Harris English set the target atop the leaderboard early, with Kevin Streelman, Cameron Davis of Australia and Russell Henley catching him late in the day at TPC Boston.
English (pictured) posted a 7-under-par 64 and shares the lead with Streelman, Davis and Henley after one round of The Northern Trust, the first of three events in the 2020 PGA Tour playoffs.
The top 70 players in the FedEx Cup point standings after this week will move on to the BMW Championship next week at Olympia Fields Country Club outside Chicago, with the top 30 reaching the Tour Championship in two weeks at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the winner of the FedEx Cup will be determined.
“I’m ready to make a run at it,” said English, a two-time winner on the PGA Tour who is 27th in the FedEx Cup standings. “I feel like my game is in a good spot. It’s been on the verge of breaking through for a while now, and I’m ready for it.
“I’m not satisfied with just barely being inside the Tour Championship. I want to make a move up the ranks and have a chance at lifting the FedEx Cup.”
English, who has finished in the top 25 in his last five events, kick-started his 64 by holing out from 97 yards for an eagle on the second hole before adding six birdies to go with two bogeys.
Streelman, who is 22nd in the standings, holed out from 198 yards for an eagle at No. 15 and birdied two of the last three holes while finishing on the front nine.
“It was pretty fun, actually,” Streelman, another two-time winner on the PGA Tour, said of his eagle. “I hit a great nine iron and thought it was four or five feet from the hole, but when I got up over the hill I didn’t see the ball. I thought it might be in the hole, and it was.
“ … I need to have a good week either here or next week because things are so close in the standings in the top 30. I have to keep pushing, maybe win the tournament and see what happens.”
Smith was at 8-under before making a bogey at No. 17 after collecting eight birdies, while Henley capped the final 64 with a brilliant shot from 240 yards to within two feet for an eagle on the 18th hole.
Sebastian Munoz of Colombia made birdies on the first seven holes but only one more the rest of the way in a 65 and is tied for fifth with Matthew Wolff of Agoura Hills, Charley Hoffman of Poway, Bubba Watson, Kevin Kisner, Louis Oosthuizen of South Africa and Scott Piercy.
Fourth-ranked Dustin Johnson is tied for 20th at 67, while two-time FedEx Cup winner Tiger Woods shot 68 and is in a tie for 30th with defending champion and ninth-ranked Patrick Reed, 10th-ranked Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State, and second-ranked Justin Thomas, the points leader and the 2017 FedEx Cup champion.
Third-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the defending FedEx Cup champion, totaled 69 and is in a tie for 53rd that includes top-ranked Jon Rahm of Spain, while sixth-ranked Webb Simpson is in a tie for 72nd at 70.
Eighth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis wound up at 71 and is in a tie for 85th that includes fifth-ranked Collin Morikawa of La Canada Flintridge, making his first start since winning the PGA Championship.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
 posted a 7-under-par 64 and shares the lead with Streelman, Davis and Henley after one round of The Northern Trust, the first of three events in the 2020 PGA Tour playoffs.){kind=link}