Atlanta , Indian-American golfer Akshay Bhatia made an impressive start to the season-ending TOUR Championship, carding a five-under 65 to share fifth place with world number one Scottie Scheffler here.
The 24-year-old Bhatia made three birdies on the front nine and four on the back nine, with a bogey on either side of the turn. His 65 matched Scheffler’s score and put Bhatia among a group of players making an early move up the leaderboard. His performance there ensured that he retained his position inside the top 30 and secured his place at East Lake. At the top, Lee made the most of the soft conditions to produce a spectacular eight-under 62 in his TOUR Championship debut. Lee’s 62 matched the lowest score of his PGA TOUR career, previously recorded in the opening round of The American Express earlier this year. The 27-year-old had entered the week 21st in the FedExCup standings after four top-10 finishes in 19 starts, including runner-up efforts at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am and the Genesis Scottish Open.
Bhatia had entered the TOUR Championship in 15th place in the FedExCup standings after finishing tied 12th at last week’s BMW Championship. Lee admitted he had struggled with his confidence coming into the final event after what he described as two disappointing weeks, but he showed none of those concerns in his opening round at East Lake.
The format at the TOUR Championship means Scheffler’s previous FedExCup position provides no advantage this week.
