Tour Championship: Min Woo Lee leads FedExCup finale with Scottie Scheffler chasing after Rory McIlroy's mixed start
Scottie Scheffler is three off the early lead and Rory McIlroy is six behind at East Lake; Min Woo Lee holds a two-shot advantage at the Tour Championship after a low-scoring opening round; watch throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf
Friday 28 August 2026 00:04, UK
Min Woo Lee raced into the early lead at the PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship, as Rory McIlroy made a mixed start to his bid for FedExCup glory.
Lee carded eight birdies in a bogey-free 62 at East Lake Golf Club, where preferred lies were used due to overnight rain and none of the 29 players who completed the round failed to break par.
The Australian holds a two-shot advantage over Chris Gotterup, Viktor Hovland and Collin Morikawa, as world No 1 Scottie Scheffler produced a birdie-birdie finish to his opening-round 65 to get within three of the lead.
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Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia and Ryan Gerard are alongside Scheffler on five under, while defending champion Tommy Fleetwood is a further shot adrift in the group containing compatriot Matt Fitzpatrick and Open winner Ryan Fox.
Last week's BMW Championship winner Wyndham Clark is five behind after a three-under 67, as McIlroy sits tied-20th after beginning his bid for a record-extending fourth FedExCup title by mixing five birdies with three bogeys in an eventful 68.
How Lee grabbed early lead at East Lake
Lee posted back-to-back birdies from the fourth and was left undisrupted by playing the remainder of the round on his own, following playing partner JJ Spaun's withdrawal on the sixth hole due to a shoulder injury.
The 28-year-old kept trading top spot with Hovland, playing two groups ahead, with Lee closing out a bogey-free front nine by holing a 20-foot birdie at the eighth and picking up another shot at the ninth.
Lee posted back-to-back birdies from the 12th and added another from close range at the 16th, moving him two ahead when Hovland ended his blemish-free day by carding a three-putt bogey from 25 feet at the 17th.
Hovland responded by getting up and down from the greenside bunker to birdie the par-five last, setting the clubhouse target at six under, before Lee matched his closing birdie to restore his two-shot cushion and equal the lowest round of his PGA Tour career.
"It was a little strange at first, just like looking for a playing partner and you're just there by yourself," Lee admitted. "It was more just maintaining speeds and not rushing. I had to just slow down a little bit, but it worked out."
Morikawa responded from an opening-hole bogey to register seven birdies and pull level with Hovland, while Gotterup birdied three of his last five holes to make it a three-way tie for second.
Åberg produced a three-birdie finish to get to five under alongside Bhatia and Gerard, with Scheffler completing the quartet tied-fifth having holed a 10-foot birdie at the last to start with a 65 or lower for the fourth time in five seasons.
"Outside of the first hole, I wasn't really battling for par very much," Scheffler said. "That's always good around this place. Every time you miss a fairway out here, you're going to be struggling for par. Gave myself some opportunities and was able to make a couple birdies there at the end."
McIlroy briefly sat bottom of the leaderboard after failing to get up and down from the sand to save par at the first and holing from eight feet to scramble a bogey at the fourth, with the world No 2 finding a birdie at the sixth but missing an opportunity from four feet for another at the ninth.
He posted two birdies in three holes to start his back nine and rebounded from a clumsy bogey at the 14th to hole a six-foot birdie at the par-three next, with McIlroy adding another at the 17th but heading into the second round with only five players below him on the leaderboard.
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