three playoff events and further solidified that spot with a victory at the penultimate event, the BMW Championship, last week.
Last year Scheffler’s position atop the points list meant he started the Tour Championship at 10-under and with a two-stroke advantage over the number two on the list.
This year, all 30 players who made the finale started even with the winner to collect $10 million.
Elsewhere, Leona Maguire has made a brilliant start at the Canadian Women’s Open in Ontario.
Maguire is in a tie for second on five-under after her round of 66 as Japan’s Akie Iwai, riding high after winning her first LPGA title in Portland, fired seven birdies in a seven-under par 65 on Thursday to seize a two-shot first-round lead.
Maguire only dropped one shot all day, on the par-four ninth, and carded six birdies in her round on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 12th, 14th, and 18th.
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McIlroy five shots off leader Henley at Tour Championship with Scheffler second
LAST UPDATE | 22 Aug
RORY MCILROY IS four shots off the lead after his start at the Tour Championship in East Lake Golf Club, Atlanta, as he finished on four-under following an opening 66, leaving him tied for eighth place.
The Holywood native is five shots adrift of the USA’s Russell Henley, who is top of the leaderboard following an impressive 61, enjoying a two-shot lead over top-ranked Scottie Scheffler.
McIlroy, second in the standings coming in, produced a round that included a 30-foot eagle at the sixth and an unlikely birdie at 18, where his shot out of a greenside bunker flew the green, hit the grandstand and bounced back onto the putting surface to leave him a 17-foot putt.
McIlroy reached the turn at three-under and picked up another shot at the 11th. His finish to the round was a mixed bag – bogey on 14, birdie on 15, bogey on 17, and then that boost of the birdie on 18.
Meanwhile, Shane Lowry is tied for 23rd, following an even-par 70. Lowry had just the two birdies on his card, at the par-five 6th and par-four 13th, but he dropped shots on the par-four 1st and par-four 14th.
Henley, the world number four who captured his fifth PGA title at the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March, broke free atop a crowded leaderboard with three birdies to close his round at East Lake.
The American had made a strong start with two birdies and an eagle on the front nine, adding back-to-back birdies at 12 and 13 before he drained a 42-foot birdie at 16 to launch his closing burst.
He added a 34-foot birdie at 17 and got up and down from a greenside bunker for birdie at the par-five 18th.
His 207 total feet of putts made included three from beyond 30 feet.
Scheffler — who has won five times in his last 10 starts and nabbed major titles at the PGA Championship and British Open this year — closed with back-to-back birdies in a bogey-free seven-under par 63.
He was a stroke in front of five players sharing third on six-under 64. Scheffler got his round going with birdies at the second and third and added another at the sixth.
Unhappy with his approach at the 10th he nevertheless rolled in a 27-foot birdie putt, and after a birdie at 15 managed to get up and down for par from the dangerous right rough below the elevated green at 16.
He drilled another 27-foot birdie at 17, then blasted out of a greenside bunker to four feet at 18 and made that putt for solo second moments before approaching thunderstorms would have halted play.
Two-time major winners Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa were in the tie for third on 64 alongside fellow American Patrick Cantlay, Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and England’s Tommy Fleetwood.
Thomas was in the lead at seven-under through 15 holes, but made a double bogey at 16, where his chip from the right greenside rough failed to reach the green.
Scheffler, the defending FedEx Cup champion, topped the standings heading into the three playoff events and further solidified that spot with a victory at the penultimate event, the BMW Championship, last week.
Last year Scheffler’s position atop the points list meant he started the Tour Championship at 10-under and with a two-stroke advantage over the number two on the list.
This year, all 30 players who made the finale started even with the winner to collect $10 million.
Elsewhere, Leona Maguire has made a brilliant start at the Canadian Women’s Open in Ontario.
Maguire is in a tie for second on five-under after her round of 66 as Japan’s Akie Iwai, riding high after winning her first LPGA title in Portland, fired seven birdies in a seven-under par 65 on Thursday to seize a two-shot first-round lead.
Maguire only dropped one shot all day, on the par-four ninth, and carded six birdies in her round on the 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 12th, 14th, and 18th.
– © AFP 2025
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as it stands Golf leona maguire Rory McIlroy Shane Lowry Tour Championship