TOUR Championship Round 1: Russell Henley Fires a 61 to Lead Scheffler at East Lake

The new TOUR Championship stripped away the head starts and handed all 30 players a clean sheet at even par. Russell Henley needed exactly one day to put a two-shot cushion between himself and everybody else anyway.

Henley shot a bogey-free 9-under 61 at a soaked East Lake on Thursday, birdied his last three holes and leads the FedExCup finale by two over Scottie Scheffler, who opened with a 63. Five players sit three back at 6-under 64: Tommy Fleetwood, Robert MacIntyre, Patrick Cantlay, Justin Thomas and Collin Morikawa. Rory McIlroy is in a group at 4 under.

The Putter Did the Talking

Rain hammered Atlanta on Tuesday and Wednesday, so the field played preferred lies on a soft course. Twenty-two of the 30 players broke par. Only two finished over it. Even in that environment, Henley's round stood apart.

The card had seven birdies and an eagle at the par-5 6th, and the closing kick was the part people will remember. Henley birdied 16, 17 and 18 to pull clear of the pack. Three of the birdie putts on the day came from 40 feet or longer, and by the end Henley had holed roughly 207 feet of putts. Asked whether that was a personal best, Henley said, "Probably the most I've ever made," per the AP.

The numbers back that up. Henley gained 6.267 strokes on the greens, the most in a single round of a PGA TOUR career built largely on the short stick, and the 61 matched Henley's career-low round on TOUR. Henley described a loose, free-swinging mindset, saying the soft conditions made it easy to feel at peace with a miss.

One caveat: this is the 10th time Henley has held or shared an 18-hole lead on TOUR, and none of the first nine turned into a win. Thursday leads are nice. They are also Thursday leads.

Scheffler, Unbothered

Scheffler arrived in Atlanta fresh off the BMW Championship, his fifth win of the season, and chasing something nobody has done: back-to-back FedExCup titles. The opening statement was a bogey-free 63, the world No. 1's lowest score in 21 career rounds at the TOUR Championship.

It was not stress free. Scheffler missed just one fairway all day, but it came at the 16th, where the drive found a deep swale to the right. From there it was a scramble, and Scheffler holed a 25-footer to save par. "It's pretty important around this place," Scheffler said of keeping the ball in the short grass, per the AP. Scheffler then birdied the 18th from 4 feet, and moments later the horn sounded as storms rolled in and East Lake was cleared.

A Crowded Third Place

The logjam at 64 is loaded with storylines. Fleetwood, still hunting a first PGA TOUR win after near-misses at the Travelers and the FedEx St. Jude Championship, started with three birdies and made only one bogey. MacIntyre, who let a four-shot final-round lead slip to Scheffler at the BMW, bounced right back with a one-bogey 64.

MacIntyre also delivered the line of the day on dealing with the Georgia sun. "I wear as much sun cream as I possibly can. I look like Casper the Ghost out there, to be honest," MacIntyre said, per the AP.

Thomas had the wildest card of the group. Thomas turned in 29, the lowest nine holes of a long East Lake résumé, then gave two back with a double bogey at 16 before closing with birdies. Cantlay made one bogey in the best opening round of a TOUR Championship career that already includes a FedExCup title, and Morikawa went bogey-free for a fourth straight opening round of 66 or better at East Lake.

The Ryder Cup Subplot

Three of those five at 64 are playing two tournaments at once. Thomas, Morikawa and Cantlay all finished outside the six automatic spots for the U.S. Ryder Cup team and now wait on captain Keegan Bradley, who is in this field and opened with an even-par 70. The matches at Bethpage Black are next month.

"I don't think you're ever comfortable until you get that call and you're on the team," Morikawa said, per the AP.

McIlroy Gets a Bounce

McIlroy, playing in the final pairing with Scheffler, had the most entertaining finish of the afternoon. After rolling in a long eagle putt on the front nine, McIlroy reached the par-5 18th and bladed a bunker shot over the green. The ball smacked the grandstand, kicked back onto the putting surface and settled inside 20 feet. McIlroy made the birdie putt for a 66.

"I was relieved when I saw it come back on the green," Scheffler said, per RTÉ.

Ludvig Åberg, Akshay Bhatia and Ben Griffin joined McIlroy at 4 under. At the other end, Sepp Straka posted a 74 and Maverick McNealy a 71, the only two scores over par.

What Thursday Means Now

Under the old staggered format, a 61 might have been a footnote behind someone who started at 10 under. This year it is the actual lead, with a $10 million FedExCup prize on the line.

More weather is coming, and Friday's tee times were moved up to an 8 a.m. start to try to beat it. With 10 players within five shots of the lead and the greens this receptive, two strokes is a thin margin. Henley has the lead and the hot putter. Scheffler has the inevitability. Friday decides which of those travels.

For the full setup on the new format and the contenders, read our TOUR Championship preview. Full scoring is on the official PGA TOUR leaderboard (opens in a new tab), and the TOUR's Round 1 recap (opens in a new tab) has more.

Sources: PGA TOUR (Round 1 recap and leaderboard), AP, Field Level Media, RTÉ. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.