Overview
- A five-way tie for the lead at 5-under 65 — Jordan Spieth, Michael Thorbjornsen, Kurt Kitayama, Jake Knapp and Michael Kim — finished Round 1 at TPC Southwind and set up a crowded leaderboard going into the weekend.
- Jordan Spieth’s bogey-free 65 moved the former major champion from a precarious No. 54 standing into strong position to climb into the top 50 and advance to next week’s BMW Championship.
- Michael Kim’s opening 65 similarly projects a large jump in FedExCup points and could vault him into contention for the top 50 that qualify for Bellerive in St. Louis.
- High-profile collapses included Robert MacIntyre’s 12-over 82, which left him at the bottom of the field, and Rory McIlroy’s late bogey-bogey-double bogey stretch that produced a 74 and a near-last position.
- Daniel Berger’s withdrawal reduced the field to 69 players, there is no 36-hole cut and extreme heat at TPC Southwind was widely cited as a factor that magnified the stakes and the physical challenge for competitors.