Scottie Scheffler held off the chasing pack with a stellar back nine to take a seven-shot lead into the second round of the Tour Championship.
The world number one was put under pressure by a sensational six-straight birdie run from Collin Morikawa,
But Scheffler responded with birdies at 12, 13, 14, 17 and 18 to card a six-under round-of-the-day 65.
As the player with the most FedEx Cup points from the regular season, Masters champion Scheffler started the week on 10 under par, with US PGA and Open winner Xander Schauffele on eight under.
Schauffele was only able to improve his score by one shot with a round of 70 leaving him tied for second with Morikawa on nine under.
Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry both carded rounds of 69 to sit at six-under and five-under respectively after the opening day.
Three-time champion McIlroy, starting six adrift of Scheffler, got off a poor start at the revamped layout, bogeying the first and fifth holes after missing both greens with his approach.
While he did nail a 10-footer for birdie on the third, he reached the turn in one-over, still badly struggling for momentum. A late revival with three birdies over the closing five holes rescued his round to some extent, McIlroy picking up shots at the long 14th and 18th and sinking a six-footer for birdie at the par-4 16th.
However, McIlroy remains a long way back from the World No. 1 and needs a spectacular three days to claim a title that he last won two years ago.
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"I'm happy with how I hung in there and had a good finish," McIlroy told Sky Sports.
"When I saw Scottie had gotten to 14, I was like, 'oh, got to try to just hang on to the coattails a little bit’.
"Still feel like I’ve got a chance, and it was nice to finish the way I did."
Lowry, making his debut at East Lake, started the tournament at three-under and reached the turn at even par for his round. The 2019 Open champion drained an 13-footer for birdie at the par-4 fifth but gave back a stroke after missing the green short and right at the par-3 ninth.
He played steadily on the way home, birdieing the two par-5s on the closing stretch at 14 and 18, playing a beautiful bunker shot to mere inches at the latter for a tap-in birdie to sit tied-14th in the field after Thursday.
With additional reporting: PA
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