FedEx St Jude Championship: Rory McIlroy struggles as Si Woo Kim and JJ Spaun share lead at TPC Southwind

Rory McIlroy had a tough day on his return to action at the FedEx St Jude Championship. The Irishman took a break following his agonising near miss at the Open Championship last month, and he said in the lead up to the event that he had plenty of downtime following his departure from St Andrews. Ad TPC Southwind played host to the first event of the FedEx Cup play-offs, and McIlroy has work to do if he is to win in Memphis this week after a slow start.

FedEx St. Jude ChampionshipWas it on purpose? Scheffler causes controversy by walking over Smith's line10 HOURS AGO McIlroy bogeyed his opening hole and was unable to get anything going, as he signed for a 70. The main aim for McIlory is to win the Tour Championship at East Lake in a couple of weeks’ time, but he will be keen to find form on Friday.

First Round Leaderboard T1. Si Woo Kim, eight-under T1. JJ Spaun, eight-under 3.

Sahith Theegala, seven-under T4. JT Poston, six-under T4. Tony Finau, six-under T4.

KH Lee, six-under T4. Sepp Straka, six-under T8. Troy Merritt, five-under T8.

Tyrrell Hatton, five-under T8. Sam Burns, five-under T8. Lee Hodges, five-under T8.

Rickie Fowler, five-under T8. Ryan Palmer, five-under T8. Michael Thompson, five-under T8.

Jason Day, five-under T8. Lucas Glover, five-under McIlroy’s driving has been a strength of his game, but he was wayward off the tee on Thursday. He got out of position off the tee on the first for a bogey and it set the tone for his day.

McIlroy only found five fairways in regulation, and it resulted in him finishing at level-par. His play improved as the round progressed, to suggest he was shaking off some rust, and will look to build into the tournament on Friday. Si Woo Kim produced one of the moments of the day