Fleetwood shot a seven–under-par 63, one behind Akshay Bhatia in the first of the season-ending FedEx Cup events.
Tommy Fleetwood takes a ball from his caddie (George Walker IV/AP) (AP)
Tommy Fleetwood shot an opening round of 63 to sit one shot off the lead in the FedEx St Jude Championship.
Fleetwood’s seven-under-par round in the first of the season-ending FedEx Cup events left him trailing American Akshay Bhatia in Memphis.
English duo Harry Hall and Justin Rose were alongside American Bud Cauley in a tie for third after opening with 64s.
Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre and England’s Matt Fitzpatrick are five shots off the pace, alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler who played his first tournament round since winning the Open at Royal Portrush.
Bhatia eagled the 16th hole and closed with two birdies to edge ahead with an opening 62, Fleetwood also finishing strongly with four closing birdies.
“I hit the ball so well off the tee that I was always giving myself an opportunity,” said Fleetwood, who found 13 of 14 fairways.
Rose built his round on five birdies in six holes around the turn before dropping a shot on the 13th.
Only the top 70 in the season-long FedEx rankings have qualified for the event – although Rory McIlroy opted not to play this week – with the top 50 after the tournament reaching next week’s BMW Championship.
The top 30 after that will contest the Tour Championship in pursuit of a 10million dollar (£7.4million) bonus.
