Scottie Scheffler entered this week’s Tour Championship with a lead thanks to the staggered strokes system, and the world No. 1 has taken full advantage in round one

Scottie Scheffler leads the Tour Championship (

Image: Getty Images)

Scottie Scheffler has admitted he had to put his staggered strokes gained lead at the Tour Championship to the back of his mind after bursting ahead following the opening round at East Lake on Thursday.

Thanks to his dominance on the PGA Tour this season, Scheffler kicked off this week’s Tour Championship ahead of the field without even hitting the ball, starting the week at 10-under-par thanks to his lead in the FedEx Cup standings. Despite being handed an advantage, Scheffler has not been afraid to vent his frustrations at the system.

Having proven to be a cut above the rest this campaign, the two-time major champion has found himself sat at the top of the season-long standings for 25 weeks, but this has only been recognised with a two-shot advantage ahead of Xander Schauffele.

Albeit a small one, he does have an advantage though, and he only strengthened it on Thursday. Despite losing his lead within the space of one hole having started with bogey whilst Schauffele made birdie, he soon showed his true self, carding seven birdies on the way to shooting a seven-under 65.

Those on the PGA Tour have found it tough to compete against Scheffler on a level playing field, making things a whole lot harder this week. On the back of his impressive opening showing, the world No. 1 now leads the campaign finale by a whopping seven shots.

The boosted head start has still not seen him take to the staggered strokes idea though. “I’m trying not to think much about the starting strokes stuff,” Scheffler claimed following his hot start on Thursday. “I think it’s still a bit weird with it not being a traditional event.

Scottie Scheffler has a seven-shot lead ( Getty Images)

“It was nice to get off to a good start in the first round, and I feel like I did a lot of things well today.” Scheffler has headed into the opening two Tour Championships as the man at the top having led the FedEx Cup standings, but on both occasions failed to get his hands on the title.

In 2022 the American surrendered his advantage to Rory McIlroy, before Viktor Hovland swooped in at East Lake a year later. Speaking earlier this month, Scheffler vented his frustrations with the format. “I think it’s silly,” Scheffler said ahead of the FedEx St Jude Championship.

“You can’t call it a season-long race and have it come down to one tournament. “Hypothetically we get to East Lake and my neck flares up and it doesn’t heal the way it did at The Players, I finish 30th in the FedExCup because I had to withdraw from the last tournament? Is that really the season-long race? No. It is what it is.”