English continues surge with early lead in FedEx Cup opener

NORTON, Mass. (AP) — Harris English made the difficult look easy Thursday in The Northern Trust, just like he has done all year to even reach this position in the PGA Tour’s postseason.

Facing the tough over his last 10 stretch at TPC Boston in hol es. the middle of his round, Of the top 11 players English hit 5-iron on the who were separated by 11th and 12th holes, one shot after the first both of them to about 8 round, five of them began feet for birdies. He followed the week outside with two long the top 70, with Bubba birdie putts to run his Watson on the bubble at streak to four, and finished No. 66. at 7-under 64. English doesn’t face

By the end of the that dilemma at the opening round, English moment. His good start shared the lead with was 11 months ago Kevin Streelman, when he began the season Cameron Davis of Australia for the first time in and Russell Henley, his career without a full who finished with a tapin PGA Tour card. That was eagle. due to a slump that had

Good starts were important him chasing after a to so many in swing that wasn’t his the FedEx Cup playoffs, own, leading to six lean which are as much about years without winning. advancing as avoiding He parlayed conditional elimination. The top 70 status into five top from the 122-man field 10s before the COVID-19 (three players have withdrawn) pandemic shut down golf move on to next for three months, and week for another $9.5 then he resumed his million event. The goal steady play to reach No. then is to reach the top 27 in the FedEx Cup 30 for the Tour Championship when the playoffs began. and its $15 million Now he’s more interested prize to the winner. in where he could

Tiger Woods opened be going instead of how with a 68 with five birdies far he has come.

“I’m not satisfied with just barely being inside the Tour Championship,” he said. “I want to make a move up the ranks and have a chance at lifting the FedEx Cup, which we all think about the whole year . ... It’s been a lot of work. But I feel like I’m ready for it to jump up and have a chance at winning some tournaments.”

Streelman made two early birdies and then holed out from 154 yards for eagle on the 15th hole. He had one of nine birdies on the 213-yard eighth hole to tie for the lead. Davis was at 8 under until a bogey on No. 8, his penultimate hole. He is at No. 102 in the FedEx Cup.

Among those at 65 were Louis Oosthuizen, Charley Hoffman and Scott Piercy, all well outside the top 70. Sebastian Munoz began his round with seven straight birdies to quickly tie for the lead, only to make double bogey on No. 9 and record only one birdie the rest of the way.

“Not really a disappointment,” Munoz said. “It’s golf.”

Oosthuizen is No. 99 in the FedEx Cup, while Hoffman is at No. 111 and Piercy at No. 119. Only the top 70 advance to next week at the BMW Championship, and they all likely need something around 15th place or better to move on.

Oosthuizen and his sweet swing barely made it to East Lake last year. Now he has work to do, and he brought a different style of playing knowing that.

“I need a good week to get to next week, and then I need an even better week to get to Atlanta,” he said. “It’s a little more attack in the game, a little bit more aggressive. I think by Sunday you’ll know exactly in what position you are, and it might be a case of going at pins that you might not normally do. But up until Sunday, I think I’m just going to play the normal game see where I’m at when I get there.”

---AP