Norén finished with two bogeys and is +3 after the first round.
After the Olympic Games in Paris, Ludvig Åberg and Alex Norén are now both back in their golf routine in the USA.
However, only the top 70 on the Fedex Cup ranking after the regular season get to participate now that the PGA Tour's lucrative playoffs are underway with the first of three tournaments. When Norwegian Viktor Hovland won the tour final last year, he received a winner's check of 190 million kronor (18 million dollars).
Tough double bogey
World number four Åberg came to the tournament at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee, as sixth on the ranking, but the 24-year-old from Eslöv had a tough start to the first round.
Initially, not much was going right, and after just five played holes, the Swede was already three strokes over par.
On the fifth hole – par 4 – he had to note a double bogey after two failed chip shots at the green. There was another bogey on the seventh hole before Åberg woke up.
He set up his shot on the eighth hole – par 3 – short of the flag and could easily putt for the day's first birdie. There was another birdie on hole 12 after a fine bunker shot, and on the next short hole – hole 14 – the Swede sank a five-meter long putt. New birdie and +1 for the day. That's where Åberg stood when his first 18 holes were completed.
Finished tough
Alex Norén – who is 42nd on the Fedex Cup ranking – also had a tough start. After a bogey on the second hole, it was – like for Åberg – a double bogey on hole 5.
Then Norén bounced back with two straight birdies (holes 9 and 10) before it became two tough bogeys on the last two holes for three strokes over par for the day.
Åberg has a good chance of reaching the tour final (top 30 on the ranking) at the end of August, but Norén needs to play well this week to stay in the top 50 and get to play the second playoff tournament next week.
World number one Scottie Scheffler and world number two Xander Schauffele – also one and two on the Fedex Cup ranking – are both on –4. Countryman Chris Kirk, USA, leads on six strokes under par.
The PGA Tour playoffs consist of three tournaments:
+ The first tournament (top 70 on the Fedex Cup ranking get to participate)
Takes place 15–18 August at TPC Southwind in Memphis, Tennessee.
+ The second tournament (top 50 after the tournament in Memphis)
Takes place 22–25 August at Castle Pines Golf Club in Castle Rock, Colorado.
+ The tour final (top 30 after the tournament in Castle Rock)
Takes place 29 August–1 September at East Lake in Atlanta, Georgia.
In the tour final, the ranking is used to give the top players an advantage over the rest of the field. The leader starts the tournament on 10 strokes under par. The second place starts on –8, the third on –7, the fourth on –6, and the fifth on –5. Players ranked 6–10 start the tour final on –4 – and so on. Players ranked 26–30 start on par.
