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Justin Rose Chris Kirk continued his good form in the opening stage of the season by taking an early lead FedEx, Cup play-offs.
Kirk birdied the 16th hole in the opening round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship and shot a 64. MemphisA round that would have been better without the bogey on the 18th.
It was still enough to give American Taylor Pendrith of Canada has a one-shot lead over Mathieu Pavon of France and Hideki Matsuyama of Japan – playing without his regular caddie Shota Hayato, whose passport was stolen during a trip to London after the Olympics.
Rose, who started the day 55th in the FedEx Rankings, in which only the top 50 qualify for the BMW Championship, is at four under par, one shot behind a group that includes fellow Englishman Tommy Fleetwood and the top two players in the standings – the Olympic champion. Scottie Scheffler and double major winner Xander Schauffele.
Rose, who had fallen outside the top 50 when he finished second behind Schauffele at The Open after playing all four rounds in only one of his previous five events, birdied three of his last four holes to shoot 66.
“This year has been a struggle for me, all my holidays have been really hard,” said Rose, who took some time off in the UK after The Open.
“I’m seeing the signs on the range. I’m seeing the signs in practice that I think there are moments when I feel like I’m as good a player as I was before, and obviously that hasn’t been reflected in the results this year.”
The crowded leaderboard sees 57 of the 70-member squads within six shots of the lead.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre – who holed a 58-foot putt on the 17th – and Ireland’s Seamus Power were among those to score three under par, one better than Rory McIlroy, who holed a header to play a game of tennis after a 68 that included an eagle and two birdies.
Aaron Roy, who recorded his first PGA Tour win at the Wyndham Championship last week, opened with a 69.