Scottie Scheffler birdied five consecutive holes to open his second round Friday and never looked back, shooting a nine-under-par 61 to take a three-stroke lead at the St. Jude Championship in Memphis.
The round equalled the course record at TPC Southwind and was the fourth time in his career that Scheffler has carded a 61 or better on the PGA Tour, according to BBC Sport. The world number one entered the week already leading the FedEx Cup standings heading into the first of three playoff events.
After his blazing start, Scheffler added six more birdies. Bogeys on holes eight and twelve were the only blemishes on his card.
"Really just a dream start. Probably one of the best starts I've had on tour, to be honest with you. I couldn't tell you a time where I've been lower early in the round," Scheffler said. "My swing has felt really good in the past couple weeks, especially playing at home. It was nice to get out there and get things rolling early in the round and was able to keep the momentum going and shoot myself a nice round."
South Korea's Im Sung-jae and Norway's Viktor Hovland are tied for second at eight under. Sweden's Ludvig Aberg sits a shot further back at seven under. Reigning FedEx Cup champion Tommy Fleetwood of England is among a group at six under that also includes American Jordan Spieth.
Rory McIlroy of Northern Ireland sits at four over par. With no 36-hole cut at any FedEx playoff event, McIlroy will have the weekend to work his way up the leaderboard.
One player who will not get that chance is Scotland's Robert MacIntyre, who withdrew before the start of Friday's round with a knee injury. MacIntyre had shot an 82 in the first round and currently sits 31st in the FedEx Cup points standings. The top 50 players after this week's event will advance to next week's BMW Championship.
