PGA Tour

Here are the top golfers from the opening round of the PGA Tour playoffs

The No. 28 golfer in the FedEx Cup standings posted the top score in Round 1 of the St. Jude Championship.

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The 2024 FedEx Cup Playoffs are underway.

The PGA Tour postseason began with the first round of the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind in Memphis on Thursday. The FedEx St. Jude Championship is the first of three playoff tournaments.

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Scottie Scheffler, fresh off winning an Olympic gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games, entered the postseason with the most FedEx Cup points, but it was the No. 28 golfer in the standings who posted the top first-round score.

Chris Kirk opened with a 6-over 64 at TPC Southwind to take a one-shot lead heading into Friday's second round. His day was highlighted by a hole-in-one from 205 yards on the par-3 14th.

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Olympic bronze medalist Hideki Matsuyama, who sits eighth in the FedEx Cup standings, is right behind Kirk at 5-under, tied for second with Matthieu Pavon (16th in FedEx Cup standings) and Taylor Pendrith (27th).

Xander Schauffele, who boasts the second-most FedEx Cup points, is tied with Scheffler and several other golfers for fifth at 4-under.

What's the FedEx St. Jude Championship leaderboard?

Here's a full look at the top golfers through 18 holes:

1. Chris Kirk: -6

T-2. Taylor Pendrith: -5

T-2. Matthieu Pavon: -5

T-2. Hideki Matsuyama: -5

T-5. Justin Rose: -4

T-5. Ben Griffin: -4

T-5. Tommy Fleetwood: -4

T-5. Brendon Todd: -4

T-5. Denny McCarthy: -4

T-5. Scottie Scheffler: -4

T-5. Xander Schauffele: -4

T-12. Justin Thomas: -3

T-12. Peter Malnati: -3

T-12. Seamus Power: -3

T-12. Nick Dunlap: -3

T-12. Sam Burns: -3

T-12. Robert MacIntyre: -3

You can check out the full leaderboard here.

Where is the FedEx St. Jude Championship being played?

TPC Southwind in Memphis is the site of the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

Here are five things to know about TPC Southwind, the course hosting the FedEx St. Jude Championship.

What's the FedEx St. Jude Championship format?

The opening playoff tournament features four rounds of stroke play where the golfer with the lowest score after 72 holes wins.

The top 70 golfers in the FedEx Cup standings qualified for the playoffs, but only the top 50 will advance to the second tournament: the BMW Championship.

Are there cuts at the FedEx St. Jude Championship?

There aren't any cuts at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, meaning all 70 golfers will play four rounds.

How many points will the FedEx St. Jude Championship winner get?

Golfers will be looking to add to their FedEx Cup point totals in order to secure a spot in the BMW Championship. The point totals at stake range from 2,000 for the winner to just 12 for the 70th-place finisher.

What's the FedEx St. Jude Championship purse?

There's also money up for grabs in Memphis as the FedEx St. Jude Championship boasts a $20 million purse, with $3.6 million earmarked for the winner.

What are the FedEx Cup standings?

These are currently the top 10 golfers in the FedEx Cup Standings:

1. Scottie Scheffler: 5,993

2. Xander Schauffele: 4,057

3. Rory McIlroy: 2,545

4. Collin Morikawa: 2,456

5. Wyndham Clark: 2,154

6. Ludvig Aberg: 2,092

7. Sahith Theegala: 2,037

8. Hideki Matsuyama: 1,899

9. Sungjae Im: 1,883

10. Shane Lowry: 1,867

You can check out the full standings here.

NBC Sports' Brad Thomas on Scottie Scheffler and Xander Schauffele being the top favorites heading into the FedEx St. Jude Championship at TPC Southwind.
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