First round leaderboard
-16 S Scheffler (US); -9 C Morikawa (US), X Schauffele (US); -8 A Scott (Aus), S Burns (US), W Clark (US), H Matsuyama (Jpn), K Bradley (US).
Selected: -6 R McIlroy (NI); -5 A Rai (Eng), S Lowry (Irl); -4 R MacIntyre (Sco)
World number one Scottie Scheffler made the ideal start to his bid to win a first FedExCup title by moving into a seven-stroke lead after the first round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.
The American shot a bogey on the first hole, but went from strength to strength after that by hitting seven birdies, including one on the par-five 18th.
Scheffler signed for a six-under-par 66 but is 16 under overall.
The Tour Championship’s staggered structure meant the 28-year-old, the leader in the FedExCup points standings, started the tournament at 10 under.
Compatriot and world number two Xander Schauffele, who started the contest at eight under, could only open with a one-under-par 70.
He is tied in second place on nine under with fellow American Collin Morikawa, who climbed the leaderboard thanks to a five under 66, after starting on four under.
Elsewhere, Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy is in a share of 10th place on six under.
He began the tournament on four under, but four birdies and two bogeys meant he completed his opening round two shots better off.
“I’m happy with how I hung in there and had a good finish,” McIlroy told Sky Sports.
“When I saw Scottie had gotten to 14, I was like, ‘oh, got to try to just hang on to the coattails a little bit’.
“Still feel like I’ve got a chance, and it was nice to finish the way I did.”
The 30-man field return to the course on Friday when scattered thunderstorms are forecast.
There is no 36-hole cut for the tournament, while the winner after 72 holes will take home the FedEx Cup and a $25m (£19m) prize.
