Golf: Rory McIlroy & Paul Casey in prime position at Tour Championship
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British hopes Rory McIlroy and Paul Casey are in a good position following the first round of the Tour Championship in Atlanta, with the pair 18/5 and 14/1 respectively to win.
While Sweden’s Henrik Stenson leads on seven-under-par, two shots ahead of Casey, with the Northern Irishman one stroke behind, the chasing duo played some good golf on the back nine.
World number one Jason Day finished the round on one-under-par (8/1 to win) and if he delivers victory here it means he would be one of five players who could win the FedEx Cup.
Stenson, 2/1 to win, is somewhat older than the chasing pack of McIlroy, Day, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler, who are all under 28 and the 39-year-old was in good humour as he joked about feeling part of the younger generation.
“It feels good to be part of that wave,” said Stenson.
“When you reach my age and you hit however many millions of golf balls I’ve done over the years, the body definitely feels it.
“It gives satisfaction when you’re on top of the leaderboard in any tournament. It’s been a lot of [Jason] and [Jordan] and [Rickie] and [Rory], so of course it’s good to get a good start.”
Meanwhile, McIlroy, who has been somewhat underwhelming this season, compared to last, believes that whatever happens here, Spieth is still the player of the year.
“I’ve always viewed majors as the premium above anything else in golf, maybe that’s because I’m a major champion myself,” McIlroy said.
Despite Day surging up the rankings in recent weeks, McIlroy maintains Spieth is still worthy of the title: “Just with the way [Jordan] Spieth played in the majors this year, starting off at Augusta backing it up at the US Open and then having two great chances to win at the Open and at Whistling Straits.
“To be 54-under-par has never been seen before in the history of golf, so two majors to one would be my thinking. Either guy would feel they deserve it, just what I feel is important in the game [Jordan] just pips it for me.”
*Odds were correct at time of publishing*
