RUSSELL Henley and Scottie Scheffler took advantage of soft conditions at East Lake on Thursday (Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, PH time) to grab the early spotlight in the Tour Championship, the final event of the FedEx Cup season.
Henley poured in birdie putts from long range and closed with three straight birdies for a nine-under 61, giving him a two-shot lead over world No. 1 Scheffler.
Henley one-putted six of his last seven holes and holed more than 200 feet worth of putts. “Probably the most I’ve ever made,” he said.
Scheffler, coming off his fifth win of the season at the BMW Championship, stayed steady with a 63 — his lowest score in six trips to East Lake.
He saved par with a 25-footer on the 16th and added two closing birdies. “I missed one (fairway) on 16 and all of a sudden I’m almost playing for bogey,” Scheffler said. “It’s pretty important around this place.”
Rory McIlroy provided the day’s drama at the par-5 18th, blading a bunker shot into the grandstands only for the ball to bounce back onto the green. He holed an 18-footer for an unlikely birdie just before storms halted play.
The leaderboard was crowded with low scores, with only two players over par. Heavy rain earlier in the week softened the greens and allowed lift, clean and place in the fairways. “It was just a little bit more gettable,” Henley said.
Three Ryder Cup hopefuls — Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Patrick Cantlay — opened with 64s. None finished in the automatic top six and are waiting on captain Zach Johnson’s picks.
“I don’t think you’re ever comfortable until you get that call,” Morikawa said. “I hope I’ve done enough. But my focus is to try and win this golf tournament.”
Tommy Fleetwood and Robert MacIntyre shot 66s. MacIntyre, runner-up to Scheffler last week, joked about the Georgia heat: “I look like Casper the Ghost out there … I get a lot of shouts about my sun cream.”
Still, he reflected on how he handled the crowd in Baltimore, calling it a lesson for the Ryder Cup at Bethpage. “I’m always going to be fiery,” he said. “But just the way I interacted with the crowd … instead of doing what I did on Saturday and bringing them into it.”
The $40 million season finale continues Friday (Saturday in PH) with 30 players chasing the FedEx Cup crown. / FROM THE WIRES