"McIlroy Celebrates Daughter's Birth, Jumps to 4th Place, 4 Strokes Behind"… Johnson and Rahm Share Lead

PO Final 3rd Round Tour Championship Day 1 6-Under Par Daily Best, Thomas 3rd, Im Sungjae Tied 6th 'Chasing Battle'

Rory McIlroy is making a bunker shot on the 3rd hole on the first day of the Tour Championship. Atlanta, Georgia, USA - Getty Images/Multibits

[Asia Economy Reporter No Woo-rae] Rory McIlroy (Northern Ireland), ranked 12th in the PO rankings, has made a refreshing start.

On the 5th (Korean time) at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, USA (par 70, 7,280 yards), the first day of the final third round of the PGA Tour Playoffs (PO) Tour Championship, he posted a daily best of 6-under par. Adding the 3-under par 'stroke bonus' he received according to the points ranking right after the second round, he positioned himself 4th (9-under par). He is only 4 strokes behind the co-leaders Dustin Johnson (USA) and Jon Rahm (Spain), both at 13-under par, making a comeback fully possible.

The stroke bonuses are applied differentially: 1st seed 10-under par, 2nd seed 8-under par, 3rd seed 7-under par, 4th seed 6-under par, 5th seed 5-under par, 6th to 10th seeds 4-under par, 11th to 15th seeds 3-under par, 16th to 20th seeds 2-under par, 21st to 25th seeds 1-under par, and 26th to 30th seeds even par. McIlroy, who announced the birth of his child the day before, swept up 8 birdies (2 bogeys). In the front nine, he managed to reduce only 1 stroke with 3 birdies and 2 bogeys. However, in the back nine, he made 'stepping stone birdies' on holes 11 and 13, followed by 3 consecutive birdies from holes 16 to 18.

He relied on a 'piercing iron shot' with a green hit rate of 77.78% and 'stingy putting' averaging 1.50 putts per hole. This is a great opportunity to achieve a second consecutive victory and earn the $15 million (1.78 billion KRW) prize money. Second seed Rahm took the top of the leaderboard with 6 birdies (1 bogey). First seed Johnson recorded 5 birdies and 2 bogeys, failing to take advantage of the 'stroke bonus.' Third seed Justin Thomas (USA) shot 4-under par to stand 3rd (11-under par), 2 strokes behind.

Im Sung-jae is carefully reading the putting line on the 15th hole on the first day of the Tour Championship. Atlanta, Georgia, USA ? Photo by Getty Images/Multibits

Abraham Ancer (Mexico) surged with a 6-under par round to rise to 5th place (7-under par). The only Korean player in the field, 9th seed Im Sung-jae (22, CJ Logistics), combined 4 birdies and 2 bogeys to tie for 6th place (6-under par). His iron accuracy was remarkable with a green hit rate of 83.33%, but his 1.80 putts per hole held him back. Fourth seed Webb Simpson, along with Xander Schauffele and Brendan Todd (both USA), are tied for 6th place.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.