Dustin Johnson picked up right where he left off.
DJ, who won the BMW Championship two weeks ago in his last start, shot 4-under-par 66 to tie for the first-round lead with Kevin Chappell and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan in the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta.
“There’s a lot on the line, but there’s a lot on the line every week,” said Johnson, who has won three of his last eight starts and will win the FedEx Cup with a victory this week. “I have the same mentality as I have every week, to shoot as low a score as I can.
“I’m playing better coming into the Tour Championship than I have before and I put together a great score. I’m a lot more consistent with my game and even when I’m not playing my best I feel I still have a chance to contend.”
Chappell, from Fresno and UCLA, parred the last nine holes in his bogey-free 66 as he bids for his first PGA Tour victory after finishing second three times this season, while Matsuyama had birdies on four of the first six holes and added another at No. 18 to earn his share of the lead.
Top-ranked Jason Day of Australia made his only bogey on the first hole in a 67 and was tied for fourth with Kevin Kisner and rookie Si Woo Kim of South Korea, who chipped in for a birdie from 88 feet on the final hole.
Jordan Spieth bounced back from a bogey-double bogey start to make six birdies on each nine in a 68 to tie for seventh with Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, who overcame double bogeys on the seventh and eighth holes, Justin Thomas and Paul Casey of England, who has finished second in each of the last two events.
Adam Scott of Australia, who is third in the FedEx Cup standings, made two late bogeys in a 69 and was tied for 11th with Matt Kuchar, who made three birdies on the last five holes.
Bubba Watson, trying to earn the last spot on the United States Ryder Cup team, was tied for 15th at 72, while Patrick Reed, second in the FedEx Cup standings behind Johnson, shot 73 to tie for 18th, and Phil Mickelson sank a 94-foot birdie putt from the fringe on the first hole but struggled to a 74 and was tied for 24th.
