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For Jordan Spieth, there is no time like the present. Without a top-10 finish in the regular season, the three-time major champion appears to have saved his best for last as he opened the first event of the 2026 FedEx Cup Playoffs with a bogey-free 65 to share the first-round lead with four other golfers.
Spieth tops the 2026 St. Jude Championship leaderboard after 18, standing alongside Jake Knapp, Michael Thorbjornsen, Michael Kim and Kurt Kitayama. It marks Spieth’s first lead or co-lead after the first round since this exact tournament, three years ago, and it could not have come at a better time.
“I feel like I played that way most of the last couple weeks, and I’ve had a couple rounds show for it and a few others kind of hold it a couple under,” Spieth said. “I just tried to come into this week and just be as patient, nonreactive as possible, dumb it down to try to win the golf tournament and not worry about anything else.
“Just knowing that I’m a lot better golfer than I’ve been in a very long time and continue to believe in that. If low scores come, they come. If they don’t, it doesn’t change the fact that I know that I’m better than I’ve been in a long time. That mentality is what I came into today and stuck with it throughout the round, and it paid off.”
For the third straight season, Spieth entered the St. Jude Championship fighting for his positioning, aiming to become one of the top 50 players in the FedEx Cup standings who will qualify for next week’s BMW Championship. He hopes for a different fate this time around, especially as changes lurk on the PGA Tour for the 2028 season.
A win would propel him inside the magic number, as would any finish on the first page of the leaderboard.
“Outside looking in versus inside trying to hold onto it is a little different mentality, maybe helpful, but after a good start, that all changes, right?” Spieth said.
“I’m just in a very different place about the game of golf than I was the last couple seasons heading into this event. Again, if it’s going to work out, great. If it doesn’t, I know next year is going to be an awesome year for me. So it takes a lot of the stress off of this week.”
Spieth is not the only player in need of a strong week who got off on the right foot Thursday at TPC Southwind. Kim is in a similar position at No. 61, as is Sungjae Im, who is among a large pack one behind the leaders at 4 under. Other bubble boys in Harris English and Maverick McNealy manufactured 68s, the same score that world No. 1 Scottie Scheffler tallied despite hitting only four fairways.
“I didn’t feel like I hit a ton of fairways,” Scheffler said. “I was in the first cut a lot. I hit a couple of tee shots where I thought were going to be in the fairway, and they kind of catch those trees that overhang, and [I] missed a few fairways that way. I still hit a lot of greens not being in the fairway a bunch.
“It’s like you can look at it from that point of view and think maybe I got away with it a little bit, and then you look at the other side, and it’s like I hit a lot of good tee shots and iron shots and didn’t get a lot of close looks at birdie. That’s kind of the other side. Then I hit a lot of lips, I felt like, on the green. That’s kind of the other side. You’re like, ‘Well, could have been a lot better, could have been a lot worse.'”
Leaders
T1. Jordan Spieth, Kurt Kitayama, Michael Thorbjornsen, Jake Knapp, Michael Kim (-5): All eyes are on Spieth, but three of the other leaders are in interesting positions themselves — outside the top 30 but well inside the top 50. The trio of Kitayama, Knapp and Thorbjornsen can make next week a whole lot less stressful if they continue down this path in Memphis. Thorbjornsen is the lone player of the five to enter the winner’s circle this year, as he arrives with plenty of confidence despite not feeling 100% healthy, having caught some sort of illness earlier in the week. If Thursday was any indication, beware of the sick golfer.
“No, I was going to play,” Thorbjornsen said. “There were points yesterday where it’s like, if it doesn’t get any better, if it gets a little worse, it might be worth a thought, especially with it being a very early wakeup call this morning. But I feel like whenever you are sick, it’s always toughest right before you go to bed and right when you wake up. Obviously, I just kind of went through my same routine.
“It would have been a very last-minute decision if I were to pull out. Yeah, I think Tuesday I probably started to feel something and then obviously got worse yesterday. Today … sometimes I feel better, sometimes I don’t. I’m on antibiotics right now. I think 24 hours is around right now, and then giving myself another 24 hours, I should be feeling much better.”
Contenders
T6. Tommy Fleetwood, Sungjae Im, Hideki Matsuyama, Gary Woodland, Chris Gotterup, Bud Cauley, Adam Scott (-4): There are a whopping 12 players tied or within one stroke of the lead after 18 holes with Fleetwood playing some of the best golf amongst the group. Returning to the site of heartbreak a season ago, the reigning FedEx Cup champion is channeling the good vibes he experienced before the unfortunate ending to his tournament in 2025. Fleetwood was one of the four players to finish the regular season inside the top 10 of the FedEx Cup standings without a win.
“It’s always nice coming to a golf course where you have like positive memories of good shots, good feelings on tees and into greens and stuff. I think that’s always a help,” Fleetwood said. “I’ve had two or three really good results around here. I was obviously playing very, very well last year. I put myself in a good position. All you can do is prepare the best you can and go out there and see if your golf’s good enough to put you in that position yet again.
“I do, I enjoy this golf course. I think it’s right there in front of you, and you’re going to get rewarded for playing well, and you’re going to get punished for playing poorly.”
FedEx Cup bubble watch
Eric Cole
45
48
T54
+2
Alex Noren
46
49
T43
+1
Michael Brennan
47
50
T60
+3
Matt McCarty
48
53
T60
+3
Keith Mitchell
49
52
T26
-1
Maverick McNealy
50
51
T17
-2
Harris English
51
54
T17
-2
Max Homa
52
55
T60
+3
Sungjae Im
53
44
T6
-4
Jordan Spieth
54
22
T1
-5
Rory McIlroy’s return
Rust was expected as Rory McIlroy has not been seen since the final round of The Open (on the golf course that is), but an opening 74 will do little to boost his motivation for the rest of the week. Seemingly not too enthused to be in Memphis based on his body language during the practice rounds, McIlroy’s stumble was due to sloppiness throughout the bag.
He made bogey on both of the par 5s — the first caused by a thinned long iron into No. 3 that found a watery grave, the second kicking off a brutal finish to his round. McIlroy went 6-5-6 to end his day and went from even par to 4 over in the process. The good news for McIlroy is he has three more days in Memphis, no matter his score.
2026 St. Jude Championship updated odds, picks
Odds via DraftKings Sportsbook
Scottie Scheffler: 6-1Tommy Fleetwood: 10-1Hideki Matsuyama: 13-1Michael Thorbjornsen: 13-1Xander Schauffele: 13-1Sam Burns: 14-1Chris Gotterup: 15-1Kurt Kitayama: 18-1Jordan Spieth: 19-1
Scheffler may not be leading, but he is still the favorite and the pick. He drove the ball poorly and split just four fairways in Round 1 but was still able to lead the field in greens in regulation. If more of those approach shots come from the short grass over the next three days, he will continue to give himself birdie looks and cash in at a higher clip.