Adam Schenk leads newcomers at East Lake, vaults into contention with first-round 63

ATLANTA – A trip to East Lake Golf Club is a benchmark for the PGA TOUR’s top players, but making it into the coveted final 30 comes with more than just a run at the $18 million winner’s purse and a chance at the FedExCup trophy. Getting to Atlanta means an automatic invitation to next year’s major championships and all eight Signature events. And for many, the bucket list ends there.

Then there’s Adam Schenk. The Vincennes, Indiana, native began his round Thursday at 1-under par (a nine-stroke deficit to FedExCup leader Scottie Scheffler) and No. 23 in the FedExCup points list, although you would never know if you saw his place on the leaderboard after play ended Thursday. Schenk carded a first-round 63 and finished his day at T5, on the front page of the leaderboard – only one stroke behind Scheffler (who sits solo fourth) – and well in contention to win the FedExCup trophy.

“I have to work for everything,” Schenk said after his bogey-free round Thursday that featured seven birdies. “I may not be as talented as a lot of guys in these field, so I have to be really smart and not give away any shots, and I generally play a lot to give myself more chances.”

Schenk, who turned pro in 2015 and is making his TOUR Championship debut, is a self-proclaimed grinder. He drove from his Indiana home to Chicago (and back) for the BMW Championship last week before flying to Atlanta for his 33rd event of the season. Those 33 events produced the success he’s been chasing: He had six top-10s on the season, including runner-up finishes at both the Valspar Championship and Charles Schwab Challenge. All of which culminated in his first TOUR Championship appearance as one of five newcomers along with Wyndham Clark, Tom Kim, Taylor Moore and Emiliano Grillo.

Schenk, who’s averaged 30 events in all six seasons on TOUR, grew up on a 1,500-acre farm in Indiana where his family grew corn, beans, wheat and grass – three types, in fact: Zoysia, fescue and bluegrass. While those three grasses are golf course staples, he laughed at the idea of his family having any involvement in the upcoming East Lake renovation.

“I don't think so,” he said with a chuckle. “That's an awfully long way to go. But this grass around here is pretty nice. I don't know if my dad's grass is that nice.”

Schenk rode his Midwest roots to Purdue University in Indiana, where he won two collegiate events. He made his professional debut at the 2015 Air Capital Classic on the Korn Ferry Tour (then known as the Web.com Tour) and has been playing on the PGA TOUR since the 2017-18 season, securing his card with a victory at the 2017 Lincoln Land Charity Championship.

He sits in good company with the other first-timers at East Lake, three of whom came in with wins this season. Clark, winner of the U.S. Open, had the highest starting position at 4 under and came into the FedExCup ranked No. 9. He posted a 2-under 68 Thursday and sits T10. The 21-year-old Kim – the youngest player in this year’s field and winner of the Shriners Children’s Open – finished 3 under and sits T14. Moore, who won the Valspar Championship, shot 1-over and sits T28, while Grillo struggled to a first-round 73 (solo 30th).

“I got here, loved the golf course … and thought if we could drive it well and make some putts this week, maybe we could have a chance on Sunday, which would be incredible starting nine shots back of Scottie Scheffler and Rahm and all those guys,” Schenk added. “So it's going to be an incredibly tall task, but today helps a lot.”

A sweltering heat on Thursday and a three-way tie at the top – with only one of those names (Hovland) starting the week in the top-10 of the FedExCup standings – has proven that anything can happen. And for Schenk and other East Lake first-timers, they’ve put themselves in good position to give the FedExCup trophy a run for its money – all $18 million of it.