Tigers shares early lead

ATLANTA—Tiger Woods doesn’t understand why there’s so much fuss over his friendship with Rory McIlroy.
He speaks so highly of the 23-year-old from Northern Ireland that some publications have referred to it as a “bromance.”

And then there’s Greg Norman, who said it was a sign of insecurity and that Woods is intimidated by McIlroy, who has won three of his last four events dating to the PGA Championship.
There also was an interview in a London newspaper how McIlroy dishes it out as well as he takes it during his banter with Woods.
“You probably don’t believe this but I get along really well with a lot of guys out here,” Woods said yesterday after opening with a solid round of four-under 66 to share the lead with Justin Rose at The Tour Championship.
“Rory is no different. I give it, they dish it, and we have a great time,” he noted.
“This is a fraternity out here.
“That’s one of the great things about being out here for 17 years,” Woods added. “You get to know the guys quite well.”
For Woods, it was a start toward what he hopes is a third FedEx Cup title in the six years it has been around.
McIlroy, who opened with a 69 yesterday, also has his eyes on the title. Even on a relatively mild day, East Lake is not a course where it’s easy to post super-low numbers or run away from the field.
The top 18 players on the leaderboard were separated by only three shots after one round.
The advantage in this FedEx Cup goes to the top five seeds—McIlroy, Woods, Nick Watney, Phil Mickelson, and Brandt Snedeker, all of whom only have to win the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup.
Snedeker was in the group at 68 yesterday while Mickelson joined McIlroy at 69. Watney brought up the rear in the 30-man field with a 75.
Steve Stricker had the only bogey-free round and was at 67, along with Georgia Tech alum Matt Kuchar, Bo Van Pelt, and Scott Piercy, the last man into the field.
Piercy was at five-under until he got tripped up in the rough behind the 18th green and took double-bogey.
Piercy has a mathematical chance to win the $10 million, although the odds are ridiculously long. For starters, he would have to win and McIlroy would have to finish last.
“My chances are slim and none. [And] I think slim is about to leave the building,” Piercy quipped.
“If I win, I finish second [in the FedEx Cup]. It’s still a million-and-a-half for first place, and another $3 million for the FedEx, so I’ll take $4.5 million,” he reasoned.
“That would be sweet.”