Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey one off first round lead at The Northern Trust
Saturday 25 August 2018 00:10, UK
Tommy Fleetwood and Paul Casey began their FedExCup Play-Offs campaigns in impressive fashion with four-under 67s to sit one shot off the lead after the opening round of The Northern Trust.
The English pair both shot rounds of four-under 67, as American trio Jamie Lovemark, Kevin Tway and Vaughn Taylor each fired a five-under 66 at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey.
Fleetwood and Casey are joined by a group of 13 players at the four-under mark, which includes three-time major champion Brooks Koepka and world No 1 Dustin Johnson.
Woods, playing in the FedExCup Play-Offs for the first time since 2013, battled to a level-par 71 as he aims to stake his claim for a captain's pick from Jim Furyk into America's Ryder Cup team.
Fleetwood, in his first year with status on the PGA Tour, made birdie at the 13th, 14th, 16th and 17th to hit the turn in 32.
He picked up a further gain at the fourth before his solitary dropped shot of the day came at the seventh after a wayward tee shot.
"I've not swung it great in practice and was a little scrappy early on but holed some great putts in my first 10 holes and then it kind of dried up a bit on the front nine, our back nine," Fleetwood.
"Then I started playing better so overall, on a course where the scoring seems OK today but if you're hitting it out of position it's not that easy, I'm happy with the start.
"It's cool being in the FedEx. I had goals at the start of the year when I knew this was my first year with full status on the PGA Tour and it's really nice to be a part of it. Coming towards the end of the season it's a good time to be in form if you can get there."
Casey, facing his final chance to secure automatic qualification for the Ryder Cup, began his campaign in encouraging fashion as he mixed five birdies with a solitary dropped shot at the par-five 17th.
World No 1 Johnson, the FedExCup leader and defending champion, opened his round with four birdies through his first six holes but a snap-hooked drive saw him drop three shots before he bounced back with a blemish-free back nine, which included three further gains.
Compatriot Koepka, fresh off his PGA Championship victory earlier this month, recovered from a bogey at the 11th to pick up four shots to cover the back nine in 33 thanks to an eagle at the par-five 17th - his eighth hole.
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The world No 2 made a second bogey of his round at the fourth before adding two further birdies at the seventh and ninth.
"It felt good to come back and play as well as I did," Koepka said. "I'm pretty pleased with it. My iron play is really solid and I'm making the putts you need to make so I just need to keep grinding away.
"I like the way the course sets up, it suits my eye. I like being able to hit driver on most holes and get it down there. If you put it in position you can really have some wedges in here and take advantage of your length.
"I did that pretty well today, a few misses in the rough but these fairways aren't exactly wide so I don't expect to hit them all."
Phil Mickelson is part of the group at three-under after a 68 which included a bump-and-run birdie from off the green at the 10th.
Watch The Northern Trust throughout the week live on Sky Sports Golf. Coverage continues on Friday from 12.30pm via the red button.
