Three tied as playoffs get started
Harris English got off to a good start in the Northern Trust and wound up tied for the lead as the PGA Tour’s postseason began.
With some solid iron shots and a hot putter leading to four consecutive early birdies at TPC Boston, English finished at seven-underpar 64.
By the end of the round, English shared the lead with Kevin Streelman, Cameron Davis of Australia and Russell Henley, who finished with a tap-in eagle.
Good starts were important to so many in the FedEx Cup playoffs, which are as much about advancing as avoiding elimination. The top 70 from the 122-man field move on to next week for another $9.5-million event. The goal then is to reach the top 30 for the Tour Championship and its $15-million prize to the winner.
Of the top 11 players who were separated by one shot after the first round, five of them began the week outside the top 70, with Bubba Watson on the bubble at No. 66.
Among those at 65 were Louis Oosthuizen, Charley Hoffman and Scott Piercy.
Tiger Woods opened with a 68, with five birdies over his last 10 holes. Justin Thomas, the No. 1 seed, opened with a 68. Collin Morikawa, in his first start since winning the PGA Championship, twice made bogey on par-fives and had a 71.
Elsewhere
American Amy Olson was the only player to shoot below 70 in what some said was a four-club wind on the famous Royal Troon links in eastern Scotland, her fourunder 67 earning her a threestroke lead in the Women’s British Open. Only two others in the 144-player field — Sophia Popov of Germany and Marina Alex of the United States — shot under par, both with 70. “It was brutal,” said Popov, who played in 117 degrees in Arizona last week.
Shane Bertsch shot his second straight seven-under 64 to take a four-stroke lead into the final round of the Bass Pro Shops Big Cedar Lodge at Ridgedale, Mo., his second event on the PGA Tour Champions.