TOUR Championship Round 1: Min Woo Lee Fires a Bogey-Free 62 to Lead at East Lake

The new TOUR Championship wiped the slate clean for all 30 players, and on Thursday Min Woo Lee wasted no time scribbling all over it.

Making his TOUR Championship debut, the Australian went bogey-free on a rain-softened East Lake Golf Club and signed for an 8-under 62, matching his career low on the PGA TOUR and opening a two-shot lead in the FedExCup finale. Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup are tied for second at 6-under 64. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler, who arrived as the FedExCup points leader, sits three back after a clean 65 alongside Ryan Gerard, Ludvig Åberg and Akshay Bhatia.

A Level Start, For Real This Time

This is the first TOUR Championship in years where the leaderboard actually means what it says. The starting strokes system is gone. Everybody teed off at even par, and the PGA TOUR's format explainer (opens in a new tab) spells out the deal: 72 holes of stroke play, and whoever posts the best four rounds at East Lake wins the FedExCup. The prize is $10 million and a five-year TOUR exemption.

That makes Thursday a different kind of day. Under the old system, a 62 from the player starting near the bottom of the standings would have been a nice story. Under this one, it is the lead.

Lee Slows Down and Speeds Away

The best part of Lee's round is how little drama it carried. Lee rarely had to grind for par, hit 11 fairways, and made four of the eight birdies from outside 10 feet. The finishing touch came at the par-5 18th, where one more birdie dropped to complete the 62.

The fix behind it was surprisingly simple. Lee switched to a slightly heavier iron shaft this week after a conversation with his coach about tempo.

"Coach back home said, 'Why are you swinging it so fast?'" Lee said, per the PGA TOUR. "Slowed it down a little bit, and the ball actually came out nice."

It also came after a rough patch. Lee called the previous two weeks very average and said it was about as down as Lee had felt on a golf course, which makes this round feel like a reset more than a hot streak.

"We're really lucky to be out here and play some good golf to get into the Playoffs," Lee said, per the AP.

Hovland, Morikawa and Gotterup Give Chase

Two shots back sits a trio with very different résumés. Hovland is the 2023 FedExCup champion and knows exactly what a week at East Lake can be worth. Morikawa has the iron play to thrive on a soft East Lake. Gotterup arrived as one of the TOUR's three-time winners this season, and a 64 in the finale says the form made the trip to Atlanta.

None of them is in front, but on a day this soft, none of them gave anything back either.

Scheffler Stays Clean Through a Rough Week

Scheffler's 65 deserves an asterisk of the good kind. Scheffler spent the previous week battling hand, foot and mouth disease, and while the hands were the biggest problem, there were still a few lingering symptoms in his throat. You would not have known it from the card.

Scheffler started with a 6-foot par save on the first hole and never came close to another bogey after that. The capper was a 10-foot birdie on 18 to get within three. For the player who has been the standard of this sport, three back after 18 holes is hardly a crisis.

Åberg, also at 65, rolled in a 12-footer for birdie at the eighth. Gerard and Bhatia matched that number to round out a crowded group at 5 under.

The Rest of the Pack

Defending champion Tommy Fleetwood, who won his first PGA TOUR title here a year ago (our 2025 final-round recap has the story), opened his title defense with a 66. Fleetwood has company at 4 under: Adam Scott, Ryan Fox, Matt Fitzpatrick, Sam Burns and Gary Woodland, who is back at the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2019 and reached the par-5 18th in two for an eagle.

BMW Championship winner Wyndham Clark birdied two of his final three holes to salvage a 67. Rory McIlroy, the only three-time FedExCup champion, led the field in driving but struggled on and around the greens on the way to a 68. Russell Henley, who grew up a little more than an hour south in Macon, made 18 straight pars for a 70.

That 70 tells you how the day played. Rain about an hour before the first tee time softened the greens, and the par-70 course averaged 66.7. Every one of the 29 players who finished was at even par or better.

There was one sour note. J.J. Spaun, the 2025 U.S. Open champion, withdrew early in his round with a shoulder injury, leaving a 29-man field.

"I'm nowhere in my game health-wise to be able to compete at the highest level," Spaun said.

What Friday Brings

When the course gives this much, the lead is fragile. Lee owns a two-shot cushion, but 13 players sit within four shots, and the board is stacked with major champions and proven closers. Thursday established that East Lake can be had. Friday will show who keeps having it once the greens firm up and the pins get tucked.

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, Signature Scroll, format explainer and leaderboard), AP. More golf coverage on Undrafted.

Photo: PGA TOUR.