The 19th edition of the FedEx Cup Playoffs got underway Thursday with a career first by one of the youngest competitors in the field serving as the highlight. Akshay Bhatia surged past the rest of the pack in the opening round of the 2025 St. Jude Championship, carding an 8-under 62 to set a new personal best on the PGA Tour while taking the first-round lead by one stroke over Tommy Fleetwood.
"It's a ball striker's golf course," Bhatia said. "Statistically, guys who have won here in the past, it's about ball striking off the tee. That's something that is suited to my game. I think, too, some of these holes suit my eye. There's maybe one or two holes that don't. But I feel like I can just kind of play my game, and there's not too many uncomfortable shots out there for me."
Ball striking? Bhatia did exactly that during his opening refrain at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee. The lengthy left hander split 10 fairways and connected on 15 greens in regulation en route to leading the field in strokes gained tee to green. The result was a 4-under total through his first 15 holes before Bhatia caught lightning in a bottle with his finish as he carded three straight 3s -- highlighted by an eagle on the par-5 16th -- to double his under-par score to 8 under by the time he walked off the last.
Bhatia is projected to move from No. 45 in the FedEx Cup standings all the way up to No. 4 should he hold onto victory, which will be a tall task given the cast of characters that lurk behind him. In addition to a trio of Englishmen that includes not only Fleetwood but Harry Hall and Justin Rose at 6 under, a plethora of American Ryder Cup hopefuls in Ben Griffin, Maverick McNealy, Brian Harman and Wyndham Clark have played themselves into the mix.
Ultra-reliable Russell Henley is in the hunt as well after an opening 66 early in the day, and Collin Morikawa matched that number later in the evening. Those two figures pale in comparison to the presence in the rearview mirror that is world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler.
It was clinical from the man who finished the regular season atop the FedEx Cup standings and will enter the BMW Championship in that same position no matter this week's result. Scheffler was steady as they come in Round 1 missing only a few fairways, choosing his spots wisely and settling in on the greens for the most part. The result was a ho-hum 67 and another round which made it feel all but certain that Scheffler will be standing there with a chance to win come Sunday afternoon.
"Today was a good day. I did some solid stuff," Scheffler said. "Felt like I was close to playing a really great round but ended up with a solid round. Overall a decent start."
The leader
1. Akshay Bhatia (-8): Bhatia underlying metrics have been solid this season, but he came into the St. Jude Championship without a top-10 finish since the Players Championship. While a final-round 75 at the 3M Open had something to do with it, Bhatia mentioned that his insistence on checking his place in the world of golf -- whether the season-long race or Official World Golf Rankings -- did as well.
There will be no need for Bhatia to check the leaderboard Thursday night as he knows he stands atop the opening round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs thanks to another splendid ball-striking performance. But what will the next 54 holes have in store? Will Bhatia's lingering mind get the better of him, or will he learn from his mistakes from a couple of weeks ago?
"I've been looking at a lot of numbers that I don't need to look at -- obviously FedExCup, world ranking, and I'm still doing it, and I still catch myself doing it," Bhatia admitted. "But I'm just really trying to have a little more peace on the golf course. I think this game can consume your life, your happiness, and so I'm just trying to figure out ways to change that because I feel like I don't really want to live my life based off of an unstable game. That's going to drive me nuts. This whole year it has, so I'm just trying to be just a little more at ease with whatever I shoot."
Other contenders
2. Tommy Fleetwood (-7)
T3. Bud Cauley, Justin Rose, Harry Hall (-6)
6. Si Woo Kim (-5)
T7. Maverick McNealy, Ben Griffin, Russell Henley, Rickie Fowler, Collin Morikawa (-4)
Rose started his week battling an illness and then started his tournament with a stellar 64. The 45-year-old's season has been defined by its peaks as he has factored in big-time tournaments such as the Masters, Arnold Palmer Invitational and The Open while largely falling flat the rest of the year.
He noted that his intensity and his focus both see an uptick when the magnitude rises as it has with the arrival of the postseason. On Thursday, Rose rose to the occasion, primarily with his driver, which will hold the keys to his success for the rest of the week given the requirement to play from the short grass at TPC Southwind.
"Well, it was my first time on the golf course this week," Rose said. "Funny how that can work sometimes. I didn't feel my best. Had to pull out of the pro-am. Was just sort of suffering with a little man flu. You know how that goes.
"Really kind of made sure I took the last couple days to be ready for today. I guess maybe sometimes expectation drops in those scenarios. Yeah, came out really and had a good warm-up on the range, felt fine this morning, felt well. Was able to take that good warm-up from the range on to the golf course, and really felt like I played really solid golf today."
Notable names on FedEx Cup bubble
|
Harry Hall | 44 | T3 | 18 |
Bud Cauley | 53 | T3 | 22 |
Si Woo Kim | 46 | 6 | 31 |
Matt Fitzpatrick | 41 | T12 | 33 |
Wyndham Clark | 49 | T12 | 46 |
Rickie Fowler | 64 | T7 | 49 |
Jordan Spieth | 48 | T27 | 50 |
Jake Knapp | 47 | T58 | 55 |
Min Woo Lee | 50 | 69 | 57 |
Many notable names who needed to make moves did just that Thursday with Clark, Fowler and Spieth all projected to finish inside the top 50 if they hold their positions. They were aided not only by their own good play but the poor play from the likes of Knapp and Lee, the latter of whom entered the week as the bubble boy at No. 50 and finished the day as the low man on the leaderboard in dead last at 6 over.
"I know I need a good finish," Fowler said. "I don't know exactly where that is. Obviously the higher the finish, the better chance I have. A win would take care of a lot of things. I mean, I know roughly, but I just need to go play some good golf and put myself where I'm in a position and have a chance to go win on Sunday."
2025 St. Jude Championship updated odds and picks
Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
- Scottie Scheffler: 5/2
- Tommy Fleetwood: 9/2
- Akshay Bhatia: 7-1
- Harry Hall: 14-1
- Russell Henley: 18-1
- Collin Morikawa: 20-1
- Justin Rose: 22-1
- Matt Fitzpatrick: 22-1
- Ben Griffin: 22-1
This could be curtains if Scheffler finds his footing on the greens, which he likely will! But where is the fun in that? I still think Henley has a solid shot at taking this tournament home as he was solid Thursday with a 66. His price still remains attractive, too. Cameron Young at 150-1 could be worth a small sliver as well as he was second only to Bhatia in terms of ball striking Thursday and stands at 1 under.
