Akshay Bhatia leads by one at PGA St. Jude, Scottie Scheffler five adrift

Straits Times

2 days ago

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Akshay Bhatia plays a shot from on the ninth hole during the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.
WASHINGTON – Akshay Bhatia's mindset was to take it easy.
It worked on Aug 7 as he picked up four strokes in the last three holes to surge to an eight-under 62 and seize a one-shot lead in the first round of the St. Jude Classic, the first event of the FedExCup play-offs.
England's Tommy Fleetwood also finished strong, closing with four straight birdies to cap a seven-under 63 that put him in solo second, one shot in front of Justin Rose, Harry Hall and Bud Cauley.
South Korean Kim Si-woo was alone in sixth on 65, Colin Morikawa headed a group of five on 66 while world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler settled for a three-under 67 that left him tied for 12th.
Bhatia, who claimed the most recent of his two PGA Tour titles at the Texas Open in 2024, said he has made a concerted effort in recent weeks to let go of the negatives, even as he feels he is not performing up to his own standards.
'Today I felt pretty relaxed,' he said. 'I'm just not trying to force anything. It's OK to get mad at golf shots, but not at yourself – not self-deprecate yourself, which I tend to do.'
Four-under through 11 holes, Bhatia rebounded from a bogey at the 12th with an eagle at the par-five 16th.
He drained a 27-foot birdie putt at the 17th and stuck his approach from the fairway at 18 two feet from the pin for his seventh birdie of the day.
'I felt like I wasn't in the rough too much,' he added. 'I hit it in a couple of fairway bunkers, which is OK out here. It's easier to control the golf ball.
'I felt like I wasn't putting great throughout the day, but then those last couple of putts managed to drop.'
Fleetwood played in more sultry afternoon conditions and saved his best for last. Three-under through 14 holes, he launched his closing burst with a nine-foot birdie at 15, rolled in a seven-footer at 16, made a five-footer at 17 and drilled in a 15-foot birdie at the last.
He said staying patient through the first seven holes, when he felt he played well but did not make much headway, was key to the round, but 17 and 18 were his highlights of the day.
'Eighteen, you've obviously still got work to do... You've still got to stand up and hit a golf shot on the last. To hit a golf shot like that, it was literally exactly where I was aiming, so obviously that one,' he said in choosing his best shot of his four-birdie burst.
The tournament is the first of three play-off events and features the top 70 players in the points standings.
Scheffler, playing his first event since capturing his fourth Major title – and his second Major of the year – at the British Open at Royal Portrush, came in atop the standings.
Masters champion Rory McIlroy, second behind Scheffler in the play-off standings, opted to skip the event, confident that he would remain high enough on the list to advance to next week's BMW Championship.
The top 50 at the conclusion of this week's tournament advance to the BMW, with the top 30 after that tournament qualifying for the Tour Championship in Atlanta. AFP