Henley birdies final three holes to grab two-shot lead over Scheffler at Tour Championship

Russell Henley and Scottie Scheffler took advantage of soft conditions at East Lake to set the pace in the opening round of the Tour Championship. Henley delivered a spectacular putting display, holing over 200 feet worth of putts, including three birdies from 40 feet or more, on his way to a 9-under 61. He capped his round with three straight birdies to grab a two-shot lead.

Following BMW Championship win, World No. 1 Scheffler continued his dominant form with a bogey-free 63, his lowest round in six starts at East Lake. Scheffler nearly hit every fairway, the lone exception coming at the 16th, where he salvaged par with a clutch 25-foot putt before closing with two birdies.



Rory McIlroy bladed a bunker shot at the 18th over the green and off the grandstands, only to hole an 18-footer for an unlikely birdie. Play was halted seconds later due to approaching storms.


Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay, all carding 64s, kept their Ryder Cup hopes alive as potential captain’s picks after missing automatic qualification.

Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre shot 66s, with MacIntyre joking about heavy sunscreen use in the Georgia heat while reflecting on lessons learned from last week’s collapse at Caves Valley.

Only two players finished over par on a leaderboard filled with red numbers, a product of Wednesday’s heavy rain that left the course soft enough for lift, clean and place. Henley, known for his putting, summed it up: "Probably the most I’ve ever made."

With a $40 million purse at stake, the season-ending FedEx Cup battle is already shaping up for high drama.