FedEx St. Jude Invitational 2019: Jon Rahm Shoots 62, Takes Lead After Round 1

If anyone wants to build momentum heading into the FedEx Cup, they better start catching up to Jon Rahm. And fast.

Rahm carded an eight-under 62 in Thursday's opening round of the 2019 FedEx St. Jude Invitational at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, giving him a three-stroke lead over Bubba Watson, Patrick Cantlay, Cameron Smith, Hideki Matsuyama and Shugo Imahira who are in a five-way tie for second.

Rahm matched his lowest single-round score on the PGA Tour. He carded eight birdies without a single bogey and had one of the best putting rounds of his career. The PGA's strokes-gained metric calculated that Rahm saved 5.2 strokes on the short grass. Five of Rahm's birdies came from outside 15 feet, including a stellar 20-footer to cap off his round.

"The main key out of all that, it was my positioning," Rahm told reporters. "The putt on [Nos.] 1, 2, 7 and 8, those birdie putts that I made, not any of them were aimed outside the edge right or left. So that's what made it so, not easy but that's what made it so comforting."

The St. Jude Invitational will be the final stop during many golfers' seasons before the beginning of the FedEx Cup on August 8. It's also the final WGC event of the year.

While Rahm made the course look easy, there were some notables who did not have much success. Jordan Spieth's frustrating 2019 continued as he blew a promising start to finish at even par. Spieth played the front nine at three under and got to four under after a birdie at No. 11—right before falling apart for a pair of triple bogeys on Nos. 12 and 15 to derail his round. 

Also sitting at even is Adam Scott, who was at the polar opposite end of the putting spectrum from Rahm. Former world No. 1 Jason Day is at two over after struggling with the greens and off the tee.

Rory McIlroy is seven strokes behind Rahm at one under following an extremely Roryesque round. He was a three over through 13 holes before nabbing birdies four of his final five to put himself in the red.

Watson, who has gone winless this season after three victories in 2018, credited his five-under round with seeing a "mental coach." He said the coach has allowed him to put the rest of his life in perspective. 

"I've got more junk going on in my life. Car dealership, baseball team, apartment complex, candy shop, driving range, office buildings," Watson told Rex Hoggard of the Golf Channel. "I've got to make sure my RV gets to tournaments. I've got to make sure my kids are doing the right things at school. Got a beautiful wife that I've got to make happy. Just a lot more stuff going on."

"I'd get rid of my wins in a heartbeat. I'd work at a golf shop in a heartbeat if I had to take care of my family and everything," Watson added. "So, it's good junk, but it's a lot more junk than I had 20 years ago."

Reigning champion Justin Thomas is in a tie for 18th after shooting two under.