| -7 J Spieth (US); -6 T Kim (Kor); -5 E Grillo (Arg), C Morikawa (US) |
| Selected:-4 T Fleetwood (Eng), A Rai; -3 R McIlroy (NI); +4 M Fitzpatrick (Eng) +6 J Rose (Eng) |
| Full leaderboard |
Jordan Spieth has a one-shot lead after the first round of the St Jude Championship in the first leg of the FedEx Cup play-offs.
The 30-year-old American’s eagle at the par-five 16th at TPC Southwind in Memphis helped him finish seven under after a bogey-free round of 63.
South Korea’s Tom Kim is in second place after a six-under-par 64 ahead of Collin Morikawa and Emiliano Grillo.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy shot a three-under-par 67.
“I’ve been driving the ball really, really nicely and everything kind of goes from there,” world number 12 Spieth said.
“I feel really confident stepping into a driver, getting in front of some shots and hitting some nice ones, that normally feeds to the rest of the bag.”
Lucas Glover, who qualified for the play-offs with victory in last week’s Wyndham Championship at Sedgefield Country Club, is part of a huge tie at four-under-par 66 which includes Englishman Tommy Fleetwood.
The top 50 in the standings after this tournament progress to next week’s BMW Championship.
Spain’s Jon Rahm, the current FedEx Cup points leader, made a double bogey and four bogeys during a nightmare three-over 73, as he tied for 65th.
Even if he finishes the tournament that low down the leaderboard, he is still set to hold on to the number one spot.
Morikawa makes wildfire donation pledge
Two-time major champion Morikawa has said he will give $1,000 (£788) for every birdie he makes in FedExCup Playoffs to the relief effort on the Hawaiian island of Maui following the devastating wildfires.
At least 36 people have died after the fires tore through Maui while thousands of people have been forced to evacuate their homes and a state of emergency has been declared.
Morikawa’s family emigrated to Maui from Japan, and his paternal grandparents were born and raised in Maui.
“Maui has always held a special place in my heart – my grandfather owned a restaurant called The Morikawa Restaurant, on Front Street in Lahaina,” the 26-year-old American wrote in a post on Instagram.
“The people of Hawaii are going to need all the support that we can give them. During the course of the play-offs, I’m going to donate $1,000 for every birdie that I make.
“The recency of these events means we haven’t identified the best place for the funds to go yet but as the situation evolves, I’ll share the beneficiary to highlight the recovery work they’ll be doing and how you can also support.”
Morikawa notched up six birdies in his first round as he shot 65 to finish tied third for the lead at five under par.
