Woods shares top spot
Not even one bad hole could keep Tiger Woods from a share of the 36hole lead for the first time in more than three years.
Woods was on the verge of building a cushion yesterday in the Tour Championship in Atlanta with three birdies in a fourhole stretch, only to make double bogey from the rough and a plugged lie in the bunker at No. 16.
Woods finished with a 2-putt birdie for a 2-under 68 to tie Justin Rose (67) going into the weekend at East Lake. Woods last shared the 36-hole lead in the 2015 Wyndham Championship. He wound up tied for 10th.
Woods considers it a victory to have made it to the Tour Championship coming off a fourth back surgery. He’s not ready to think about the prospect of ending his remarkable comeback season with his 80th PGA Tour victory.
“We have a long way to go,” Woods said. “This is not an easy golf course.”
Rose, in his debut at No. 1 in the world, birdied three of his last six holes to offset a bogey for a 67. They were at 7-under 133.
Rory McIlroy made enough birdies to offset his mistakes in his 68. He was 2 shots behind.
In the FedEx Cup finale, Woods is picking up momentum. He opened with a 62 at Aronimink two weeks ago and now his name has been atop the leaderboard for consecutive rounds. Woods wasn’t nearly as sharp as he was Thursday when he started with a 65, but he wasn’t losing much ground.
“This course, the way it’s playing right now, you’ve got to be so patient,” he said. “It’s hard to make birdies, and on top of that, it’s hard to get the ball close. It’s very easy to make mistakes, make a few bogeys here and there. Look at most of the field. That’s basically what they’re doing.”
Jon Rahm and Rickie Fowler also had a share of the lead at some point, only to lose ground. Fowler shot 39 on the back nine for a 72, and Rahm bogeyed the 14th and double bogeyed the par-3 15th to end with a 68.
Fowler was 4 back, and Rahm was 3 behind at 136, along with Billy Horschel and Patrick Cantlay, each with 65, and Justin Thomas, the defending FedEx Cup champion, who shot a 69 and kept within distance to repeat as the champ.
Rose, as the No. 2 seed in the FedEx Cup, is in the best spot to capture the $10 million prize. Bryson DeChambeau, the No. 1 seed, shot 75 and is 13 shots behind. Tony Finau and Dustin Johnson, the other top-5 seeds who only have to win to claim the FedEx Cup, have to pick it up. Finau shot a 71 and was 5 shots behind. Johnson rallied for a 70 and is 6 back.
Fisher shoots 59
After 46 years, the European Tour has its first round of 59. English golfer Oliver Fisher was sprayed with champagne after completing his 59 containing an eagle and 10 birdies at the Portugal Masters in Lisbon. There have been 10 sub-60 rounds on the PGA Tour.
Fisher is in a three-way tie for the lead with Eddie Pepperell (66) and Lucas Herbert (67).
Stricker tied at top
Steve Stricker shot a 7-under 63 to share the first-round lead at the Sanford International in Sioux Falls, S.D. Stricker closed with a bogey to fall into a tie with Jerry Smith, Brandt Jobe and David McKenzie.