Scottie Scheffler on his first round

FedEx Cup leader Scottie Scheffler had a solid performance in the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind on Aug. 7.

Scheffler started strongly with birdies on the second and third holes and cruised for most of the day. He finished 3-under 67, with his only bogey coming on the final hole, as he defends his 2024 FedEx Cup championship.

“Today was a good day,” Scheffler said. “I did some solid stuff. Felt like I was close to playing a really great round but ended up with a solid round. Overall, a decent start.”

Scheffler enters the second round tied for 12th. Akshay Bhatia, whose 62 was one shot off the course record, leads the tournament, one stroke ahead of Tommy Fleetwood. Scheffler attributed his early momentum to an “easier” stretch in the beginning of the course.

“I would say the start is a little bit easier than the rest of the golf course,” Scheffler said. “You see the guys shooting low rounds, you’ve got to get off to a good start. You’ve got a reachable par-5 on the third and then two wedge holes to start as well. Did a good job getting the ball in the fairway and then hitting some nice approach shots as well.”

Scheffler noticed the recent renovations to TPC Southwind course, describing the addition of new, fresh greens. He mentioned how the grade of the green was a “good test” during the first round.

“I felt like they definitely tried to grow the rough a little bit thicker this year,” he said. “Overall, I thought it was a really good test. You’ve got to hit the ball well out here, and there’s great rewards for good shots and the bad shots are being punished as well.”

Scheffler is set to tee off with Sepp Straka at 9:35 a.m. Aug. 8 for the second round.

Reach Commercial Appeal sports intern Alana Thompson at alana.thompson@commercialappeal.com