Scheffler is 5 transparent of Xander Schauffele and 6 forward of Matt Fitzpatrick; Rory McIlroy playing cards an eagle and 8 birdies in eventful opening-round 67 – watch the second one around continue to exist Friday from 5.30pm on Sky Sports activities Golfing

Scottie Scheffler holds a five-shot lead on the Excursion Championship

Scottie Scheffler reinforced his hopes of FedExCup victory through extending his lead on the Excursion Championship, as Rory McIlroy battled again from a nightmare get started at East Lake.

Scheffler started the PGA Excursion season finale on 10 below and with a two-stroke merit over his closest challenger, handiest to tug additional transparent of the 29-man box through blending an eagle and 4 birdies with a lone bogey to submit a five-under 65.

The reigning Masters champion birdied his closing 3 holes to transport to fifteen below and extra transparent of closest challenger Xander Schauffele, who posted an opening-round 66, with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick in 3rd after opening with a bogey-free 64.

Protecting FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay sits in tied-fourth, whilst Rory McIlroy recovered from being 4 over after two holes of his around to near an excellent 67 and bounce right into a proportion of 6th position.

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Rory McIlroy were given his Excursion Championship time without work to a horrible get started, finishing up 4 over after simply two holes

How Scheffler pulled transparent

Scheffler holed from six ft to avoid wasting par at the second one and rolled in a 12-foot birdie on the 3rd to transport 3 forward, with the merit expanding to 4 when Cantlay bogeyed the 5th and dropped again to seven below along Schauffele.

Cantlay matched Schauffele’s two-putt birdie on the 6th however discovered himself 5 at the back of when Schauffele made eagle at the identical par-five, even if the arena Number 1 then squandered birdie possibilities from inside of 8 ft over the following two holes to increase his merit.

Scheffler (proper) performed along Patrick Cantlay (left), who carded a level-par 70

Schauffele reclaimed solo moment when Cantlay took makes an attempt out of a fairway bunker on his solution to a bogey on the 8th, whilst Scheffler holed from 8 on the 9th to steer clear of only one dropped shot after blading a shot from a greenside bunker.

Scheffler reached the flip 5 forward however noticed his cushion reduce to 3 when Schauffele cancelled out a bogey on the 9th through creating a close-range birdie on the subsequent and including any other on the twelfth, with Joaquin Niemann an extra stroke again after signing off his opening-round 64 with an eagle on the par-five closing.

Xander Schauffele carded 5 birdies and a lone bogey in an opening-round 66

Schauffele holed from 20 ft to salvage a par on the 14th however noticed Fitzpatrick transfer along him in tied-second, as the USA Open champion adopted 3 birdies in a five-hole stretch from the 6th through creating a close-range birdie on the fifteenth and including a 12-foot eagle on the 18th to get to 9 below.

Scheffler ended a run of pars through making back-to-back birdies from the sixteenth to in brief repair a five-stroke merit, which Schauffele diminished to 4 with a remaining birdie, just for the FedExCup chief to two-putt from 30 ft on the par-five closing to finish a three-birdie end.

“I am not having a look at leaderboards, I am not having a look at any of that different stuff,” Scheffler mentioned. “I’m treating it like a four-day match, and identical to some other one I will cross available in the market and take a look at and put myself in place to win the match.”

Enjoying spouse Cantlay rolled in a 20-foot eagle on the 18th to salvage a level-par 70 and take a seat on 8 below along 8 below, with Sungjae Im and Open champion Cameron Smith along McIlroy an extra stroke again.

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Rory McIlroy says day one in every of this 12 months’s Excursion Championship used to be the strangest six holes of his lifestyles after a horrible get started

McIlroy despatched his opening tee shot out of bounds on his solution to a triple-bogey and dropped any other shot on the subsequent, handiest to make a chip-in eagle on the par-five 6th and upload 8 birdies in a exceptional first-round 67 that contained simply 4 pars.

“No longer the best solution to get started, however pleased with how I bounced again from that,” McIlroy mentioned. “I’d were satisfied simply to get again to even par after the primary few holes, however to shoot 3 below used to be nice.”

Who will win the FedExCup? Watch the Excursion Championship right through the week continue to exist Sky Sports activities. Reside protection continues Friday from 5.30pm on Sky Sports activities Golfing.