Min Woo matches career-best 62 to lead by two

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ATLANTA—Min Woo Lee made his first trip to the Tour Championship a memorable one, playing bogey-free on a rain-softened East Lake for an 8-under-par 62 that matched his career low on the PGA Tour and gave him a two-shot lead Thursday.

A pair of runner-up finishes this year, at Pebble Beach and the Scottish Open, made Lee a lock to be among the top 30 players who get a shot at the FedEx Cup, the $10-million prize and a five-year exemption on the PGA Tour. He just hasn’t felt like a top-30 player in recent weeks.

“Very average two weeks the last two weeks. It was probably the saddest I’ve been on the golf course, which is not good,” Lee said. “We’re really lucky to be out here and play some good golf to get into the playoffs. It just felt so hard.”

There was no such feeling in the opening round of the final event of the FedEx Cup season. He rarely was under stress to make par, made four of his eight birdies from outside 10 feet and wound up leading Viktor Hovland, Collin Morikawa and Chris Gotterup.

Scottie Scheffler started his day with a 6-foot par putt and never came close to another bogey in his round of 65. He also was nearly recovered from the hand, foot and mouth disease he picked up last week. —AP