Olson moves into Evian lead after third-round 65

INZAI CITY, Japan — Brendan Steele finished with four consecutive birdies and shot a 6-under 64 on Thursday to take the first-round lead at the PGA TOUR’s ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP. “Everybody says if you birdie 18, dinner tastes better,” Steele said. “But four in a row is definitely, really nice and feels good.” It was a happy return to the Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club, where Steele was the runner-up a year ago in the same tournament behind winner Hideki Matsuyama. “I love it here,” Steele said. “Loved the course last year — really happy to be back.” The ZOZO CHAMPIONSHIP is the only PGA TOUR event in Japan and has a purse of $11 million. There are no COVID-19 crowd-limit restrictions in place this year. “Nice for us to be able to get out of the hotel a little bit this year and enjoy the culture a little bit,” Steele said. “So I’ve enjoyed it a ton.” It was a big day for other Americans as well. Adam Schenk was a shot back after a 65 on a rainy day on the course on the outskirts of Tokyo. Sam Ryder, Matthew NeSmith, and Keegan Bradley were two back. Three more Americans were three behind: Rickie Fowler, Xander Schauffele, and Maverick McNealy. Defending champion Matsuyama, who won by five strokes a year ago, got off to a slow start before a home crowd with a 71.

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Rory McIlroy said the PGA Tour and DP World Tour should hold talks with the Saudi-funded LIV Golf series as the escalating tension between the circuits is “splitting the game.”

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Round 2 of THE NORTHERN TRUST takes place Friday as the opening event of the FedExCup Playoffs continues. The top 125 in the standings qualified, and the field is stacked with stars such as Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Rory McIlroy, Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas, Jordan Spieth, Collin Morikawa and Xander Schauffele. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action, including Featured Groups for PGA TOUR LIVE. Leaderboard Full tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). TOURCast: Get shot-by-shot info in real time with shot tracks and video with TOURCast. TOUR Pulse: Get the PGA TOUR app to utilize TOUR Pulse, which provides users the ability to experience a mix of content, such as video highlights, written hole summaries and stat graphics on every player after every hole they complete. FEATURED GROUPS Hideki Matsuyama, Brooks Koepka, Cameron Smith (Tee times) Collin Morikawa, Jordan Spieth, Patrick Cantlay (Tee times) Bryson DeChambeau, Justin Thomas, Sam Burns (Tee times) Harris English, Jon Rahm, Abraham Ancer (Tee times) MUST READS Jon Rahm, Justin Thomas share lead at THE NORTHERN TRUST FedExCup update: Wake-up call helps Harold Varner go low Dustin Johnson shoots 70 without a driver in the bag Odyssey debuts Survive and Advance FedExCup Playoffs putter covers Official FedExCup standings 125 one-liners on the FedExCup participants Revisiting DJ’s dominance at THE NORTHERN TRUST Five things about Liberty National The 15 best moments in FedExCup Playoffs history CALL OF THE DAY

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