Stanley fends off big names at FedEx Cup final

ATLANTA — Kyle Stanley and Jordan Spieth got off to strong starts in the Tour Championship with entirely different goals in mind.

Stanley ran off four straight birdies on the front nine, one of them from 40 feet, and then added two more late in his round on a steamy Thursday afternoon at East Lake for a 6-under 64. In his Tour Championship debut, he had a two-shot lead over a group that included U.S. Open champion Brooks Koepka.

Spieth had a 67, and while it was a grind, he had no gripes about that. He is the No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup, and no one from the top five had a lower score. That kept Spieth on track in his bid to join Tiger Woods as the only two-time winners of the $10-million US bonus since the FedEx Cup began in 2007.

The top five seeds only have to win the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup, though there have been three occasions where someone else won at East Lake and walked away with golf’s biggest payoff. That explains why Spieth spent more time looking at the leaderboard than he typically does in the opening round.

“I don’t know the scenarios, so it really doesn’t make a difference for me to watch the scoreboard other than to figure out how to get to the leaders,” he said. “It’s a weird scenario teeing off last when it’s the first round and there’s only 30 guys.”

Stanley, the No. 22 seed and a long shot for the FedEx Cup, thought East Lake was plenty tough during the practice rounds. He just didn’t make it look that way, stuffing a wedge into two feet on No. 3 to start his run of four straight birdies.

He was two shots ahead of Koepka, Webb Simpson, Paul Casey and Daniel Berger.

Spieth was among five players at 67 that included two other top seeds, Justin Thomas (No. 2) and Jon Rahm (No. 5).