EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Aiming to stylishly cap a rookie season that Hurricane Maria almost denied her, Maria Torres shared the first-round lead on 6 under at the final women’s golf major Thursday.

Torres, the first Puerto Rican player to get an LPGA Tour card, went birdie-birdie-eagle from the 13th to 15th holes in a 65 that tied her atop the Evian Championship leaderboard with Carlota Ciganda of Spain.

“I just want to come here and play, and whatever happens, happens,” Torres said.

Carefree laughs flowed from the 184th-ranked Torres, who last September was on her home island when the hurricane struck.

In the aftermath, the University of Florida graduate struggled to register for the second part of tour qualifying school. Finally, at Daytona Beach in December, Torres won a three-way playoff to claim the last tour card on offer.

Nine months later, the 2016 Southeastern Conference college player of the year is relishing her first competition in France.

“It’s awesome to be here,” Torres said. “I love it, I’m like almost rolling down the par-3s with all I’ve been eating here.”

Torres matched a target set by the 21st-ranked Ciganda, who had six birdies and no bogeys on the 6,523-yard Evian Resort Golf Club course.

Both excelled on the par-5s. Torres played the four long holes in 5 under, including her eagle at No. 15, against three birdies for the 28-year-old Ciganda, who previously helped Arizona State win a college title.

One shot back, Austin Ernst of the United States made eagle-3 at the 13th in a 5-under 66 to stand alone in third place.

A three-player group on 67 included Brooke Henderson of Canada, winner of the 2018 CP Women’s Open and 2016 PGA Championship; Nasa Hataoka of Japan, who won the qualifying school tournament,  and two-time major winner So Yeon Ryu of South Korea.

Highlights from @BrookeHenderson’s opening-round 67 ???? pic.twitter.com/yfrTd1G1jf

— CP Women's Open (@cpwomensopen) September 13, 2018

Canadian Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., opened with a 2-over 73 to share 56th place. Brittany Marchand of Orangeville, Ont., sits right on the projected cut line of 3 over par.

Georgia Hall, a homegrown British Open champion last month, had a bogey-free 68 to stand in a big group on 3 under which included seven-time major winner Inbee Park of South Korea.

Top-ranked Sung Hyun Park had a tough day, shooting a 6-over 77 playing in the same afternoon group as Hall. The South Korean player, who won the PGA Championship in July, dropped shots at four of the first five holes.

“Nothing went well,” Park said through a translator. “It was a very disappointing day.”

Defending champion Anna Nordqvist of Sweden and fifth-ranked Lexi Thompson of the U.S. shot even-par 71s among the early starters, who enjoyed the best of 27 degrees Celsius (80 degrees F) heat.

Forecast stormy rain held off just until the last groups completed play, including 16-year-old American Rachel Heck who had a 1-under 70 in her second major.

“I was looking around thinking I can’t believe I am actually here,” said Heck, a native of Memphis, Tennessee who got a wild-card entry.

VANCOUVER – There’s one thing you won’t see Canadian Adam Svensson do on the PGA Tour next year – hit a ball marked with the number four.

The Surrey, B.C.-native doesn’t know how the superstition started but he simply won’t jinx his game by playing a four, especially on the tour he’s been dreaming of playing his entire life.

While some pros use specially designed balls painted with a lucky numeral, others stick to the factory-produced version, marked with the numbers one through four to help golfers keep track of their shot on the course.

Svensson said he’s never had a bad experience with a four, but he’s not about to risk that changing at this crucial point in his career.

Last month the 24-year-old earned his card for next season’s PGA Tour when he finished the Web.com Tour’s regular season in 14th place on the money list with earnings of US $190,825.

A PGA Tour card has been a “life-long dream” for Svensson.

“Being able to play out there with the guys I grew up watching on TV is pretty special,” he said from Jupiter, Fla., where he now lives and trains. “It’s just an exciting time for me.”

But Svensson has work to finish on the Web.com Tour first. He goes in to this week’s Albertsons Boise Open in 15th place on the tour’s earnings board after posting four top-10 finishes this season and winning The Bahamas Great Abaco Classic in January.

The success follows an off-season full of tough workouts, Svensson said.

“Pretty much grinding it out,” he said. “It pretty much just comes down to working harder than I ever have before.”

Working hard at golf has been a major part of Svensson’s life since childhood. He remembers being at the range with his dad when he was about three, and begging to hit balls.

“I would just sit there for hours and watch him hit golf balls,” Svensson said.

At five, he was out playing with his dad and got to drive the power cart. He steered it directly into a pond, sinking his dad’s clubs. A tow truck was needed to pull the cart from the water.

Svensson was banned from driving for years, but golf continued to play a pivotal role in his life.

By eight he was entering tournaments and at 16, he joined Golf Canada’s development team.

The program offered “the whole package,” from a workout coach to a swing coach to a mental coach, Svensson said, and he credits the experience with helping to turn him into a successful pro.

Svensson noted that he isn’t alone in reaping the benefits. He came up with Corey Conners and Mackenzie Hughes, who have succeeded on the PGA Tour in recent years.

“There are a bunch of Canadians that have been extremely successful the last few years that I’ve played with on the Canadian national team,” he said.

“You play with these guys your whole life, your whole amateur career and you get to see how they work their butt off and how they’re successful now. It’s pretty cool.”

Svensson also spent two years playing at Barry University in Miami, where he helped the team win two NCAA national championships. He took home freshman golfer of the year honours in 2013 and the collegiate golfer of the year award in 2014.

By 2015, Svensson was ready to turn pro.

“I just felt that my game was ready and I wanted to challenge myself,” he said. “I had a great time (at Barry). I learned a lot and I was kind of ready to set sail.”

He won Web.com’s 2015 qualifying tournament by a record seven shots and earned himself full status for the next year. Since then, he’s continued to work on what he describes as his “aggressive” style of golf.

“I’m a great ball striker,” he said. “I do play the golf course and try not to play other people. My game pretty much comes down to the greens. If I feel like I’m putting well that week and make a decent amount of putts, I’m going to play well.”

To get more consistency with his putting, Svensson hired Ralph Bauer, a coach who’s worked with a number of PGA Tour players, including Canadian Adam Hadwin. They’ve been working together for a few months, practising drills and working on mental strength, Svensson said.

The ultimate goal, he added, is to maintain that consistency when he hits the PGA Tour.

“Golf is so up and down,” Svensson said. “For me, success is playing well week in and week out, making the cut, finishing top 20, top 25. Obviously I want to win on the tour and hopefully I will one day. But just playing consistent golf is success.”

It was a foggy morning at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, but when the skies cleared up and second round play got underway, there was nothing nebulous about Italy’s performance as Alessia Nobilio and Caterina Don both fired rounds of 6-under 66 to give Italy an 11-stroke advantage atop the team leaderboard at the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship.

Italy is now at 17 under for the championship, followed by Team USA in second place at 6 under and Thailand in third at 4 under. Rounding out the top five are France and Sweden, who share fourth place at 1 under par. France was the second-lowest scoring team today, with an aggregate second round score of 5 under par (139).

Nobilio, a 17 year-old Milan native, carded a second-straight 66 on Wednesday to take a comfortable seven-shot lead at 12 under par. A trio of golfers trail in second place with a tournament score of 132 (-5). American Brooke Seay and Thailand’s Atthaya Thitikul both shot 1 under 71, while Italy’s Don, also 17, fired a sizzling 6 under score to match her teammate’s low round of the day.

Italian coach Enrico Trentin could not have been more pleased with his players’ efforts today.

“It was really a great day, with Alessia and Caterina both shooting minus six. We were really solid from tee to green,” said the caretaker of the Italian squad, who is just coming off a terrific performance at the World Amateur Team Championships in Ireland, finishing in 6th place.

“We had a great practice this morning and we really tried to understand the greens. Because they are so fast, it’s important to understand where to hit the second or third shots and be in a good position to putt for birdie,” reported Trentin.

It was a dominant performance across the board today for Italy, as both individual and team leaderboards are paced by the tricoloured flag on the eve of third round.

Canada One, featuring Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Qué., Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont., and Tiffany Kong from Vancouver, B.C., dropped one spot to 7th place with a performance of 2 over today. Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) who make up Canada Two, trail behind at 22 over par in 17th place. Dao is the top Canadian in the individual competition with an overall score of even par, good for T8.

Team Canada is looking for its first medal since capturing bronze at the first ever World Junior Girls in 2014.

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship is in its fifth edition.

Full results and tournament information can be consulted here. 

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

OTTAWA, Ont. — Under misty skies at Camelot Golf & Country Club in Ottawa, Italy’s Alessia Nobilio was off to the races in the first round, rifling a 6-under 66 to seize the lead in the 2018 World Junior Girls Championship.

Nobilio, who currently sits No. 22 in the World Amateur Golf Rankings, took advantage of the windless conditions and went bogey free on Tuesday, notching six birdies along the way. She led the charge for Italy as they registered an aggregate score of 139, to sit one back of first round co-leaders Thailand and the United States.

“This is my third World Juniors, I’ve been here (Canada) three times now. I shot minus 6 today, so it was a very good round. My best ever was minus seven at the European Junior Championships this year,” said the 17-year-old from Milan.

“The greens were really fast here (at Camelot), really challenging. For tomorrow, I’ll just do my regular practice routine. I’m feeling happy, really good about my round, I played a solid game. I’m just going to play my game and do my best.”

In the team competition, the United States, propelled by solid outings from Brooke Seay (-4) and Zoe Campos (-2), sit in the lead at 6 under in a tie with Thailand. The Thai team followed their leader Atthaya Thitikul, who fired a 68 in the opening round to sit T2 with Seay in the individual competition. Campos is tied for 4th with Cecilie Nielsen from Denmark and another Thai, Kultida Pramphun, who are all at 2 under.

United States Team Captain Delia Nava was thrilled by her team’s performance in the first round. “We are very pleased with our result today. The girls stayed calm when they got in trouble and they all played well. Eighteen is a very tough finishing hole, it’s very tricky.”

Team USA do not intend to change anything heading into Wednesday’s second round. “We just have to play like we did today and we’ll have a good result.”

Canada One, featuring Céleste Dao of Notre-Dame Ile Perrot, Qué., Ellie Szeryk of London, Ont. and Tiffany Kong from Vancouver, B.C., share 6th place with Sweden at 2 over par. Emily Zhu (Richmond Hill, Ont.), Sarah Beqaj (Toronto, Ont.) and Lauren Kim (Surrey, B.C.) who make up Canada Two, trail behind at 15 over par in 18th place. Kong and Dao were the low scorers for Canada at 1 over par.

Team Canada is looking for its first medal since capturing bronze at the first ever World Junior Girls in 2014.

The World Junior Girls Championship is conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with Golf Ontario and supported by the R&A and the International Golf Federation. Recognized as an ‘A’ ranked event by the World Amateur Golf Rankings, the World Junior Girls Championship is in its fifth edition.

Full results and tournament information can be consulted here.

Admission to the competition is free. Additional information regarding the fifth annual World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website

“Where Champions Are Crowned”

Although it’s the marketing tagline for Duncan Meadows Golf Course on Vancouver Island, site of the recent men’s Canadian Amateur Championship, it could be adopted by any of the scores of courses across Canada that play host each year to provincial and national championships.

Ming Hui, owner of Duncan Meadows, says the course hosted its first event, the B.C. Mid-Amateur Championship, in 1999. Since then, the course and its members have welcomed a veritable spectrum of tournaments: provincial junior and amateur championships, Future Links events, the Canadian University/College Championship, the Canadian Women’s Tour, and even an American Junior Golf Association tournament where, says Hui, a young Paula Creamer set the women’s competitive course record before heading off to LPGA Tour stardom.

“The overall experience is fabulous,” Hui says. “Although the members have to give up their course for a few days, it’s a positive experience for everyone. It’s good for our course because it gives us exposure and visibility and it’s good for the game overall.”

At any given time, Golf Canada is in contact with hundreds of courses in order to secure sites over the next three to five years for the 30 or so tournaments they conduct each year, says Adam Helmer, Golf Canada’s director of rules, competitions and amateur status.

“Lots of advance notice and excellent communication is key,” he says. “Once a course hosts an event, they realize it is a positive and lasting experience for all concerned. Some courses want to showcase major changes, celebrate a significant anniversary or get more recognition. Others may target a specific championship because they have strong players in that category and it never hurts to have local knowledge.”

Phil Berube, executive director and CEO of Alberta Golf, agrees. “We are very fortunate in that many clubs in Alberta see this as an opportunity to showcase their facility and demonstrate good will for the golf community.” He says the key is a “partnership” between the golf association, the members and staff of the host club, and the players themselves.

Finding the appropriate number and type of facility is a formidable task for Golf Canada and the provincial associations. Although smaller provinces conduct a relative handful of competitions, Ontario runs more than 50 qualifying events and two dozen championships.

“It’s a very compact season and it’s difficult to schedule them all in during Ontario’s short summer,” says Rob Watson, Golf Ontario’s coordinator of next generation and competitions.

Some provincial associations offer nominal remuneration to host clubs and that has made the experience more palatable for some courses, but there’s much more to the equation. While British Columbia, for example, does so, the association “works with host clubs to help them understand the local economic impact of hosting an event as well as revenue opportunities for food and beverage as well as local sponsorship,” according to Kris Jonasson, CEO of British Columbia Golf.

Golf Canada, says Helmer, is working toward a new hosting model that would leave behind a “lasting legacy” commemorating their contribution to the game. That legacy could include donating Golf In Schools kits to local schools or some other support for growing the game locally.

One of the most memorable events during my 30 years at my club was when I volunteered last year for a Future Links tournament that had a Special Olympics component. We have hosted a men’s Ontario Amateur and some other events over the years and, with our centennial coming in 2019, our club is pursuing another significant championship. An unspoken motivation could be that we’ve got a very good golf course that we’re sick of being referred to as a “hidden gem.”

No matter what your motivation, reach out to your provincial association or Golf Canada to see what’s involved in hosting an event.

If for nothing else, do it for golf.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Keegan Bradley held off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to win the rain-plagued BMW Championship on Monday for his first PGA Tour victory in six years.

Though Rose was runner-up at the FedEx Cup playoff event at Aronimink, he didn’t come up short in the world ranking. Rose hit No. 1 in the world and became the 22nd player to reach the top spot since the ranking began in 1986.–

Bradley, who shot a final round 6-under 64 to finish at 20-under par, thrust his arms toward the grey sky and drizzle in celebration and waved his family onto the 18th hole. He tossed into the air his young son, Logan, who hadn’t even been born in 2012, the last time Bradley won on the tour.

“A lot has happened to me over these six years,” Bradley said. “I kind of fell of the radar there for a little while. It’s tough to go from being on Ryder Cup teams, being on Presidents Cup teams to being outside the top 100 in the world.”

Bradley finished with his fourth career victory and first since the 2012 WGC-Bridgestone Invitational. He gets a trip to Maui to start next year for the winners-only Sentry Tournament of Champions.

Rose could have won in regulation but lipped out on the last hole to force the playoff.

He fell short again in the playoff, missing a 5-foot par putt that would have kept him alive. The 38-year-old Rose had grown to love the suburban Philadelphia golf courses. He won the 2010 AT&T National at Aronimink and the 2013 U.S. Open at Merion.

He didn’t get a trophy on this trip. But a No. 1 ranking will do. Rose, who overtook Dustin Johnson, joins Nick Faldo, Lee Westwood and Luke Donald as the only Englishmen to reach No. 1.

“I’m delighted to be world No. 1,” Rose said. “Boyhood dreams, you know what I mean?”

Rose trails Bryson DeChambeau, who won the first two playoff events, in the FedEx Cup standings.

It was amazing play even finished Monday after rain soaked the course overnight and pushed up tee times. But it rained only lightly and the players had few complaints about the condition of the course, even if the walking paths became a muddy, soggy mess for the gallery.

Canadian Adam Hadwin finished T19 at 12 under par. The Abbotsford, B.C., native is projected to finish 36th, outside the required top-30 to advance to the TOUR Championship from Sept. 20-23 at East Lake Golf Course in Atlanta, Ga.

As usual, it crowded around Tiger Woods.

Woods caused some more noise – he’s been doing that a lot in recent months before the largest galleries at every course – and got within one shot of the lead when he made birdie on No. 9 to go out in 31.

But he missed the green on the 10th and made bogey. He found a bunker on the par-3 14th for another bogey. And this was the kind of day when more than one mistake was going to be costly. Woods wound up with a 65.

Such was the scoring at Aronimink that Woods had a 72-hole score of 263 for the sixth time of his career. The other five times he won; this one got him a tie for sixth.

“I thought I needed to shoot something around 62 today to have a chance,” Woods said. “And I don’t think that would have been good enough.”

Woods took away any suspense of getting back to the Tour Championship for the first time since 2013. That was about the time he was just starting to cope with back pain. He had his fourth back surgery last April, and at this time last year he had just been cleared to chip and putt.

“To say that I made it back to the Tour Championship after what I’ve been through is a pretty good accomplishment,” Woods said.

Jordan Spieth will not be joining him. Spieth started at 27th in the FedEx Cup standings and took a step backward, finishing with a 73 to tie for 55th. He fell out of the top 30 and will miss the Tour Championship for the first time.

That means he will have played only 24 tournaments this year, which includes the Ryder Cup. Because he didn’t add to his schedule a tournament he had not played in the last four years, he is in violation of the PGA Tour’s scheduling policy.

Still to be determined is the penalty. Spieth is the first player to violate the policy, which began last year.

“I obviously accept whatever fine it is and move on and try and add one every year, but it’s kind of tough,” Spieth said.

Later Monday, U.S. captain Jim Furyk will announce one more selection for the Ryder Cup.

Annika Sorenstam has learned a thing or two about what it takes to be the best.

So when the World Golf Hall of Fame member says Canada’s Brooke Henderson is well on her way to becoming one of the top players on the LPGA Tour, it makes sense to pay attention.

Henderson’s emotional win at the CP Women’s Open last month in Regina could be just the beginning, the 72-time winner on the LPGA Tour said in an interview ahead of the final major of the season – the Evian Championship, starting Thursday in Evian-les-Bains, France.

“What Brooke did was an amazing display of golf,” Sorenstam said of Henderson’s triumph, which ended a 45-year drought for Canadians at their national championship.

“If this continues, she will soon be one of the best in the world.”

Sorenstam, who in 2014 was named the best Swedish female athlete in history, won three times in Sweden during her career.

She’s also a two-time winner of the Evian Championship, where Henderson will try to put an exclamation mark on a memorable year.

Sorenstam said she likes Henderson’s game, which mixes an aggressive approach off the tee with a nice short game.

The combination, she said, is going to be beneficial for the native of Smiths Falls, Ont., for years to come.

“She has gotten off to a quick start in her young career,” Sorenstam said of Henderson, who turned 21 on Monday. “I am sure there will be many more wins to follow.”

Henderson has unfinished business at the Evian. She finished tied for ninth and tied for 25th in 2016 and 2015, respectively. Last year’s tournament was shortened to 54 holes due to weather, and she finished tied for 58th.

“It’s a beautiful golf course – usually challenging with the weather – but I think it suits my game well, particularly with how I’m striking the ball right now,” said Henderson.

“Hopefully all the pieces come together for the week and I can play well again.”

With more than US$1.2 million earned this season, Henderson sits second on the LPGA Tour money list with seven tournaments left. She’s also third on the year

that points list after the CME Group Tour Championship, the final event of the year, she’ll win a $1-million bonus prize.

Henderson’s CP Women’s Open victory was her second of the year. She also captured the Lotte Championship in Hawaii in April.

“I think it’s finally starting to sink in that I won our national championship, and it’s just such an amazing feeling and a dream come true to know that my name will always be on that trophy,” said Henderson.

With her win in Regina, Henderson figures to be a strong candidate for the Lou Marsh Trophy, given to Canada’s athlete of the year.

The award has been claimed by a golfer only three times: Marlene Streit (1956), Sandra Post (1979), and Mike Weir (2003).

“It’s something that would be an incredible achievement and honour to be in the conversation for,” said Henderson. “Hopefully my game and my achievements on the course can put me in that position some day.”

Henderson now has seven victories since turning professional. The most by a Canadian – male or female – is eight, a record held jointly by George Knudson, Post, and Weir, all of whom accomplished the feat much later in their careers.

Henderson celebrated her birthday at home with her family and said the week off was “definitely needed” after her win and then playing in the Cambia Portland Classic the week after, where she tied for 21st.

“It was nice having a tournament to just roll straight into to try and act as normal as possible, but to just be able to relax for a few days and reflect on everything has been great,” she said.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Justin Rose has to wait until Monday to have a shot at getting to No. 1 in the world. And he still might not have to hit another shot at the BMW Championship.

A steady rain washed out play Sunday soggy Aronimink, and the PGA Tour will wait until Monday to decide whether it can try to complete 72 holes of the third FedEx Cup playoff event.

If the forecast makes it unlikely to finish, the tour could cut the tournament short to 54 holes.

Rose had a one-shot lead over Rory McIlroy and Xander Schauffele. A victory gets him to No. 1 in the world ranking. Keegan Bradley was projected to finish 30th in the FedEx Cup, which would knock out Jordan Spieth from the Tour Championship.

MONTREAL — It wasn’t easy, but after a one-hole playoff with Corey Pereira, Blake Olson captured his first career Mackenzie Tour victory after firing a Sunday 67, his second-best number of the week.

With the win, Olson moves all the way up from spot No. 42 on the Order of Merit to eighth, giving him an opportunity to move into The Five next week at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship.

“I said earlier in the week when asked about my goals that I was trying to get into the top-10,” said the Pensacola, FL native. “This win does that, but by no means am I secure, so I need to go have a good week next week and see where things stack up.”

Olson, entering the day two-strokes behind Pereira, made his move during the first half of the round, making birdie on hole Nos. 3 and 5 before three in a row from Nos. 8-10 put himself in a tie at the top of the leaderboard.

It wasn’t until Pereira made bogey on No. 14, just his third blemish of the week, that Olson possessed a solo lead.

“I had been in a pretty good spot last year with nine holes to play and didn’t finish it off, so this time I didn’t look at many boards,” said Olson. “I would see my name at the top but wouldn’t look at any scores, I just knew I was doing the right things and stuck to what I was doing.”

With Pereira making birdie on 17 and Olson already having signed for a share of the lead, the 27-year-old watched on as Pereira, who won earlier this season at the ATB Financial Classic, got up-and-down for par on the 72^nd hole to send the two players back to the 18^th tee.

With both players safely in the fairway, Pereira hit first, knocking his shot onto the back-left fringe, about 35-feet away from the pin. While Olson put his approach in the greenside bunker, he left himself with lots of green to work with, playing his third to eight feet.

Olson calmly knocked in his putt, and with Pereira unable to get his down in two, claimed his first win on a PGA TOUR sanctioned tour.

“It’s unbelievably hard (to win). This Tour is filled with so many good players, so many Web guys can’t even get into events up here,” said Olson, who made two cuts on the Web.com Tour in 2016. “I was lucky enough to come up here and play a full season, but the caliber is so high, everyone is getting better and, with Q-school around the corner, no matter what, if you compete on this Tour you’re playing good golf.”

Meanwhile, Michael Gligic locked up the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Week award for the second consecutive event, and third time of the year.

At next week’s Freedom 55 Financial Championship, the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year will be named. Last year, Jared du Toit won the award as the top ranked Canadian on the money list, claiming the $25,000 prize.

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Justin Rose could sense the sky getting a little darker, the wind a little cooler and more brisk. Every shot means so much this time of the year, and the last two holes Saturday at the BMW Championship might mean even more.

Rose saved par from an awkward stance with his golf ball in the thick grass on the slope of a bunker. Xander Schauffele left a long putt from the tightly mown collar on the 18th green 8 feet sho–rt, and his par putt from there caught the high side of the cup and spun away.

When the third round ended, Rose had a 6-under 64 – six birdies on the front, all pars on the back – for a one-shot lead over Schauffele and Rory McIlroy going into the final round at Aronimink, a course so soft from rain than the average score from 69 players over three rounds was 67.5

At stake is chance for Rose to reach No. 1 in the world for the first time with his third title in the Philadelphia area, including his U.S. Open at Merion five years ago.

Jordan Spieth was projected to fall just outside the top 30 in the FedEx Cup, which would mean missing the Tour Championship and getting some form of penalty from the PGA Tour because of his schedule. He would have one more day to change that.

The question lingering amid the clouds: Would there be another round?

Rose tried not to think about it.

“It was definitely in the back of your mind,” he said. “You could start to feel the weather coming in and getting darker. Kind of had the feel there’s some big weather coming. I said to my caddie, ‘How about tomorrow?’ Just got to get through today.”

Starting times were moved up to 7 a.m. Sunday with hopes that the heavy rain stays away, and that the final round can get in. The forecast has a small window Monday morning if needed. If the rain is relentless, there’s a chance of a 54-hole tournament, which has happened only once in the 11 years of the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Rose was at 17-under 193, and 13 players were within five shots of the lead. That included Tiger Woods, who missed only two greens in regulation, kept a clean card, shot 66 and let a good round get away. That’s how much of a pushover Aronimink has been this week. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., jumped into a tie for 26th after a 7-under 63 to put him at 9 under.

McIlroy also had a 63 with a double bogey, though he bounced back from that on the very next hole with a 3-wood that barely moved forward when it hit the green, caught the slope of a ridge and left a short eagle putt he converted.

“I’ll be ready to play. I’ll be ready to go. I hope we play,” McIlroy said. “I feel like my game is in good shape and I’d love to get another crack at it out there and have a chance to take the lead. Maybe that chance won’t happen until Monday if it goes to that and the good thing is we don’t have a tournament next week.”

Rose made four straight birdies early on the front nine to quickly erase a two-shot deficit to Schauffele, and he finished the front nine birdie-birdie for a 29.

Schauffele, hopeful that a victory will give U.S. captain Jim Furyk reason to pick him for the Ryder Cup, stayed with Rose the whole way until his lone bogey on the 18th for a 67.

“Still have a good chance tomorrow,” Schauffele said.

Spieth salvaged his round late again for a 66. He has never missed the Tour Championship, and he likely would face some form of penalty for not having added a new tournament to his schedule without competing in at least 25 events. He needs to be at East Lake to reach 25.

Keegan Bradley made two tough pars for a 66 and narrowly edged past Spieth for the 30th spot. For someone like Bradley, getting to the Tour Championship would get him into all four majors next year.

Scoring was the lowest it has been all week at 67.17. Only six players from the 69-man field were over par, and there was a 62 for the third straight round. Tommy Fleetwood has two of them, Friday and Saturday. After opening with a 71, Fleetwood goes into the final round just two shots behind.

So does Rickie Fowler, despite a bogey on the final hole for a 65. Fowler played in the final group at Aronimink in 2011 when it held the AT&T National, though he faded to a tie for 13th. He is trying to win for the first this year.

For Woods, it was another lost opportunity, even though he remains in the mix. He opened with two straight birdies and the crowd was on his side, loud as ever. He followed with 11 straight pars, even though he had chances from 15 feet and closer.

“I hit the ball well enough to shoot a low score and I got off to a quick start,” Woods said. “I was looking up on the board and everyone seemed like they were 3 under through eight, 5 under through 9. I was only 2-under par. I wasn’t doing much.”

It was the 17th time Woods had a 54-hole score of 198 or lower. The previous 16 times he was either leading or tied for second. At Aronimink, he was tied for 11th.