Xander Schauffele remains the top pick after a solid first round in the Tour Championship

Brian Keogh

26 August 2022

Rory McIlroy made an incredible comeback after a nightmare start to his first round, but his hopes of a third FedEx Cup win now look slim in the Tour Championship at East Lake.

The Holywood star racked up a triple bogey seven after driving out of bounds during a spell of heavy rain on the first hole, then bogeyed the short second to fall 10 shots behind FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler under the staggered start.

However, he maintained his composure and played the remaining 16 holes in seven-under par with another three bogeys counter-balanced by eight birdies and an eagle three at the sixth. A round in 67 left him tied-sixth, eight shots behind Scheffler, who finished with three birdies to post a 65 and take a commanding five-shot lead into day two.

Proud of his fight back, McIlroy insists he's not out of the running yet. "I won the Deutsche Bank a few years ago," he said. "I was 4-over through three in Boston and ended up winning that tournament. It's not like I haven't done it before, but it's different when you are giving strokes back.

Rory McIlroy: turned a bad round into a good one on Thursday

"I thought about Tom Kim a few weeks ago in Greensboro. He started with a quad and ended up going on to win the golf tournament. It is possible - anything can be done. I'm just really proud of how I fought back today." McIlroy is now 15.5 to win at East Lake.

Despite Scheffler looking a strong favourite (1.92) after he finished with three consecutive birdies, all hope is not lost with outright ante-post selection Xander Schauffele, who is now a point shorter in the market after scoring a 66 last night.

"I've played well here before, but I haven't had the best series of playoff events strung together, so it's a goal of mine to be consistent and play well every week. It is definitely helpful to come in here in decent form," Schauffele said.

Matthew Fitzpatrick eagled the last to match Joaquin Niemann’s round-best score of 64 and sit joint-fourth with Patrick Cantlay. The US Open champion is now available at 15.5 to win the FedEx Cup and the doughty Englishman cannot be written off with just six shots to make up on the current leader.

Insisting he was trying to treat the event like a ‘normal tournament’ despite having started seven shots behind under the staggered start, Fitzpatrick said: "I'm sure that it might feel a little bit different if I'm in the mix on Sunday, but it's just going into the golf tournament and playing well - trying to win it."

Patrick Cantlay, two behind Scheffler starting the week, remains a threat alongside Niemann after he eagled the 18th to shoot 70 and share fourth, seven strokes adrift on eight-under.