Rory McIlroy made a strong start at the Tour Championship at East Lake in ATLANTA, posting a first-round 66 to finish in a tie for eighth place at four-under-par. McIlroy began steadily, holding par through the initial holes before achieving an eagle on the par-5 sixth and a birdie on the seventh. He secured three more birdies on the back nine but faced setbacks with bogeys on the 14th and 17th holes.

Russell Henley of the US currently holds the lead at nine-under in the FedEx Cup playoffs’ final event, which offers a $10 million prize to the winner from the limited 30-man field. He is two shots ahead of his fellow countryman, Scottie scheffler.

Shane Lowry recorded a round of 70, which included two birdies and two bogeys. This PGA Tour finale does not contribute any Ryder Cup points for him, as the European qualifying process concludes at the British Masters on Sunday.Lowry is currently sixth and holding the last automatic qualifying spot, is focused on the Tour Championship, knowing that his ryder Cup automatic qualification largely hinges on the British Masters were Rasmus Hojgaard could perhaps overtake him, possibly requiring Lowry to need a wild card pick.

Ryder Cup Qualification Heats Up at British Masters

“I’ve done a lot of good stuff in the summer that I’m sure he’s (Donald) seen as well, and hopefully that makes the majority of it.” – Matt Fitzpatrick

At the British Masters at The Belfry, Hojgaard, who is currently eighth in the european Ryder Cup standings and needs a tied-29th finish or better to surpass Lowry, shot a first-round 69 to tie for 12th, three strokes behind the leaders. Thomas Aiken, Matthias Schwab, Haotong Li and marcel Siem all recorded six-under-par 66s in the tournament, which marks the end of the year-long qualifying period for Luke Donald’s team to compete against the Americans at Bethpage next month.

Matt Fitzpatrick, unable to secure an automatic spot on Donald’s team even with a victory, hopes to be considered for a wild card selection from the captain.”I’ve done a lot of good stuff in the summer that I’m sure he’s (Donald) seen