FedEx St. Jude Classic 2018: Seamus Power Holds 1-Stroke Lead After Thursday

With some of the top players in the world taking time off to prepare for the U.S. Open next week, Seamus Power jumped out to an early lead after the first round of the 2018 FedEx St. Jude Classic. 

The 31-year-old Irishman carded a five-under 65 to take a one-shot lead over a group of 10 players who are tied for second. Phil Mickelson is among that crowded bunch, his fourth straight round under par dating back to last week's Memorial tournament. 

Here is the top of the leaderboard after 18 holes from TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee:

1. Seamus Power -5 (65)

T2. Troy Merritt -4 (66)

T2. Wesley Bryan -4 (66)

T2. Fabian Gomez -4 (66)

T2. Brooks Koepka -4 (66)

T2. Phil Mickelson -4 (66)

T2. Chris Kirk -4 (66)

T2. Michael Kim -4 (66)

T2. Brandon Harkins -4 (66)

T2. Steve Strickler -4 (66)

T2. Mackenzie Hughes -4 (66)

T2. Stuart Appleby -4 (66) 

Full leaderboard via PGATour.com.

Power has two top-10 finishes this year in 18 PGA Tour events. His best performance was at the Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in March when he tied for fifth place. 

This has already been a busy week for Power, who played 36 holes Monday trying to qualify for the U.S. Open. He missed out by finishing as part of an 11-way playoff but will have a chance to play at Shinnecock Hills in New York as an alternate. 

Mickelson will be among the players in the field next week looking to build momentum with a strong performance this weekend. Lefty is off to a terrific start thanks to shots like this at No. 8:

Even though Mickelson is known for his prodigious power and taking risks off the tee, Mickelson's success this season is thanks in large part to his putting skills. He ranks second on tour with 1.119 strokes gained on the green.

Thursday saw Mickelson improve on his season average in that category. The 47-year-old gained 2.266 strokes using his putter in the first round. 

The U.S. Open has been Mickelson's white whale. He's been a runner-up at the tournament six times, but it remains the only major standing between him and the career grand slam. 

If Mickelson continues to putt the rest of this weekend like he has all season, he will be ready to take on New York next week. 

Just outside of that jumbled mess tied for second is Dustin Johnson, who won this event in 2012. His round was spoiled by a double-bogey on No. 9, the lone blemish on his scorecard that also included five birdies. 

One of those birdies came when Johnson was trying to salvage anything he could with his ball nearly in the water:

Johnson has been rolling all season with six top-10 finishes in 10 events. His worst result was 17th at the Players Championship. If he can clean up that lone mistake from Thursday, the world's second-ranked player will earn his second win of the season this weekend. 

Daniel Berger, who has won the FedEx St. Jude Classic each of the past two years, got off to an okay start. The Florida native shot an even-par 70 in the first round and is tied for 57th. 

Another win in Memphis this weekend for Berger would make history:

A total of 54 players are under par and within four shots of Power for the lead. The early returns from this tournament didn't provide any insight for what to expect the rest of this weekend, but the wide-open nature of things will lead to a lot of movement starting in the second round.