MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Akshay Bhatia had a blazing finish to get his PGA Tour postseason off to a good start, closing eagle-birdie-birdie for an 8-under 62 to post his career low and take a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood in the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scottie Scheffler, playing for the first time since winning the British Open for his second major of the year, made bogey on the final hole for a 67, his 10th straight round in the 60s.
Bhatia comes into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 45, with only the top 50 advancing to the second of three tournaments in the lucrative postseason. The idea is to be among the top 30 who reach East Lake for a shot at the $10 million bonus.
He was paired with Harry Hall of England, who is at No. 44. Hall was matching Bhatia until the final two holes, when Bhatia rolled in a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th and stuffed a short iron into 2 feet on 18.
Bhatia said he has been spending too much time thinking about numbers, whether it’s his score or his world ranking or his position in the FedEx Cup. The goal is to keep his mind peaceful.
“I felt pretty relaxed, and I’m just not trying to force anything,” he said. “It’s OK to get mad at golf shots but not at yourself.”
Justin Rose and Bud Cauley, who is at No. 53, also were at 64 on a TPC Southwind that has 18 new greens and a course with much thicker rough.
Fleetwood is all but set for the FedEx Cup finale at No. 9, though he would love to get that first PGA Tour title to go along with European tour wins against strong fields. He hit 13 out of 14 fairway, and the one he missed led to a birdie when he holed a bunker shot on No. 9.
“People talk about this golf course as a second-shot golf course, but it’s only a second-shot golf course if you’re in the fairway,” Fleetwood said. “I hit the ball so well off the tee that I was always giving myself an opportunity.”
And then it helped to see the putts drop, four straight birdies to close out his round.
Fleetwood has the right outlook for this postseason series. Asked if he looked at the three weeks as one big event or each tournament on its own, Fleetwood said, “It really day to day.”
Projections can fluctuate with shots from anyone on any part of the course. Rickie Fowler, who missed the top 70 who qualify for the postseason last year, came in at No. 64 and shot 66, which projects him inside the top 50.
Jordan Spieth was at No. 48. He had to rally on the back nine for a 69 that put him out of the top 50, and then back to No. 50 by the end of the day.
Scheffler is assured the No. 1 seed for at least another week. He looked plenty sharp, giving himself a lot of looks at birdie and converting four of them. He missed out on a good birdie chance at the par-5 16th when he drove into the rough and sent the next shot into a bunker about 100 yards short of the green. He also took three putts from 70 feet on the final hole.
“Today was a good day. I did some solid stuff,” Scheffler said. “Felt like I was close to playing a really great round but ended up with a solid round. Overall a decent start.”
This is one of the more important weeks of the PGA Tour because of what’s at stake. Not only do the top 50 advance to the BMW Championship, they are assured of being in all the $20 million signature event for next year.
Among those on the bubble, Si Woo Kim (No. 46) opened with a 65 and former U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark had a 67.
“It’s kind of like dicey spot right now,” Kim said. “And started struggling, so I was like, ‘I don’t know if I can get through to next week.’ But tried to keep it as simple as possible, and that helps me a lot. I had a great round, so hopefully I’ve got more room the next couple days. Just trying to make it simple and not much think about next week.”
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who might be the first playing captain since 1963, opened with a 72. Bradley is No. 10 in the Ryder Cup standings. He played with Maverick McNealy, who is 11th in the standings. McNealy shot 66.
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