Akshay Bhatia leads Tommy Fleetwood after round one of FedEx St. Jude Championship

England's Tommy Fleetwood also finished in style, reeling off four consecutive birdies to close with a seven-under 63 and claim sole possession of second place, one shot ahead of compatriots Justin Rose and Harry Hall, along with American Bud Cauley.

South Korea's Kim Si-Woo was alone in sixth after a 65, while Collin Morikawa led a group on 66. World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler opened with a three-under 67, leaving him tied for 12th.

This week's PGA Tour stop marks the opening event of the season-ending FedEx Cup playoffs, featuring the top 70 players in the points standings, and culminating with the Tour Championship later this month.

Bhatia, a two-time tour winner who last triumphed at the 2024 Texas Open, said he's been working to focus on the positives in recent weeks despite feeling short of his own standards - an approach that appeared to pay dividends on Thursday.

"Today I felt pretty relaxed," he said. "I'm just not trying to force anything. It's OK to get mad at golf shots, but not at yourself – not self-deprecate yourself, which I tend to do.

"I felt like I wasn't in the rough too much. I hit it in a couple of fairway bunkers, which is OK out here. It's easier to control the golf ball.

"I felt like I wasn't putting great throughout the day, but then those last couple of putts managed to drop."

Fleetwood endured the hotter afternoon conditions but finished with a flourish. Three-under after 14 holes, he sparked his late surge with a nine-foot birdie at the 15th, followed by a seven-footer at 16, a five-footer at 17, and a 15-foot putt at the last.

He credited his patience over the opening seven holes - where solid play brought little reward - as crucial to the round, but said the closing birdies at 17 and 18 were the standout moments of his day.

"Eighteen, you've obviously still got work to do... You've still got to stand up and hit a golf shot on the last. Felt really good on the tee, but to hit a golf shot like that, it was literally exactly where I was aiming, so obviously that one," he said in choosing his best shot of his four-birdie burst."

Masters champion Rory McIlroy, ranked second behind Scheffler in the playoff standings, chose to skip the event, confident his position would keep him safely inside the top 50 for next week's BMW Championship.

The top 50 players after this week progress to the BMW, with the leading 30 from that event moving on to the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.