Akshay Bhatia Leads FedEx St. Jude Championship with Impressive Start
Memphis, Tenn. – Akshay Bhatia had a spectacular finish to get his PGA Tour postseason off to a good start, finishing with eagle-birdie-birdie for a 62, eight under par, setting his personal best and taking a one-shot lead over Tommy Fleetwood at the FedEx St. Jude Championship. Scottie Scheffler, playing for the first time since winning the British Open, his second major of the year, bogeyed the final hole for a 67, his tenth consecutive round in the 60s. Bhatia enters the FedEx Cup playoffs ranked 45th, with only the top 50 advancing to the second of the three tournaments of the lucrative postseason. The goal is to be among the top 30 who reach East Lake to have the opportunity to win the $10 million bonus. Played in a pair with Harry Hall of England, who is in 44th place. Hall tied Bhatia until the last two holes, when Bhatia holed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 17th and sent a short iron to 2 feet on the 18th.Justin Rose and Bud Cauley, who is in 53rd place, also achieved 64 at a TPC Southwind that features 18 new greens and a course with much thicker rough. Fleetwood is virtually set for the FedEx Cup final in the number 9 spot, although he would love to get that first PGA Tour title along with the European tour wins against strong fields. He hit 13 of 14 fairways, and the one he missed led to a birdie when he holed a shot from the bunker on the 9th hole.I felt pretty relaxed and I’m just not trying to force anything. It’s okay to get angry at golf shots, but not at yourself.
Akshay Bhatia
And then he helped see the putts fall, four birdies in a row to close his round. Fleetwood has the right perspective for this postseason series. When asked if he saw the three weeks as one big event or each tournament separately, Fleetwood said: “Really day by day.” Projections can fluctuate with anyone’s shots anywhere on the course. Rickie Fowler, who failed to be among the top 70 who qualify for the postseason last year, came in 64th and shot 66, projecting him into the top 50. Jordan Spieth was in 48th place. He had to recover in the last nine holes for a 69 that took him out of the top 50, and then he returned to 50th place at the end of the day.People talk about this golf course as a second-shot course, but it’s only a second-shot course if you’re in the fairway. I hit the ball so well off the tee that I was always giving myself a chance.
Tommy Fleetwood
Today was a good day. I did some solid things. I felt like I was close to playing a really good round, but I ended up with a solid round. Overall, a decent start.
Scottie Scheffler
This is one of the most important weeks on the PGA Tour because of what’s at stake. Not only do the top 50 advance to the BMW Championship, but they are also assured of their participation in all $20 million events next year.
Among those in the bubble, Si Woo Kim (No. 46) started with 65 and former US Open champion Wyndham Clark had 67.Ryder Cup captain Keegan Bradley, who could be the first playing captain since 1963, started with 72. Bradley is number 10 in the Ryder Cup standings. He played with Maverick McNealy, who is 11th in the standings. McNealy shot 66.It’s a bit of a risky situation at the moment. And I started to have difficulties, so I thought: ‘I don’t know if I’ll be able to make it to next week.’ But I tried to keep it as simple as possible, and that helps me a lot. I had a great round, so I hope to have more margin in the coming days. I’m just trying to simplify it and not think too much about next week.
Si Woo Kim
