Top-ranked Dustin Johnson and No. 2 Jon Rahm went head-to-head again and put on another show.
Rahm shot 5-under-par 65 to catch Johnson at the top of the leaderboard after the first round of the Tour Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, where the winner will hoist the FedEx Cup on Labor Day.
“I’m happy to have made par on the last hole,” Rahm (pictured) said, even though his shot for birdie from the sand lipped out after he drove into the rough and needed three shots to reach the greenside bunker. “I started off a little slowly, but played really well on the back nine.
“It was a good round, even though I didn’t drive the ball very well, and you have to do that here. But I putted as well as I every have on Bermuda greens in my life. Now, we are even with three days to go.”
DJ took a two-shot lead over Rahm and progressively up to a 10-stroke margin over the rest of the field into the tournament because he led the FedEx Cup point standings after Rahm beat him with a 66-foot birdie putt on the first playoff hole in the BMW Championship last week.
That came after Johnson forced the playoff with a 43-foot birdie putt.
This time, Rahm sank birdie putts three times in a span of four holes on the back nine, and each time Johnson rolled his putt in right on top of the Spaniard’s.
Johnson lipped out a five-foot birdie putt on the final hole that would have given him the outright lead and finished with a 67.
“I would have loved to make that putt on 18, but I just pushed it a little,” said Johnson, who won The Northern Trust by 11 strokes to open the playoffs two weeks ago. “I’m satisfied with my round, but I need to hit the ball straighter. On this golf course, you have to play from the fairway.
“But overall, I’m pleased with the way I played because 3-under is a good score around here. I’m swinging well and getting good looks, but had a couple lip-outs. It was fun playing with Jon today and we have three days more to go.”
Third-ranked Justin Thomas, the 2017 FedEx Cup champion, birdied three of the first four holes and capped his day with an 11-foot birdie putt on the last hole to cap a 64 that left him two back in third.
Fourth-ranked Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland, the defending Tour Championship and FedEx Cup winner, had five birdies on the back nine and is four strokes behind in fourth after a 64 that tied the low score of the round.
“I didn’t touch my clubs for three days (at the start of the week) and golf was the farthest thing from my mind,” said McIlroy, whose wife Erica gave birth to their first child, a daughter they named Poppy, on Monday.
“I had no expectations, but I’m happy with the great start I had and obviously I have some great memories of East Lake. I felt my game was getting better the last few weeks and it was nice to play well today.”
Abraham Ancer of Mexico sank a 25-foot eagle putt on the last hole to close out a bogey-free 64 and is six down in fifth, while sixth-ranked Webb Simpson, who sat out last week, shot 70 and is one more behind in a tie for sixth with Xander Schauffele of La Jolla and San Diego State (67), Brendon Todd (67) and Sungjae Im (68) of South Korea.
Marc Leishman of Australia birdied the last two holes for a 66 and is eight shots back in a tie for 10th with Tyrrell Hatton of England and Lanto Griffin, who both posted 67s.
Fifth-ranked Collin Morikawa, the PGA champion from La Canada Flintridge and Cal is tied for 14th after a 71, while eighth-ranked Bryson DeChambeau of Clovis totaled 72 and is in a tie for 18th that includes ninth-ranked Patrick Reed, who had a 71, and 2014 FedEx Cup champion Billy Horschel is tied for 26th after a 70.
For complete results, visit https://www.pgatour.com/leaderboard.html
