The chase at the top of the FedEx St. Jude Championship leaderboard has been pulsating with drama on Thursday, as four names share the lead late with the last pairings finishing their respective opening rounds at TPC Southwind.
As many as 10 players could be a shot off the lead at 5 under entering the second round Friday.
It’s nowhere close to as tantalizing at the bottom where Robert MacIntyre has cleared the race for dead last by eight shots with an uninspired 12-over 82. MacIntyre is looking up at six-time major winner Rory McIlroy, who birdied just once on his front nine and once on his back on the way to a woeful 74.
The Scotsman didn’t get his first circle carded until the par-5 16th in an outing that saw him lose eight strokes to the field over five consecutive holes on the front nine. A triple bogey on the par-4 6th — one of the course’s most forgiving holes in Round 1 — was the most costly error of all.
MacIntyre, who didn’t speak to reporters, did par eight consecutive holes after the triple but he didn’t entirely avoid errors on his back nine. The six-time Tour winner double bogeyed at the par-4 15th and on the final hole.
The 453-yard dogleg left par-4 has been challenging over the decades but in the opening round Thursday wasn’t exactly the definition of punishing.
MacIntyre is set to tee off with J.T. Poston (+1) at 12:55 p.m. ET.
