Tommy Fleetwood hit four birdies in the final four holes at the St Jude Championship, the first round of the FedExCup play-offs, to finish one shot off the lead on day one.<\/p>\n
Englishman Fleetwood, 34, was two under at the turn but hit a superb run of form coming in to end the day with a seven-under 63 – one behind leader Akshay Bhatia in Memphis.<\/p>\n
Fleetwood’s compatriots Harry Hall and Justin Rose are a further shot back in joint-third, along with USA’s Bud Cauley.<\/p>\n
American Bhatia came into the tournament 45th in the FedExCup standings, with a top-50 finish qualifying players for the following seasons signature events.<\/p>\n
After Memphis, the top 50 will advance to the BMW Championship in Maryland on 14-17 August.<\/p>\n
The season-ending Tour Championship, featuring the top 30 players, takes place in Atlanta the following week.<\/p>\n
Bhatia said: “Im just really trying to have a little more peace on the golf course.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Bhatia’s remarks are similar to those made by world number one Scottie Scheffler before he won the Open last month.<\/a><\/p>\n Scheffler is five shots off the lead after a bogey at 18.<\/p>\n