Tommy Fleetwood builds 4-shot St. Jude lead as play suspended
MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tommy Fleetwood had another big closing stretch Friday with four straight birdies, giving him a 6-under 64 and the 36-hole lead in the FedEx Cup St. Jude Championship with his sights set on an elusive PGA Tour title.
So much attention is on the top 50 in the FedEx Cup who advance out of the first postseason event. Fleetwood is already locked in all the way to the finale at the Tour Championship. What he cares about is winning.
“It hasn’t happened for me yet out on the PGA Tour, but I would much rather be up there and not quite get it done than not there at all,” Fleetwood said. “And who knows? Maybe this weekend is the weekend and we’ll see, and we’ll crack on from there.”
Fleetwood was at 13-under 127, four shots clear of Collin Morikawa (65) and Akshay Bhatia (69). Justin Rose also was at 9-under par after a birdie on the par-5 16th. Storms rolled into the area, forcing spectators to leave the course and suspending play until Saturday morning.
Fleetwood finished with four straight birdies on Thursday. He made three in a row early, including a 30-footer from the fringe on the par-3 fourth hole at the TPC Southwind. He also had a pair of key par saves around the turn before going on another run.
He holed a pair of 15-foot birdie putts on the 13th and 14th. He stuffed a wedge to 5 feet for birdie on the 15th. And then he reached the par-5 16th in two and two-putted from about 30 feet for a fourth straight birdie.
The only bogey came at the final hole when he went from the bunker into thick rough, and the safe shot from there was some 50 feet long of the pin.
“Of course, when you shoot two good scores, it’s easy to say everything has been going well,” Fleetwood said. “But I think for the most part I’ve been very good off the tee, put myself in position to have a go at the course. My iron play has been good and solid, and I’ve rolled the ball well.”
Kurt Kitayama had the low score of the round at 63, moving him to the top five on the leaderboard as a reminder of how quickly fortunes can change.
The FedEx Cup playoffs were an afterthought until two weeks ago. He was at No. 110 until winning the 3M Open in Minnesota. Now he’s at No. 52 and the next goal is to move on to the BMW Championship next week outside Baltimore.
It’s hard not to pay attention to the top 50 this week because along with advancing in the postseason, anyone in the top 50 is assured of being in all eight of the $20 million signature events next year.
“I feel like everyone is for the most part,” Kitayama said. “But you can’t control what everyone else is doing. If you play well, it’s going to take care of itself. That’s kind of my mindset. But yeah, I’m peeking over quite a bit at the scoreboard.”
There’s no need for Scottie Scheffler to look. The PGA and British Open champion is so far ahead in the FedEx Cup he is assured of staying at the top this week. That doesn’t mean he’s cruising along without a care.
Scheffler was slowed by three bogeys on the back nine, landing in rough that swallowed up his golf ball and left him visibly frustrated. He still shot a 66 and was six shots behind.
Jordan Spieth had an 8-foot par putt on the final hole that turned toward the cup and looked to be falling from gravity alone when it hung on the edge. That about summed up his day of three bogeys, three birdies and a 70 that left him 12 shots behind and facing plenty of stress for the weekend as he tries to avoid a second straight year outside the top 50.
Bud Cauley, one spot behind Kitayama in the FedEx Cup at No. 53, shot 69 and was in a tie for seventh when play was suspended.
Once the second round is completed, the third round will follow in threesomes off both sides.
Fleetwood is No. 15 in the world with seven wins on the European tour against some of the stronger fields. He has thrived on a big stage overseas, particularly the Ryder Cup. It’s just that small matter of a PGA Tour title.
He was on the verge in late June at the Travelers Championship until a stunning flip at the end, when he took three putts from just short of the green for bogey and Keegan Bradley made birdie to beat him.
“Right now I would love to just go and sulk somewhere and maybe I will do,” he said that Sunday at the Travelers. “But there’s just no point making it a negative for the future really, just take the positives and move on.”
He gets another chance on the weekend at the TPC Southwind, still only the halfway point but at least there with a chance and in command of his game from tee-to-green.