MEMPHIS, TN — Michael Thorbjornsen got sick before the start of the FedEx St. Jude Championship. That didn't have much of an effect on his play. Thorbjornsen shot 5-under on the first day of the tournament, ending the round tied for the lead with Jordan Spieth, Kurt Kitayama, Michael Kim and Jake Knapp. The five players tied for the lead after the first round was the most ever in a FedExCup Playoffs event. "Tuesday I probably started to feel something and then obviously got worse yesterday," Thorbjornsen said after his round on Aug. 13. "Today is — I mean, sometimes I feel better, sometimes I don't. I'm on antibiotics right now. I think 24 hours is around right now, and then giving myself another 24 hours, I should be feeling much better."
It was a sweltering day at TPC Southwind in Memphis, and that's expected to continue all weekend. But Thorbjornsen said that actually helped him. "I feel like it's better with heat because when you're breathing in, it doesn't hurt as much," he said. It's a crowded leaderboard after the first day of the tournament, and plenty of golfers will still be in the mix as the tournament continues on Aug. 14. On the other side of the leaderboard, Rory McIlroy's return to the tournament did not go as planned. He was at even par through 15 holes but went 4-over on the last three holes and finished the round in second-to-last place, ahead of only Robert MacIntyre.
There were seven golfers right behind the leaders at 4-under. That group included Tommy Fleetwood, who nearly won the tournament in 2025 before faltering down the stretch. He earned his first PGA Tour win a couple of weeks after that at the Tour Championship. "I've had two or three really good results around here," Fleetwood said. "I was obviously playing very, very well last year. I put myself in a good position. All you can do is prepare the best you can and go out there and see if your golf's good enough to put you in that position yet again." Spieth was among the standouts of the first round, not only because he went in tied for the lead but because he tallied three birdies in a row in the middle of the round to help get there. He said afterward that he's playing without stress in Memphis, even as he needs a strong performance to quality for the next round of the playoffs. "I'm just in a very different place about the game of golf than I was the last couple seasons heading into this event," he said. "Again, if it's going to work out, great. If it doesn't, I know next year is going to be an awesome year for me. So it takes a lot of the stress off of this week." Reach sports writer Jonah Dylan at jonah.dylan@commercialappeal.com or on X @thejonahdylan. This article originally appeared on Memphis Commercial Appeal: A record 5 golfers tied for lead after Round 1 at FedEx St. Jude Championship