TOUR Championship 2019: Wild first day proves format can work

The new TOUR Championship scoring setup had more than its share of doubters heading into the week, but a wild first day is putting that to rest quickly.

Xander Schauffele was first to prove the doubters of the new Tour Championship format wrong. Many feared that the 10-under advantage for the leader starting on the first tee Thursday would prove insurmountable. That it was unfair. That it was too big a golf mountain for anyone farther down the list to climb. Well, apparently, it isn’t even a molehill.

Schauffele wiped it out in 18 holes. As they say in cartoon-speak, “POW. Take that!”

“I had a putt for 59 on the last hole,” he joked with media after finishing. “That’s what Kuchar told me.”

Actually, Schauffele shot 64, but at the time, he had a putt to move his score to go to 11-under par, which in any other round with on a par 70 course would have given him a chance at 59. He started at 4-under par.

Schauffele said he tried not to watch leaderboards and that it was only when the camera crew started following him that he knew he was headed the right direction. He was first in at 10-under.

Brooks Koepka was not to be denied either. He’s also at 10-under, given his 7-under position in the staggered start.

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"“I guess you could say I played it like a five-day event,” he said to media after posting a 3-under par 67 to tie Schauffele. “I knew I was three down and go out there and try to — by the time the turn comes– try to get back to all square.”"

He said the key to the round came just after the turn.

"“After 10, it was full-panic mode, but I found something there,” he said. “I got away from what I was doing a little bit and tried to do more shaping shots instead of just looking at it and firing.”"

He reverted to what he knew he should have been doing and finished with birdies at the 15th, 16th and 18th.

Koepka was also having fun with just released the ESPN The Body photos that included him in the nude.

“Getting naked’s a bit weird,” he noted. “The first time you actually pull that robe off in front of 30, 40 people….”

He said all who complained wouldn’t look as good as he does. The key to dropping the weight to look good for the camera, he explained, was counting calories and working out more than once a day. He got down to 187, and his typical weight fluctuates between 200 and 210.

Even vocal critic of the format Rory McIlroy did well, coming in a shot back of Schauffele and Koepka.

Rory McIlroy had a shot to tie Schauffele on the 18th hole, but missed a seven-footer for birdie. He’s 9-under after shooting a 66.

“I didn’t feel that much different, to be honest with you,” he said about the staggered start.

Regarding his round, he said he mIssed several downhill putts low.

“That’s something to just sort of — for me to pay attention to the next few days.”

When asked for a comment about Koepka’s ESPN photo, he revealed that he has been asked to pose for the publication in 2015 and turned it down.

“It’s just a little strange. So, no, not for me,” he added. “You have to have a bit of confidence to get up there and do it in the first place, so good on him.”

Next. Biggest risers and fallers from Day One of the 2019 TOUR Championship. dark

Justin Thomas, who led at the start of the day, shot an even par round and is tied with Koepka and Schauffele. Play starts at noon Eastern on Friday, where we’re sure to have even bigger developments in the hunt for the FedEx Cup.

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