Rory McIlroy, Scottie Scheffler shoot 67 at FedEx St. Jude Championship as Jon Rahm struggles

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – Rory McIlroy relied Thursday on one of the most dependable clubs in his bag, while Scottie Scheffler benefited from a new addition. They both shot 67 while playing in the FedExCup’s headlining group.

McIlroy and Scheffler are both four shots off Jordan Spieth’s lead after the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship, the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs, while the third member of the leading trio, Jon Rahm, finds himself 10 back. He shot 73 after suffering the penalty for several wayward shots at TPC Southwind.

This week’s venue is known as one of the most penal courses on TOUR. No course has seen more balls hit in the water since ShotLink stats debuted 20 years ago. It displayed its propensity to penalize the wayward while rewarding the accurate with birdie opportunities.

Rahm hit a tee shot out of bounds on 16, into the water on 18 and another on the par-4 second hole that required him to take an unplayable lie. The FedExCup leader finished ahead of just three players in the 70-man field. Rahm’s FedExCup lead is so large, however, that he is still projected to remain atop the standings even after Thursday’s struggles. After winning four times this year, he entered the week 174 points ahead of Scheffler and more than 1,000 points ahead of McIlroy.

The FedExCup’s leading three players, who also sit atop the Official World Golf Ranking, were put in the same threesome Thursday after inclement weather delayed tee times and required the field to tee off both Nos. 1 and 10 instead of playing in pairings off the first tee.

Rahm’s two closest pursuers, who will play with him again Friday, could catch him in the FedExCup race if they can build upon some of the promising signs they displayed Thursday. McIlroy led the field in Strokes Gained: Off-the-Tee and Driving Distance while hitting 10 of 14 fairways.

“I don't know if I can remember a round where I've driven it that well, at least in recent memory,” McIlroy said. “I drove it really well today and gave myself so many looks from the fairway.”

He said he was disappointed that he couldn’t take advantage of the many scoring opportunities he had, saying he put himself in a position to potentially shoot a 63 or 64.

“It was a slow start, and then the eagle on 16 sort of got me going,” he said. McIlroy nearly made albatross on the par-5 16th, hitting his 205-yard approach to 1 foot.

After making the turn in 2-under 33, McIlroy made three birdies and two bogeys on his back nine. He birdied the ninth hole, his last of the day, after making bogey on the previous two.

Scheffler also bemoaned his start. He was 2 over par for his first six holes after hitting his tee shot into the water on the par-3 14th. He missed a 6-foot birdie putt on the next hole, as well, but closed the front nine with birdies on 16 and 18 to get back to even par, then made three consecutive birdies on Nos. 2-4.

“It was frustrating, but hung in there nicely and played some really good golf after that,” he said.

He gained more than two strokes on the greens on his back nine alone, which he attributed to a growing familiarity with the putter he started using this week. He switched from his standard blade to a TaylorMade Spider mallet.

“I hit a lot of really quality putts today,” he said. “I hit my line a bunch today, and I was really comfortable out there.”

Rahm actually was the low man in the group after making a birdie on two of his first six holes. His driver cost him after that, however. This is the first time since 2018 that Rahm has shot over par in the opening round of consecutive tournaments. But he can take solace in the fact that he also shot 3 over in the opening round of The Open Championship before finishing second.