ATLANTA – The crowd at East Lake Golf Club was larger and louder than it has been in five years, which was the last time Tiger Woods was at the Tour Championship to close the PGA Tour season.
It was no coincidence.
Woods played one of his best rounds of the year in his return to the FedEx Cup finale, and he caused the biggest cheer of a sun-baked Thursday afternoon by making an eagle putt from just more than 25 feet away on the par-5 18th. It led to a 5-under-par 65 and a share of the lead with Rickie Fowler.
It was the second time in as many FedEx Cup playoff events that Woods was tied for the 18-hole lead. He shot a 62 in the opening round of the BMW Championship two weeks ago on a rain-soaked course at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania, a scenario that allowed just about everyone to go low.
Though on a dry, tougher layout, Woods was even more satisfied Thursday, when 16 golfers broke par on a hot afternoon with only a light breeze.