TOUR Championship 2023: 3 Instant Reactions to Thursday Leaderboard Scores
The TOUR Championship might not be a major, but for the 30 golfers in competition this weekend, it's one of the biggest tournaments of the year.
The four-day event at East Lake represents the final round of the FedEx Cup playoffs. Only the top 30 competitors in the FedEx Cup point standings were eligible to participate, and a whopping $75 million—with $18 million going to the winner—will be distributed on Sunday.
The TOUR Championship uses a modified stroke-play format with FedExCup Starting Strokes being awarded prior to Round 1. The points leader, Scottie Scheffler, opened the tournament at 10-under, while golfers ranked 26th-30th began at even par.
Scheffler wasn't among the winners of Day 1, shooting one-over and falling into fourth place. Viktor Hovland, who was second in the standings before Thursday, fared a little better with a 68 and sitting in a tie for first.
Hovland now shares the lead with two unexpected contenders in Collin Morikawa and Keegan Bradley. It's close at the top, though, and it's still anybody's tournament. Here's a look at the leaderboard after Round 1, and some instant takeaways.
Top Leaders Entering Day 2
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T-1. Keegan Bradley -10
T-1. Collin Morikawa -10
T-1. Viktor Hovland -10
4. Scottie Scheffler -9
T-5. Adam Schenk -8
T-5. Russell Henley -8
T-7. Matt Fitzpatrick -7
T-7. Rory McIlroy -7
T-7. Jon Rahm -7
T-10. Tyrrell Hatton -6
T-10. Xander Schauffele -6
T-10. Wyndham Clark -6
T-10. Brian Harmon -6
*Full leaderboard can be found at PGATour.com.
Back Injury Has to Be a Concern for Rory McIlroy
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Rory McIlroy has won the FedEx Cup three times, notching his third victory in 2022 following a stunning surge to beat Sungjae Im and Scheffler by one stroke.
McIlroy has left the door open for a similar push in 2023, but he's probably not happy with an uneven opening round.
Entering the weekend, McIlroy was third in the FedEx Cup point standings, which gave him a starting score of seven-under. However, two bogeys on the front nine left him toward the middle of the pack.
According to Evin Priest of Golf Digest, a back injury affected McIlroy's preparation for the tournament this week—and it's fair to wonder how it'll affect him over the final three days.
"McIlroy is suffering from a muscular injury in his lower back that he suffered while at home earlier this week, Golf Digest has confirmed," Priest wrote. "...McIroy sat for a press conference at East Lake on Wednesday (and did not mention anything about an injury), but didn't hit his first golf balls here until Thursday morning."
The good news is that McIlroy recovered to a degree over the back nine. While he did produce two more bogeys, he also had four birdies to finish at even par. That's probably not the score the 34-year-old wanted, though, and he's now tied for seventh.
The big unknown is whether McIlroy's ailment will improve or worsen as the weekend unfolds.
Collin Morikawa, Keegan Bradley Quickly Become Threats
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Due to the scoring structure of the TOUR Championship, coming from the back of the pack to win is an extremely difficult challenge.
However, that's precisely what Morikawa is threatening to do after one round of play.
Morikawa entered the weekend ranked 24th in the FedEx Cup point standings following a solid if unspectacular season. The 26-year-old recorded five top-10 finishes and lost the Rocker Mortgage Classic via playoff but does not have a tournament win this season.
Like the other golfers ranked 21st-25th, Morikawa began the tournament at one-under and nine strokes behind Scheffler. However, a stunning opening round has him within striking distance.
Morikawa shot a bogey-free 61 on Thursday with seven birdies and an eagle. Now, he faces the stiff challenge of keeping up a high level of play for three more days.
"You've got to have your foot on the pedal," Morikawa said, per AFP. "This is the end of our season for a reason. Even though I had a great round today I want to keep doing that for next few."
Bradley wasn't as far back in the point standings—he came in ranked 13th—but like Morikawa, he's at the top following a stellar opening round.
A seven-birdie 63 has Bradley tied with Morikawa
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Jon Rahm Will Want to Forget This Year's Playoffs
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Jon Rahm had a simply incredible season up until the playoffs started at the St. Jude Championship two weeks ago.
With four wins—including The Masters—and 10 top-10 finishes, he was rightfully viewed as one of the most consistent golfers in the world. He also entered the playoffs atop the FedEx Cup points standings.
However, Rahm struggled at TPC Southwind and finished tied for 37th. He was much better at the BMW Championship, finishing tied for 31st. In two weeks, he fell from first to fourth in the standings and saw his potential FedExCup Starting Strokes score drop from -10 to -6.
Unsurprisingly, Rahm didn't have the kindest words on the playoff format.
"I think I've expressed my dislike towards the fact that you can come in ranked No. 1 in the FedExCup. You can win every single tournament up until this one. You have a bad week, you finish 30th, and now you'll forever be known as 30th in the FedExCup that season," Rahm said, per Jack Milko of SBNation.
While Rahm didn't completely falter during Thursday's play, a four-bogie, one-under 69 isn't enough to make up the ground he lost over the previous two tournaments.
It will require a nearly flawless final three days for Rahm to reclaim his position in front of the FedEx Cup race. He has shown that he can get hot in a hurry, but his performances thus far in the playoffs make a comeback victory feel unlikely.
If Rahm doesn't pull off the unexpected and win, he's going to want to quickly look past the FedEx Cup playoffs and ahead to next season.
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