Memphis, Tenn. – Akshay Bhatia made a huge finish that gave his PGA Tour playoff a good start, closing the Hawks and Birds to a 62-shot low and down 62 and down in his career and beat Tommy Fleetwood at FedEx St. Jude Championship.
Scottie Scheffler played for the first time since winning the second year Grand Slam of the British Open, and he played 10th straight round in the 60s with a 67 on the last hole.
Bhatia entered the 45th FedEx Cup playoffs, with the top 50 entering the second of three games in the lucrative playoffs. The idea is to become the top 30 in East Lake with a prize of $10 million.
He paired with Harry Hall of England, who was in No. 44. Hall matched Bhatia until the last two holes, when Bhatia rolled with a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th and stuffed a 2-foot-long thigh of iron into the 18 holes.
Batia said he has been spending too much time thinking about the numbers, whether it’s his score or his world ranking or his position in the FedEx Cup. The goal is to maintain peace.
“I feel very relaxed, I just don’t want to force anything,” he said. “It’s OK to be angry about golf, but not to myself.”
Justin Rose and Bud Cauley, his 53rd and 64-year-old, have 18 new greens and a rougher route in the southwest of TPC.
Fleetwood was almost 9th in the FedEx Cup finale, although he was eager to win the first PGA Tour title to fight the European Tour against the strong. He hit 13 of 14 fairways and missed a birdie when he hit a bunker in the No. 9 gun.
“People talk about this golf course being the second golf course, but if you’re on the fairway, it’s just the second golf course,” Fleetwood said. “I played so hard from the tee that I kept giving myself a chance.”
It then helped to see the putter drop and four consecutive birdies put his rounds to the end.
Fleetwood has the right prospects in this playoff series. When asked if he sees three weeks as a big game or every game, Fleetwood said: “It’s really every day.”
Predictions may fluctuate with anyone in any part of the course’s shot. Rickie Fowler missed the top 70 that qualified for the playoffs last year, and he ranked 64th with a 66 shooting percentage, which put him in the top 50.
Jordan Spieth ranked 48th. He had to assemble 69 in the bottom 9, which took him out of the top 50 and then returned to the 50 at the end of the day.
Scheffler must at least ensure the number one seed. He looked sharp, looked at the birds a lot, and then converted four. As he drove into the tough, he missed a good birdie opportunity on the 5-16 hole and sent the next shot into the bunker about 100 yards from the green. He also took three putts at 70 feet of the last hole.
“It was a great day. I did something solid,” Schaeffler said. “It felt like I was about to play a really good round, but ended up with a solid round. Overall, a good start.”
This is one of the most important weeks of the PGA Tour due to the danger. Not only did it make the top 50 progress in the BMW championship, it could also secure participation in next year’s $20 million signature event.
In the bubble, Si Woo Kim (No. 46) opened 67 with 65 and U.S. Open champion Wyndham Clark.
“It’s kind of like a little stupid right now,” King said. “And then started struggling, so I thought, ‘I don’t know if I can go to next week.’ But trying to make it as simple as possible has helped me a lot, so hopefully there’s more room in the next few days.
Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, probably the first game since 1963, opened with a 72-year-old. He performed with Maverick McNealy, who ranked 11th in the standings. McNiley shot 66.
