Fleetwood one shot off lead after strong finish at St Jude Championship

Tommy Fleetwood closed his opening round with a blistering run of four birdies over the final four holes to sit just one stroke behind leader Akshay Bhatia at the St Jude Championship in Memphis, Sport360NG reports.

The 34-year-old Englishman turned at two under par but surged home to card a seven-under 63, trailing only Bhatia, who set the pace with an eight-under 62 in the first leg of the FedExCup play-offs.

Fellow Englishmen Harry Hall and Justin Rose are tied for third on six under alongside American Bud Cauley. Bhatia, ranked 45th in the FedExCup standings, is pushing to secure a top-50 finish and a spot in next season’s signature events.

The play-offs continue with the BMW Championship in Maryland (14–17 August) for the top 50, before the season concludes with the Tour Championship in Atlanta for the leading 30 players.

Bhatia, reflecting on his mindset, said he is working on finding more calm on the course: “This game can take over your life and happiness, and I’m learning not to live my life around an unstable game.” His comments echoed sentiments shared by world number one Scottie Scheffler ahead of his Open triumph last month.

Scheffler is five shots back after a bogey at the last, while Rory McIlroy, who struggled here a year ago, is skipping this week’s event.