World No. 2 Rory McIlroy finds himself in contention after the opening round of the 2025 Tour Championship from East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. He is tied with Akshay Bhatia, Ludvig Aberg and Ben Griffin at 4-under, tied for eighth.
But things nearly crumbled for the five-time major champion on 18.
McIlroy’s second on the par-5 18th found the greenside bunker, setting the stage for one of the luckiest shots you’ll ever see.
McIlroy caught too much of the ball, sending it straight over the green and toward the grandstands. So much so, that the ball struck the stands and bounced back onto the green, coming to a stop inside 20 feet from the pin.
The Northern Irishman could do nothing but smile and shake his head, as his playing partner, Scottie Scheffler, laughed.
“Got a little thin, came out a little faster than obviously I wanted it to, but at
that point you’re just hoping that something is going to happen,” McIlroy told reporters after his round.
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McIlroy then drained the birdie putt to close with an opening round 66. For the day, he posted four birdies, two bogeys, and an eagle on the par-5 6th.
But if he wants to hoist his fourth FedEx Cup, there is a lot of work to do. Luck won’t get the job done either.
“Pretty lucky in the end. I think as well, if it hadn’t have come down and we had to drop, we mightn’t have got finished, so lucky in a lot of different ways, lucky for the score and lucky we got done.”
He still has a ton of talent to chase down over the next 54 holes.
Russell Henley broke his own course record with a 9-under 61. Scheffler, to no one’s surprise, is right there two shots back of Henley in solo second. There are several stars sitting at 6-under including Collin Morikawa, Justin Thomas and Tommy Fleetwood.
The reigning Masters champion has an early tee time on Friday, going off at 9:44 am ET.
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