McIlroy is bidding for a fourth FedEx Cup and the €16.5m winner’s cheque.
TOP-RANKED SCOTTIE SCHEFFLER clung to a two-stroke lead over hard-charging Collin Morikawa in Thursday’s opening round of the US PGA Tour’s season-ending Tour Championship while Rory McIlroy struggled through a back injury.
“You’ve got to have your foot on the pedal,” Morikawa said. “This is the end of our season for a reason. Even though I had a great round today I want to keep doing that for next few. “I’ve grinded my butt off. I’ve spent way too much time out there,” Morikawa said of practice rounds. “But I figured some things out. It’s obviously nice to see.”
Defending champion McIlroy, a four-time major winner from Northern Ireland who began three adrift on 7-under, answered bogeys on the second and eighth holes with a birdie at 10 but made bogey at 11 as he battled lower back pain. McIlroy, who won last month’s Scottish Open for his 24th PGA Tour title, had used a new putter the past two weeks but went back to his more regular putter Thursday.- Morikawa sizzles early - Last year, McIlroy charged from six strokes back in the final round to edge Scheffler for the title in the biggest last-day comeback in event history.
After sinking a 12-foot birdie putt to begin the back nine, Morikawa made a 36-foot birdie putt at the 12th, a 10-footer to birdie 16 and a 13-foot birdie putt at the 17th.
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