ATLANTA — Scottie Scheffler placed on one other clinic from tee-to-green at East Lake on Friday for a 5-under 66 and a four-shot lead on the Tour Championship that didn’t appear as large because it appeared.
Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele had one thing to do with that.
In a second spherical that introduced a way of urgency for these chasing the No. 1 participant in golf, Morikawa responded with 9 birdies, two on the ultimate two holes after a 93-minute storm delay, for an 8-under 63.
Scheffler has putted nicely on the brand new East Lake greens and carries a four-shot lead into the weekend.
Schauffele completed with a pair of 12-foot putts — one for par, one for birdie, each feeling simply as essential as the opposite — for a 64.
They nonetheless have their work minimize out for them.
Scheffler is the No. 1 seed within the FedExCup and commenced the finale with a two-shot lead. He is also taking part in in addition to he has all yr, and people instantly behind him within the FedExCup weren’t at their finest within the opening spherical. That accounted for Scheffler having a seven-shot lead initially of the day.
He returned from the storm delay with a pair of birdies over his closing three holes and reached 21-under par. Morikawa was at 17 beneath and Schauffele was one other shot behind.
Nobody else was nearer than 9 photographs to Scheffler.
At stake for Scheffler is an opportunity to win the FedExCup and its $25 million prize, which he did not do as the highest seed every of the previous two years. However he seems extra snug on an East Lake course that has been overhauled — “This isn’t the identical course,” he mentioned when he arrived Monday for his first look — and everybody has an enormous process chasing him.
Scheffler started the spherical with a 7-iron that he thought was going to depart him a 20-foot have a look at birdie, besides that it caught the unsuitable facet of the ridge and rolled off the inexperienced, down a extreme slope and settled 90 away in opposition to a collar of tough.
He holed a 20-foot par putt, a superb begin that despatched him on his approach. Even with Morikawa and Schauffele scoring early, Scheffler nonetheless led by six photographs early on the again 9 till he made his first bogey in 29 holes and Morikawa chipped in for birdie, a two-shot swing.
