Jon Rahm, Dustin Johnson and Justin Thomas. Pics: Getty Images/ PGA Tour
Sep 5: Jon Rahm caught up with Dustin Johnson as their battle entered into yet another week as he shot five-under 65 to catch up with Johnson (67), who began the Tour Championship with a two-shot advantage at East Lake, Atlanta.
It is the second straight year under this format the FedExCup leader starts at 10 under with a two-shot lead over his nearest rival, while third placed begins at 7-under and it goes down the line till 26th to the 30th who are the only ones to start at level par from among the Top-30 on FedExCup standings who tee up at the Tour Championship.
The duo was tied for the lead at the first round with 13-under, while Justin Thomas starting the week at 7-under shot 4-under 66 to get to 11-under. Freshly-minted ‘Dad’ Rory McIlroy celebrated his new status with a 6-under 64 that helped him make up for the deficit he started with and got to 9-under. After starting seven behind Johnson, the Northern Irishman is now only four behind.
As many as 17 of the 30 players broke par on a muggy afternoon.
Johnson, who hit just five of the 14 fairways did find 12 of the 18 greens. Rahm found even few fairways, just three of the 14 but had 14 greens in 18.
Johnson lost his three-shot lead early with back-to-back bogeys to end the front nine and then missed a birdie putt from just over 4 feet on the final hole that would have given him the lead.
Johnson has qualified for the TOUR Championship for the 12th consecutive season – he did not play in 2014 due to personal reasons and in the FedExCup Playoffs, he owns the most wins, five and is tied with Rory McIlroy.
“The only birdie we didn’t share was mine on 16. Besides that, we birdied every single hole together, which is kind of unique, right?” Rahm said.
“Technically, it is a continuation,” Rahm said. “I kind of stole that tournament last week from him and he started with a two-shot lead. So hopefully, I can steal this one, as well.”
Rahm is one of four players with at least one win in each of the last four PGA TOUR seasons – the others being Bryson DeChambeau, Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas.
Justin Thomas, the only player with three wins this season, birdied three of his first four holes en route to a 4-under 66 and at 11-under, sits two behind Johnson and Rahm. Thomas has nine top-10 finishes this season, tied with DeChambeau for most on PGA TOUR. He had finished T7 or better in all four previous starts at East Lake Golf Club.
Thomas, who was in the top spot a year ago at the start, and then opened with a 70, said later it felt awkward to start the tournament with a two-shot lead before hitting a shot. This year, he began at 7 under and shot a 66 to end the day two shots behind.
“I learned I would have rather been at 10 under than 7,” he said. “That being said, I feel like I’m in a good frame of mind.”
The big move belonged to Rory McIlroy, who came over after spending three days with his newborn daughter, Poppy. He arrived in Atlanta on Thursday.
He finished with three straight birdies, getting up-and-down from a bunker short of the green on the par-5 18th, for a 64. He started seven shots behind and finished the opening round only four back.
McIlroy, an 18-time PGA TOUR winner has two wins at the TOUR Championship (2016, 2019) and is one of the only two players to have won FedExCup titles, the other being Tiger Woods. McIlroy is seeking to become the first three-time FedExCup champion and first to win in consecutive seasons.
“Even though I’ve had success here, I was coming in with no expectations. I didn’t touch a club for four days in between tournaments,” McIlroy said. “I come in here and golf was sort of the furthest thing from my mind. And sometimes that’s a good thing just to decompress and get away from it. Yeah, happy to have the start that I did.”
Abraham Ancer also had a 64 and was cut three shots off the deficit, getting within six shots of Johnson and Rahm.
“The key out here is driving,” Johnson said. “If you can drive it in the fairway, you can shoot a good score. The greens are so good, and the only way to control the golf ball coming into the greens is hitting out of the fairway. That’s the only thing I need to do a little better tomorrow.”
Both Johnson and Rahm also wore navy trousers, a light blue shirt and a white cap. They both matched each other with birdies on the par-3 second hole and the par-5 sixth. On the back nine, they matched birdies on the 12th, 13th and 15th hole.
Rahm caught up Johnson with an 18-foot birdie putt on the 16th and it was Rahm’s fourth birdie in five holes.
