The American Scottie Scheffler, number one in the world, dominated this Thursday with solvency on the first day of the Tour Championshipwherein Jon Rahm signed a good performance which puts him among the best in the tournament.
The East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta (Georgia, USA) hosts until Sunday this tournament that closes the PGA calendar and is played by the 30 best players on the circuit (except for the injury of the American Will Zalatoris, third in the ranking) .
The winner of the Tour Championship takes home the FedEx Cup title, which on the PGA Tour recognizes the best golfer on the course after regular season tournaments and a playoff system with three rounds at the end.
The first of those three knockout tournaments was the St. Jude, where the top 125 played on the circuit; the BMW Championship was played later with only the best 70; and in the Tour Championship only the first 30 of the classification have already passed.
Another peculiarity of the Tour Championship is that, in order to recognize the achievements and merits of each player during the season, the best golfers start strokes ahead of the others.
A) Yes, Scottie Scheffler, who leads the FedEx Cup standings, starts the Tour Championship with a -10Patrick Cantlay (second) started at -8, Xander Schauffele (fourth) started at -6, etc.
In these questions, Scheffler fulfilled his role as the favorite and closed Thursday with a total of -15 (-5 on his trip added to the -10 he had from the start) by registering an eagle, four birdies and a bogey.
In second place also appears the American Xander Schauffele with -10 (-4 in this round and -6 out).
Without considering the advantages, the best of this opening day are the English Matt Fitzpatrick and the Chilean Joaquín Niemann with a very good card of -6 each.
This way, Fitzpatrick is third in the standings with a total of -9 and Niemann (an eagle, five birdies and a bogey this Thursday) is tied for fourth at -8 with American Patrick Cantlay.
The rankings can be a bit misleading as Niemann had a fantastic day (starting at -2) while Cantlay, who was -8 before he started playing, was just par for the course.
In its part, Jon Rahm, feeling good, offered a solid performance with a -3 card (five birdies and two bogeys) that left him at -6 overall (he had a -3 start) and tied for ninth with four other players.
END OF SEASON FOR THE PGA TOUR
The Tour Championship puts an end to a very convulsive, difficult season full of questions on the PGA Tour due to the disruption of the controversial Saudi Arabian LIV Golf.
With significant economic incentives for its players, LIV Golf seeks to organize a circuit that rivals the US-based tour in terms of quality and prestige.
In May, the PGA Tour denied permission for players on its circuit to compete in LIV Golf, leading to disciplinary action and the abandonment of the PGA Tour on the way to LIV Golf by golfers such as Spaniard Sergio García, Dustin Johnson, Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood, Brooks Koepka, the Mexican Abraham Ancer or Louis Oosthuizen, among many others.
To prevent more players from leaving, the PGA Tour has announced in recent months improvements to its prizes and changes to its circuit – the latest developments in this regard were announced on Wednesday on the eve of the Tour Championship.
In addition, TGL (The Golf League) was presented on Wednesday, a new league promoted by Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy in collaboration with the PGA Tour that aims to combine golf, television entertainment and the latest technology in a new format.
Classification after the first day
1. Scottie Scheffler (USA) -15
2. Xander Schauffele (USA) -10
3. Matthew Fitzpatrick (ENG) -9
4. Patrick Cantlay (USA) -8
. Joaquin Niemann (CHI) -8
6. Sung-Jae Im (KOR) -7
. Rory McIlroy (NIR) -7
. Cameron Smith (AUS) -7
9. Sam Burns (USA) -6
. Jon Rahm (ESP) -6
. Sepp Straka (AUT) -6
. Justin Thomas (USA) -6
. Cameron Young (USA) -6
14. Tom Hoge (USA) -5
. Collin Morikawa (USA) -5
. JT Poston (USA) -5 Aaron Wise (USA) -5
18. Jordan Spieth (USA) -4
19. Brian Harman (USA) -3
. Billy Horschel (USA) -3
. Scott Stallings (USA) -3
22. Tony Finau (USA) -2
. Kyung-Hoon Lee (KOR) -2
. Hideki Matsuyama (JPN) -2
. Adam Scott (AUS) -2
26. Max Homa (USA) -1
. Viktor Hovland (NOR) -1
28. Sahith Theegala (USA) 1
29. Corey Conners (CAN) 3
Source: La Verdad
I’m Wayne Wickman, a professional journalist and author for Today Times Live. My specialty is covering global news and current events, offering readers a unique perspective on the world’s most pressing issues. I’m passionate about storytelling and helping people stay informed on the goings-on of our planet.
