That starts with Thomas, who has not won since the World Golf Championship event at Firestone a year ago. He wouldn’t have thought such an opportunity might exist the way he warmed up on the range Thursday morning.

“I probably would say that I had the worst warm-up I’ve ever had in my life this morning,” he said.

The goal heading to the first tee was to find something that would allow him to get around without doing too much damage.

“I’ve had that happen plenty of times, just not quite that extreme,” Thomas said. “I’m usually pretty good at finding my way around a golf course and finding something, but definitely didn’t expect that today.”

Kokrak does have the Tour Championship on his mind. Along with a chase for the $15 million, just getting to East Lake includes an invitation to the Masters, and he has never been. He played the par 5s in five under — including an eagle on No. 10 when he holed a 30-yard shot from the rough — and made only one bogey.

Kokrak, who has never won in 207 starts as a pro on the PGA Tour, is No. 32 in the FedEx Cup. The top 30 after this week will advance to the Tour Championship, where there will be a staggered start based on par for the final event.

The leader will start at 10 under. The 30th player will start at even par.

The goal for Kokrak is to get there.

“I thought about doing some number-crunching and seeing what I had to finish, but I think putting myself in a good position to win a golf tournament is going to get the job done,” he said. “I don’t think I need to worry about where I need to finish in the tournament. I’d rather go out and try to win.”