Min Woo Lee leads at East Lake as Rory McIlroy off the pace

The Masters champion finished on two under in Atlanta.

Rory McIlroy hydrates on the driving range in Atlanta. Pic: AP Photo/Mike Stewart

Min Woo Lee shot an eight-under-par 62 to open a two-shot lead after the first round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

The Australian carded eight birdies in a blemish-free opening at East Lake to take early control of the $10 million dollar FedExCup play-off series finale.

On a day of low-scoring in the 30-man event, Norway’s Viktor Hovland shared second place with Americans Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup after rounds of 64.

World number one Scottie Scheffler produced a birdie-birdie finish to join Akshay Bhatia and Ludvig Aberg on five under, while Masters champion Rory McIlroy was three shots further back on two under.

Tommy Fleetwood was alongside fellow Englishman Matt Fitzpatrick and Open champion Ryan Fox on four under, with Scotland’s Robert MacIntyre three under. Alex Fitzpatrick and Justin Rose were among the group on two under.

No players finished over par but the already small field was reduced to 29 when JJ Spaun withdrew with a shoulder injury. The American was four over when he pulled out after hitting his tee shot on the sixth hole.

Lee opened with three pars, but started his move with a birdie on the fourth after pitching within five feet of the hole. Lengthy putts gave him three more birdies on the front nine.

He maintained his touch to pick up further shots on the 12th and 13th before some stunning approach play brought further joy on the 16th and 18th.

Scheffler put himself firmly into contention with his strong finish. He enjoyed a stroke of luck on the 16th when he hit a shot off-balance from under a tree, but it found a gap to reach the green and he was able to save par.

He capitalised on that to set up a birdie with a superb approach at the 17th and picked up another shot after escaping a bunker on the closing par five.

McIlroy, the world number two, recovered from a poor start to reach the clubhouse in 68.

He opened with a bogey after finding a bunker with his second shot and dropped another stroke on the fourth after more trouble in the sand.

He responded with birdies at the sixth, 10th and 12th and, despite another bogey on the 14th, finished well with two birdies in the final four holes.

Fleetwood’s bogey-free 66 included an eagle on the par-five sixth, a feat matched by MacIntyre in his 67. Matt Fitzpatrick and Rose both had just one bogey on their cards.

Fox’s round was among the most eventful. The Kiwi opened with back-to-back bogeys, which he quickly cancelled out with an eagle. The rest of his round saw him mix six birdies with four bogeys.