Min Woo Lee produced a stunning opening round at the TOUR Championship on Thursday, carding an eight-under-par 62 to take an early lead over a star-studded field at the lucrative finale of the PGA Tour’s FedEx Cup playoffs.

With a huge $10 million first prize on the line at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia, Lee quickly established himself as the player to beat. Collin Morikawa, Chris Gotterup and Norway’s Viktor Hovland all finished two shots behind the Australian on six-under par.

World No. 1 Scottie Scheffler was another shot further back after producing a bogey-free 65, while six-time major champion Rory McIlroy opened with a two-under-par 68 to sit six strokes off the pace.

For Lee, ranked 31st in the world, the spectacular start was a dramatic turnaround following a difficult run through the playoffs. He finished second-last at the BMW Championship last week after placing 55th the week before.

“Very average two weeks, the last two weeks — it was probably the saddest I’ve been on the golf course, which is not good,” Lee admitted.

However, the 28-year-old was determined to put those results behind him at East Lake.

“This week was a brand-new week, and we obviously play from scratch and everyone plays from the same score,” he said.

“Being out there, I thought why not give it a good crack and have a good attitude?”

Lee delivered exactly that, making eight birdies without dropping a shot. One of his highlights came on the eighth hole, where a 21-foot birdie putt rattled around the cup before eventually falling.

The Australian, who finished runner-up at the Pebble Beach Pro-Am in February and the Scottish Open last month, also had to adapt to an unusual situation after his playing partner JJ Spaun withdrew with a shoulder injury.

Spaun managed only five holes before calling it a day at four-over par, leaving Lee to complete the remainder of his opening round on his own.

“It was a little strange at first, just like looking for a playing partner and you’re just there by yourself,” Lee said.

“It was more just maintaining speeds and not rushing because I would just catch the group in front and wait. So I had to just slow down a little bit. It worked out.”

Spaun described his withdrawal as disappointing after attempting to play through the pain but said he did not want to risk making the injury worse.

“I didn’t want to cause any further damage,” Spaun explained.

Morikawa, Hovland and Gotterup Keep Pace

Three players finished two shots behind Lee at six-under, with Collin Morikawa, Viktor Hovland and Chris Gotterup all making strong starts.

Morikawa, a two-time major champion, was particularly pleased with his performance on East Lake’s notoriously quick greens.

“Out here these greens are fast. It’s probably the fastest I’ve seen them over the past few years, but I saw them really well today,” he said.

A further shot behind on five-under were Americans Ryan Gerard and Akshay Bhatia, Sweden’s Ludvig Aberg, and Scheffler.

The world No. 1 finished strongly, making birdies on his final two holes. He also produced an impressive par save on the 18th, getting up and down from a bunker after sinking a 10-foot putt to remain firmly within striking distance.

Meanwhile, Lee’s fellow Australian Adam Scott and reigning British Open champion Ryan Fox were part of a group at four-under par. Last year’s TOUR Championship winner Tommy Fleetwood also finished the opening day on the same score.

With three rounds still to play, Lee holds the early advantage — but with Scheffler, McIlroy, Morikawa, Hovland and several other elite contenders close behind, the battle for the FedEx Cup title is already shaping up to be a thrilling one.