Collin Morikawa confronted a tricky highway on the Tour Championship, beginning the event 9 pictures behind however figuring out he had 72 holes and an instance from Rory McIlroy final yr — to make up floor within the FedEx Cup finale.

He managed to do this in someday, with just a little assist from the highest.

Morikawa lastly put collectively his most full spherical of the yr at an excellent time on Thursday, closing with three straight birdies for a 9-under 61 that gave him a share of the lead with Ryder Cup hopeful Keegan Bradley (63) and BMW Championship winner Viktor Hovland (68).

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They had been at 10-under par, the rating top-seeded Scottie Scheffler began with within the stifling warmth of East Lake.

At the tip of 1 spherical, 16 gamers — barely greater than half the 30-man area — had been separated by 4 pictures within the chase for the $18 million FedEx Cup prize.

That consists of McIlroy, who final yr was 11 pictures behind on the entrance 9 of the opening spherical, six pictures behind going into the final day and nonetheless gained.

Just attending to the primary tee was a victory of types for McIlroy, who has been coping with again spasms the final three days and couldn't maintain a membership over the golf ball on the eve of the event.

He shot 70 and was three behind, which he mentioned left him “over the moon.”

The staggered begin relies on FedEx Cup standings. Scheffler started at 10 beneath as No. 1, all the best way right down to the ultimate 5 gamers who began at even par. Morikawa was No. 24 within the FedEx Cup and commenced at 1 beneath.

Now he’s tied for the lead.

“It feels great,” Morikawa mentioned. “Shoot, no better time I guess in our Tour Championship to show up and start playing some good golf.”

Scheffler left pissed off over one other wasted spherical. He ran off three birdies in six holes and led by as many as 5 pictures on the entrance 9. And then he had a trio of three-putts, two that value him momentum, one which value him the lead.

The largest mistake was a tee shot into the water on the par-3 fifteenth, adopted by a three-putt from 15 toes for a triple-bogey 6. Suddenly, he was two behind. A late birdie left him at 71 to place him at 9 beneath, one shot out of the lead.

This was 4 days after Scheffler missed three putts from the 6-foot vary on the again 9 at Olympia Fields that value him an opportunity at successful the BMW Championship.

“I’m obviously pretty frustrated with how I played today,” Scheffler mentioned, ultimately discovering some perspective. “I guess it’s a little bit of a blessing to have a pretty bad day and still be in the tournament. So, yeah, go out there tomorrow and just keep fighting.”

Morikawa knew he had an opportunity based mostly on what McIlroy did final yr. He was so excited by his iron play he was able to go one other 18 holes in a warmth index that topped 100 levels.

How effectively was the two-time main champion swinging? Consider the fifteenth gap, a 224-yard par-3 over the lake to a peninsula inexperienced.

“Immediately when I hit the tee shot, I didn’t even watch it because I knew where it was going to go, and that’s the kind of control you want,” Morikawa mentioned. “Some days are going to be better than others, but it’s nice to know that that golf swing is just exactly where I want it.”

At one level on the again 9, Morikawa mentioned he informed his caddie they hadn’t hit so many pictures pin-high in a full event, a lot much less someday.

Bradley is new to this format — he final performed within the Tour Championship in 2014, when it was based mostly on factors and means an excessive amount of math — so it was a jolt to run off three straight birdies on the entrance 9 and see his identify on the video board at 6 beneath.

“I thought they had my score wrong and then I realized it’s my first time playing this format,” Bradley mentioned with fun. He’s making an attempt to fret about his rating solely, every gap, every day, identical to every other event.

He’s additionally making an attempt not to consider the Ryder Cup, no small process. Bradley, a two-time winner this season, completed eleventh within the standings and has to attend till Tuesday to see if he’s one of many six captain’s picks. Morikawa completed tenth within the standings.

“I try my hardest to not think of the Ryder Cup, but everybody asks me about it,” Bradley mentioned.

“I’m walking down the fairways, everyone’s yelling to me about it. A two-year qualifying process, with the tournament a month away, I don’t think everything is based on this tournament. But it might be. So, better to go play well than to not.”