Bryson DeChambeau is a physics major with a unique approach to golf, and a set of irons all cut to the same length.

There is also the Ben Hogan-style cap the SMU senior wears when he plays, and the rare distinction that added him to a group of elite golfers: Jack Nicklaus, Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods and Ryan Moore.

“I’ve been practicing my whole life for something like this, and to be able to finally do something history-worthy, I guess you could say is incredible,” said DeChambeau, only the fifth golfer to win both the U.S. Amateur and NCAA individual titles in the same year.

All with a swing of his own developed over years of experimentation since his coach, Mike Schy, threw the book “The Golfing Machine” at a then-15-year-old with the goal of being the best ball-striker in the world.

“It was a really difficult read, it was a college textbook, it was a foreign language to me,” DeChambeau said. “But after a couple of years of guidance from Mike, we came up with a single-plane swing … it’s called zero-shifting motion, more technically, and it’s helped me become the player I am today.”

DeChambeau explained that the book showed 24 components to a swing, with about 144 variations throughout those components. He picked a specific set of variations to come up with his swing.

That swing is then repeated over and over since all of DeChambeau’s iron shafts are about 37 1-2 inches long with differently weighted heads That allows him to consistently use the same motion, whether hitting a long iron or a pitch shot.

“I’m able to keep my posture the same, the swing is relatively the same, and it’s a lot easier to control the clubface because they’re relatively the same swing speed,” he said. “I have a very good guestimate … I’ve been able to understand how far I can hit it through those repetitions.”

DeChambeau last month won 7 and 6 over Virginia junior Derek Bard in the 36-hole final at Olympia Fields to claim the U.S. Amateur title. DeChambeau started the summer with a one-stroke victory over Washington’s Pan Cheng-Tsung for the NCAA individual title.

“I believe in myself that I can pull the shots off at any given point in time,” DeChambeau said.

This weekend, days before his 22nd birthday, he is in England with the U.S. team in the Walker Cup for match play against a team of players from Britain and Ireland.

After that, DeChambeau plans to stay in school to finish work on his major and expects to play his final season with the Mustangs. As amateur champion, he would receive invitations to play next year in the Masters, the U.S. Open and the British Open.

The California native said he feels no pressure to turn pro right now, even while going to college in the hometown of 22-year-old Jordan Spieth, the Masters and U.S. Open champion.

“He’s different than me, so we all have our individual ways to get there. I’m going my route,” DeChambeau said. “I’m not thinking about the future. I’m thinking about right now, and what I can do not only for my school, but my country.”

With his own swing and same-sized irons.

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, France – Lexi Thompson played a four-hole stretch in 5 under and finished with a 5-under 66 on Thursday in the Evian Championship for a share of the lead with Mi Hyang Lee.

The 20-year-old Thompson began her run with a birdie on the par-4 12th, hit a 7-iron to 20 feet to set up an eagle on the par-5 13th, and added birdies on the par-3 14th and par-5 15th. She parred the final 12 holes in her bogey-free morning round in the major championship.

“It feels great to have a stretch of holes like that,” Thompson said. “But you just have to take one shot at a time and not get ahead of yourself because, I mean, shots can get away from you out here. If you hit it in the rough, the rough’s pretty thick.”

Thompson won the Kraft Nabisco last year for her first major title, and took the Meijer Classic in July for her fifth career title. She has three top-10 finishes in her last five starts, and will play in the Solheim Cup matches next week in Germany against Europe.

“Obviously, Solheim Cup was my No. 1 goal to be on that team to represent my country, so I’m very happy to be going to Germany next week,” Thompson said. “But you have to focus on this week being the last major here at the Evian Championship.”

Lee, from South Korea, had seven birdies and two bogeys at the picturesque resort above Lake Geneva.

Gerina Piller, Thompson’s U.S. Solheim Cup teammate, was a stroke back along with South Korea’s Eun-Hee Ji and Thailand’s Pornanong Phatlum.

Piller had eight birdies and four bogeys.

“There are just some spots on this course you cannot get in,” Piller said.

Karrie Webb had a 71, and top-ranked Inbee Park opened with a 72.

Webb is attempting to win her sixth different major championship, and Park is trying to join Webb with a record five. Park has two major victories this year – the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship and Ricoh Women’s British Open – and four overall titles. Webb and Park won the event before it became a major, Webb in 2006 and Park in 2012.

Second-ranked Lydia Ko, playing alongside Park and No. 3 Stacy Lewis, had a 69.

The New Zealander was impressed with Thompson’s round.

“I saw her score. I kind of realized it was going pretty low, especially at the start of the round and she was only a couple of groups in front of us,” Ko said. “I was on the par-3 14th or something, and that was only her fifth hole of the day. And I saw her to my left, and it showed her scorecard. I saw some birdies, some eagles, so that’s a pretty consistent scorecard there.”

Lewis shot a 73.

Defending champion South Korea’s Hyo Joo Kim also had a 73. Last year, she opened with a major-record 61 and went on to beat Webb by a stroke.

Michelle Wie shot a 75. Sporting multicolored hair and high-top pink shoes, she’s fighting a slow-healing left ankle injury.

On her 18th birthday, Smiths Falls, Ont., native Brooke Henderson tallied two birdies across the back nine to finish with a share of 17th at 1-under 70. Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., shot a first-round 4-over 75 and sits T80.

Mackenzie Hughes knows a thing or two about what it takes to be the top Canadian on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, and it’s not easy.

In 2013, Hughes turned a win and three other top-10s into the Order of Merit title and the Freedom 55 Financial Canadian Player of the Year award. At next week’s Freedom 55 Financial Championship, he’ll be one of the contenders for the honour once again, and with a beefed-up $25,000 prize on the line, even more is at stake.

“There were guys like Nick Taylor out here that year,” Hughes points out, “so that’s pretty cool to look back on and say I was the top Canadian for that year.”

Hughes sits 13th on the Order of Merit through 10 of 12 events, seventh among Canadians and within $18,362 of Albin Choi, the current top Canadian at No. 3.

“With the talent this year as far as Canadian players, it would be huge,” says Hughes.

There’s plenty on the line for every player next week in London, with the top five players on the Order of Merit earning status on the Web.com Tour and a $200,000 purse ($37,000 winner’s share). Only the top 60 players on the Order of Merit through this week’s Cape Breton Celtic Classic will earn a spot in the field at Highland Country Club, making the event a who’s-who of the Mackenzie Tour.

“It’s definitely going to have a little more importance to it, being that it’s only 60 guys,” says Hughes. “We know what we’re playing for, and it’s a nice reward to play for. It will be a fun week with a lot riding on it.”

For Canadian players, however, the stakes are even higher.

“Being the top Canadian with so many good Canadian players out here, I think it means a lot. It would be a big personal accomplishment,” says Choi, who notched a win earlier this year at the Bayview Place Island Savings Open and a co-runner-up finish at The Great Waterway Classic.

“It’s been a long and exciting year, and to cap it all off in London, I think we’re all looking forward to it. It’s going to be a big event for all 60 players,” Choi says.

The enhanced prize for top Canadian is part of Freedom 55 Financial’s commitment to Canadian golf this year, which includes the enhanced purse for the season-ending event, a $2,500 from the Canadian Player of the Week at each Mackenzie Tour event, and sponsorship of Team Freedom, a squad of Mackenzie Tour pros including Hughes, Choi, Taylor Pendrith, Matt Hill and Adam Svensson.

“What it’s allowed me to do is kind go after my goals and dreams with a little more freedom, so to speak,” says Hughes of the partnership. So far, the Team has been a squad of contenders this year, combining for 11 top-10s, including Choi’s win and two runners-up apiece for Svensson and Pendrith.

“Their support means a lot to me, and for the other guys that have the Freedom logo on their collar, hopefully the Freedom guys can play well and have a chance in London,” says Choi.

Including the five members of Team Freedom, 18 Canadians are inside the top 60 and in position to qualify for next week’s season-ending event. Each one of them still has a chance to become the top Canadian, and with so much on the line, you can expect a fight to the finish next week in London.

The Thames Valley Children’s Centre (TVCC) is the official charitable beneficiary of the Freedom 55 Financial Championship. Fifty-five per cent of ticket proceeds will go towards the wide range of services provided to more than 8000 children, youth and their families through the organization’s London Centre and its 15 regional office locations across Southwestern Ontario. Clients range in age from birth to 19 with services supporting a range of special needs including physical disabilities, communication disorders, developmental delays and autism spectrum disorders.

Children aged 17-and-under get in free all week at the Freedom 55 Financial Championship. Free junior tickets are available for download here. Additional details, including ticket information, can be found at www.freedom55financialchampionship.com.

OTTAWA, Ont. – The world’s top female junior golfers will gather in Ottawa for the second playing of the World Junior Girls Championship from September 20-25 at The Marshes Golf Club. Six Canadians will represent the host nation in team and individual competition as Canada vies for the title of World Junior Girls champion.

“The Marshes Golf Club is in great shape and we are excited to once again bring the world’s talented players to Canada,” said Tournament Director Mary Beth McKenna. “It is a true honour to be selected to represent your country and we know that all the athletes from across the globe will want to perform their best in this event.”

Grace St-Germain of Orleans, Ont., will return to the competition looking to improve upon Team Canada’s third-place result in 2014. The national team Development Squad member has had a banner year in 2015. St-Germain tallied a third-place result at the Golf Quebec Junior Spring Open before beginning Golf Canada’s championship season with a victory at the CN Future Links Pacific Championship. The 17-year-old repeated as the Golf Association of Ontario’s Junior Girls’ Match Play champion and closed the campaign with victories at the Canadian Junior Golf Association (CJGA) Mizuno National Junior Golf Championship and the Graham Cooke Junior Invitational – it was her third consecutive victory at the tournament named after the Canadian Golf Hall of Famer.

Playing alongside St-Germain is Hannah Lee of Surrey, B.C. The 15-year-old has demonstrated a great deal of consistency this summer, finishing runner-up at the British Columbia Juvenile Championships, third at the B.C. Junior Girls and T7 at the B.C. Women’s Amateur. She captured the 16-and-under Juvenile Division at the 2015 Canadian Junior Girls Championship and finished second overall in the national championship. The lessons she learned this summer culminated in Lee claiming the gold medal in the girls’ competition at the 2015 Western Canada Summer Games in Wood Buffalo, Alta.

Rounding-out the Team One contingent is 14-year-old Tiffany Kong. The Vancouver native’s second-place standing at the Maple Leaf Junior Golf Tour (MJT) Season Opener began a string of six events where she finished no lower than a tie for sixth-place. Kong finished fourth at the B.C. Junior Girls before capturing the silver medal in the individual competition at the Western Canada Summer Games. The highlight of Kong’s season would come at The Vancouver Golf Club in Coquitlam, B.C., where she competed in the 2015 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open after earning a spot through the Monday Qualifier.

As the host nation, Canada will field two teams in the World Junior Girls Championship. Euna Han of Coquitlam, B.C., will be a member of Canada’s second team in the competition. The 13-year-old notched five top-six finishes this summer, including a runner-up result at the MJT Odlum Brown Classic-PGA of BC Junior Championship, a third-place finish in the juvenile division of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship and a T6 at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship.

Alisha Lau will play in the World Junior Girls Championship for a second time. The product of Richmond, B.C., emerged victorious at the 2015 CN Future Links Prairie Championship at Cooke Municipal Golf Course in Prince Albert, Sask., and finished tied for third at the B.C. Women’s Amateur Championship. Lau claimed the bronze medal at the Western Canada Summer Games to complete a sweep of the podium for Team B.C. The trio of Lee, Kong and Lau’s combined score of 435 over two rounds earned them gold in the team competition – 58 strokes clear of second-place.

Completing the second team will be fellow British Columbian Kathrine Chan of Richmond. The 15-year-old’s 11^th place standing at the B.C. Junior Girls Championship was her lowest result this season. Chan finished second in the juvenile division of the Canadian Junior Girls Championship and fourth overall while also registering a T5 finish at the B.C. Juvenile Championships.

“These six athletes have been selected to represent Canada based on some fantastic results achieved throughout the season,” said Jeff Thompson, Golf Canada’s Chief Sport Officer. “The growth that these players have shown this year is a direct result of the support they have received from their home clubs, their skilled coaches and the provincial golf associations.”

Thompson credited the strength of competition in Canada as being a key component in the development of these players.

“The performances of Canada’s junior female athletes have been very strong this year. While that level of competition has made this selection process far from simple, it has provided excellent opportunities for the players to hone their skills against Canada’s best. The wealth of resources available to our athletes, beginning at the grassroots level and extending to the provincial and national levels, has resulted in a tremendous amount of golfing talent across the nation. We look forward to seeing this group proudly represent all of Canada as they learn and grow on the international stage.”

National team Development Squad women’s coach Ann Carroll will return to lead the Canadian teams in the competition. Assisting her will be Mike Martz, coach of the New Competitors team at the Golf Performance Centre at Whistle Bear.

Conducted by Golf Canada in partnership with the Golf Association of Ontario and supported by the International Golf Federation, the 2015 edition of the World Junior Girls Championship will take place in Ontario for a second consecutive year. The inaugural tournament in 2014 was held at Angus Glen Golf Club in Markham, Ont., where Team USA claimed team honours and Beverly Hills, Calif., native Mika Liu finished atop the leaderboard in individual competition.

In addition to the 72-hole team and individual competitions, the World Junior Girls Championship will be a celebration of the sport with a specific focus on the growth and development of the game. Golf Canada will host a Canadian Sport Institute Ontario (CSIO) coaching summit and a girls’ skill development clinic in the lead-up to the tournament.

Additional information regarding the 2015 World Junior Girls Championship can be found on the competition’s website.

PARIS – Serena Williams isn’t the only woman in sight of a Grand Slam this weekend.

Inbee Park can achieve a career Grand Slam in golf by winning the Evian Championship starting on Thursday near the French Alps.

Park won the Evian on the edge of Lake Geneva in 2012, but it came a year before the U.S. LPGA Tour made it the fifth and final major on its calendar.

To mark the occasion, the tour has gone into hyperbole. When Park won the Women’s British Open last month, becoming the seventh woman to win four different majors, the tour called that the “career Grand Slam.” Adding the Evian will give her a “Super Career Grand Slam.”

Regardless of how it’s described, Park says it’s already been a great year.

Such has been her dominant form that she has already wrapped up the Rolex Annika Major Award, which rewards the player with the best record in the five majors. Even if she misses the Evian cut, she has an unassailable lead in the standings and will succeed Michelle Wie, who won the inaugural award last year.

Park has won six of the last 14 majors. She has seven to her name, and two this year. And her appetite for them hasn’t dimmed.

“I’ve got my name on every major championship trophy, but I won Evian before it became a major,” the South Korean said. “So it would be really good to win it again this year.”

The other major winners this year were Brittany Lincicome and In Gee Chun.

Still with a shot at becoming the youngest major winner is 18-year-old Lydia Ko of New Zealand.

The No. 2-ranked Ko, who tied for third at the British Open, had her confidence boosted by victory at the Canadian Pacific Open, where she claimed her third title of the year.

Hyo-Joo Kim of South Korea, who came from a shot back on the last hole to beat Karrie Webb by one shot last year, will be trying to win a second straight Evian, a feat nobody has achieved since it became an official tour event 15 years ago.

The tournament at Evian Resort will also serve as a final outing for the U.S. and European Solheim Cup teams, who will square off at the match-play competition next week in St. Leon-Rot, Germany.

“Certainly, it’s been in the front of everyone’s mind here with a huge major championship, the last one of the year, and then going next week with both teams playing here, it’s certainly something that people are talking about,” said American Morgan Pressel, the youngest major champion in tour history. “At the end of the day, if I can play well this week, that gives me a lot of confidence going into next week.”

Phil Mickelson kept alive a streak and earned a footnote in Presidents Cup history Tuesday when he was selected to play on his 21st consecutive U.S. team.

Mickelson was No. 30 in the standings, the lowest of any player to be a captain’s pick.

U.S. captain Jay Haas also took his son, Bill Haas, though that was expected. Bill Haas won his sixth PGA Tour title this year, finished one shot out of a playoff at The Players Championship and was 11th in the standings. His father said he intended to take No. 11 regardless of who it was.

International captain Nick Price selected Steven Bowditch of Australia, who missed qualifying by less than one-hundredth of an average world ranking point, and Sang-moon Bae of South Korea, which attracted the most attention.

The Presidents Cup is Oct. 8-11 in South Korea, the first time it has been held in Asia.

Bae has been ordered to start his mandatory two-year military service in South Korea when he returns home. Price said he has been told that Bae, who won the season-opening Frys.com Open last October, will be able to first play in the Presidents Cup.

Jay Haas said he leaned on his assistant captains and players who already were assured of a spot on the team.

“I am so honored to be on this team,” Mickelson said. “And to have it come from input from so many players and assistant captains wanting me to be on the team means a lot to me that I couldn’t put it into words. It’s just a very special honor to be on the team.”

Mickelson has gone two years since his last victory in the 2013 British Open, and at No. 51 in the FedEx Cup, he risks not making it to the Tour Championship for the second straight year. He was planning to skip the BMW Championship next week north of Chicago if he was not chosen for the Presidents Cup team.

Tiger Woods in 2011 previously was the lowest-ranked player to be a captain’s pick. He was No. 29 when Fred Couples took him to Royal Melbourne, and Woods wound up delivering the decisive point.

The announcement Tuesday afternoon was more compelling than any of the golf that has been played in recent years at the Presidents Cup.

The Americans have not lost since 1998 in Australia – there was a tie in South Africa in 2003 – and leads the series 8-1-1 having won the last five times. The Presidents Cup dates to 1994, the first U.S. team for Mickelson as a pro. That was the only year Mickelson had to rely on being a captain’s pick. The other captain’s pick for the inaugural matches? Jay Haas.

“If anyone deserves a pick, it’s Phil Mickelson,” Jay Haas said. “He is without question the leader of our team in the team room, on the golf course. I think the guys trust him 100 percent. The guys on the team were adamant that Phil is the guy, and I think between the captains and team members, Phil was an overwhelming choice to be a pick.”

Among those with experience that Haas skipped over to take Mickelson were J.B. Holmes, Brandt Snedeker, Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley and Hunter Mahan. No one had been playing well leading up to the final day of qualifying, including Brooks Koepka, who was under consideration. He missed the cut in both FedEx Cup playoff events.

Bill Haas had a chance to win the Wyndham Championship, but he went flat the last few weeks in a grind to make the team and play for his father.

“I couldn’t sleep last night,” said Haas, who is on a family vacation with his father. “The last few weeks, I really, really wanted to make the team outright. I can’t even explain how I was feeling on the golf course. It just showed how much I wanted it.”

Bae was at No. 20 in the International standings, and his selection gives Price a pair of South Korean-born players. Danny Lee is the other, though he grew up in New Zealand and plays under the Kiwi flag.

Bae had deferred his military service while playing the PGA Tour, but the military said he spent too much time at home last year and denied another deferral. Bae appealed the decision, but the military courts ruled against him six weeks ago.

“I think he’s had a really tough time,” Price said. “His military service has been a cause for concern and it hasn’t allowed him to play his best. But I think once he’s made the decision, he’s played a lot better.”

One other aspect played into Bae’s favor. He has won twice on the Jack Nicklaus Golf Course in Incheon, where the matches will be played.

WALLACE, N.S. – The first of two Golf Canada Performance Camps this year was conducted on Sept. 6–7 at the Fox Harb’r Resort in Wallace, N.S., as part of an initiative to support the growth and development of Canada’s next generation of junior golfers.

The Performance Camps, now in their fourth year, are conducted by Golf Canada in conjunction with the provincial associations to address the talent of budding athletes across the country—in this case, Atlantic Canada. Team Canada’s Lead Development Squad Coach, Robert Ratcliffe, has been at the helm of the project since the first camp was conducted in 2012.

“Each year, these camps provide great insight into the skill levels of some of Canada’s best young players,” said the PGA of Canada Class ‘A’ member. “We hope to help provide some guidance and information to assist them along the path to reaching their full potential.”

The Performance Camps have continued to adapt to best optimize the amount of time available between the athletes and PGA of Canada professionals on hand.

“We’re always looking at new ways of adjusting the itinerary to make the most of our time with the athletes,” said Ratcliffe, a Comox, B.C., native. “The coaches continue to make sure we collect valuable data while also providing one-on-one instruction and coaching.”

Supporting Ratcliffe at Fox Harb’r were four provincial coaches—all of whom are trained under the PGA of Canada’s Coach of Developing Competitor context. Together, they led over 30 participants through detailed training stations, which included FlightScope, Shot-by-Shot, uncommon short game and fitness tests. Those sessions were followed by in-depth performance analysis and one round of nine holes.

While the focus is on helping the athletes, the Performance Camps also serve as a means of talent identification for Team Canada’s High Performance programs. Each camp is concluded with a performance planning class that ends with insight into how to make Canada’s national squads.

The second and final Performance Camp of 2015 will be conducted at the Beauceville Golf Club in Québec from Sept. 18–19.

NORTON, Mass. – Ian Poulter and Kevin Chappell played together at the Deutsche Bank Championship, and their birdie putts on the par-5 second hole during the second round were significant mainly because of how they read the greens.

Both use AimPoint Express, only Poulter had to do without on this occasion. He was just under 20 feet away. Chappell was about 12 feet away, and his marker was in the line of where Poulter ordinarily would have straddled the line of his own putt to feel the slope of the green.

“I thought it may go right-to-left, but I couldn’t tell until I hit it that I picked the wrong line,” Poulter said.

Poulter has been using the method since January, joining a growing list of players that includes Adam Scott, Stacy Lewis and Hunter Mahan. It has become so popular that the R&A and USGA published a joint statement at the start of the year that cautioned players of one pitfall.

One part of AimPoint Express is to pick an area halfway toward the hole where the feet can feel the slope (and from there players will hold up one or two fingers to help them figure out where to start the putt).

Rule 16-1a, however, makes it illegal for players to touch the line of their putts, which is defined as the line players want their balls to take and includes a “reasonable distance on either side of the intended line.”

The European Tour went so far as to post a video explaining how the rule can be breeched if players are not careful. The variance of the line will be greater on longer putts than the shorter ones. No one is believed to have been penalized yet (two-stroke penalty or loss of hole in match play).

“You can’t stand in your own line, but your own line is vague,” Chappell said. “When it first became big, it came up. They were going to try to outlaw it a few years ago, and then it became like, `OK, your line from 4 feet is much smaller and precise than your line from 40 feet.’ But it would be pretty hard to stand in your line from 40 feet and have them prove you have an advantage.

“I haven’t been warned, but I’ve had discussions about it.”

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FINAL MAJOR: The Evian Masters this week in France is the fifth and final major on the LPGA Tour schedule, and it presents another opportunity for an unprecedented feat. Only it doesn’t involve Inbee Park.

Park won the Women’s British Open last month at Turnberry for her fourth different major, and now she goes after the career Grand Slam (all five majors) at Evian.

But she wouldn’t be the first woman to do that.

Karrie Webb won her first major at the du Maurier Classic outside Calgary in 1999, and she wrapped up the career Grand Slam over the next two years (Kraft Nabisco, U.S. Women’s Open, LPGA Championship). But when tobacco sponsorship became an issue, the du Maurier was replaced by the Women’s British Open, and Webb won that (at Turnberry) in 2002. That gave her what the LPGA referred to at the time as the “Super Slam.”

If the Australian can win the Evian Masters for a career Grand Slam of six majors, the LPGA may as well called it the Karrie Slam.

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THE SHORT FUSE: Anyone who plays golf at any level has a story about a short temper or a thrown club.

That includes Jordan Spieth, who spoke before the Deutsche Bank Championship about working with his coach, Cameron McCormick, to turn a short fuse into a longer one. And it led to a story about what he considers his shortest fuse in any sport at any age.

It was golf, of course. He was 11.

He told of slamming his putter into his bag and when he took it out on the next hole, he noticed it was bent. What he didn’t know was Rule 4-3b on using a club that has been damaged other than the normal course of play.

“I think I made three birdies in the last six holes with a bent putter, and I was so excited about it,” Spieth said. “I was telling my dad after the round, `Look, I bent my putter, I finished with three birdies, I’m still in this thing.'”

He said his father called the assistant pro at the club – without Spieth’s knowledge – and the next day, Spieth was invited into his office.

“And they opened the rule book and it showed disqualification,” Spieth said. “I was just absolutely torn apart.”

He said that remains his only disqualification. But he’s still working on the fuse.

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LONG YEAR: Carlos Ortiz of Mexico finished his rookie year on the PGA Tour sooner than he wanted after a season that felt much longer than he imagined. The 24-year-old from Guadalajara can’t recall playing so much golf in his life. The Deutsche Bank Championship was his 30th event.

“I thought it was bad in college,” Ortiz said of his schedule. “I played seven weeks in a row. It’s too much. It becomes work. Hopefully, next year I can play better and have more breaks.”

He fell into the same trap of so many rookies who need a week off but are concerned about their position in the FedEx Cup or money list. As long as they’re at home, they are giving up a chance at points or money.

Ortiz didn’t miss a cut in four starts last fall, and he tied for ninth in Mexico. But his Fedex Cup standing fell out of the top 100 in the summer and he kept playing until he began the playoffs at No. 112 and needed a good week at The Barclays to advance. He was in good shape going into the final round until he opened with a quadruple-bogey 8.

“One of the worst experiences of my life,” Ortiz said. “I wanted to cry.”

Instead, he bounced back to play the rest of the round in 1 under and made it to the TPC Boston. This time, he wasn’t so fortunate. Ortiz made four straight birdies early in the final round to get inside the projected top 70, only to make triple bogey at No. 9 and shoot 41 on the back nine for a 76. He had the look of a tired golfer.

Next year might not be much easier. Ortiz is likely to make the Olympic team for Mexico.

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DIVOTS: Now that the LPGA has gone through the inaugural Crown International, it is moving back the dates to qualify so the cutoff is closer to when the event is played. The eight countries will be determined by the world ranking after the first LPGA major of the year at the ANA Inspiration. The four players who qualify for each team will be determined after the second major in June at the KPMG Women’s PGA Championship. The tournament will be July 19-24 at Rich Harvest Farms southwest of Chicago. … Keegan Bradley closed with a 69 to narrowly advance to the third FedEx Cup playoff event. That wasn’t the only reason to celebrate. He got engaged at the start of the week to Jillian Stacey.

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STAT OF THE WEEK: The 54-hole leader has failed to win the last six years at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

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FINAL WORD: “Nothing is different. I don’t feel it’s far off, even though my score is far off. It’s just weird. It’s almost like a bad dream. I just need to wake up and get the putts to go in again.” – Jordan Spieth after missing back-to-back cuts for the first time in his career.

NEW DELHI – Anirban Lahiri and Thongchai Jaidee hope their milestones as the first golfers from India and Thailand to be picked for the Presidents Cup inspire kids in their countries.

They qualified on their world rankings, making the top 10 automatically on the International team.

Lahiri, who tied for fifth at the U.S. PGA Championship, was ranked 40th, and Thongchai 44th.

Thongchai, the playing captain for Team Asia in a 10-10 draw with Team Europe in the inaugural EurAsia Cup last year, was looking forward to their participation in the tournament in Incheon, South Korea, next month boosting golf’s popularity in Asia.

“It can help the other young Asian players,” he said. “When they see that I can get into the team, then they, too, will aim for it.”

Golf news is generally buried in the Indian media, unless it’s a home event or an Indian does well. Only in recent years have the majors received prominent attention.

Lahiri said he grew up watching team events such as the Ryder Cup, and was thankful he had something like the Presidents Cup to aim for.

“It’ll be a massive boost for golf in the region,” Lahiri said. “You get so many eyeballs, and everybody in America will be watching.

“To be a part of something historic like that is extremely special. All I want to do is make sure that I get a point for the International team.”

Asian Tour chairman Kyi Hla Han said he was delighted with Lahiri and Thongchai.

“We expect them to contribute immensely toward the International team’s attempt to regain the Presidents Cup, but ultimately, their presence will boost the development of the game across Asia,” he said. “Young golfers will have another reason to aspire for the top, and with Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama also in the team, it proves that Asian golf has grown in stature and strength.”

NORTON, Mass. – Four months ago, the question was whether Rickie Fowler was winning as much as he should.

Three victories later, no one can question how he wins.

At The Players Championship, he finished birdie-eagle-birdie-birdie and then won a three-hole playoff over Sergio Garcia and Kevin Kisner. Two months later, he made birdie on three of the last four holes for a one-shot victory over Matt Kuchar and Raphael Jacquelin.

And in the Labor Day finish at the Deutsche Bank Championship, he was flawless on the back nine and rallied from a three-shot deficit to beat Henrik Stenson.

“It’s pretty special to fight it out like that,” Fowler said.

This time, he needed some help. Stenson led the entire round and never looked as though he was going to give Fowler an inch when he ended up giving him a mile on the par-3 16th hole. Stenson hit a towering 7-iron that he though was going to land in the middle of the green. Instead, it hit the front mounding, dropped down to the rocks and bounced into the water for a double bogey.

That effectively was the tournament.

Fowler, who made a 40-foot birdie putt on 14th to pull within one shot, suddenly was two shots ahead with two hole to play. And while he twice failed to convert birdie putts inside 10 feet over the final two holes, he didn’t have to make them. Stenson couldn’t catch him, Fowler closed with a 3-under 68 and a one-shot victory.

It moved him to No. 5 in the world and on the cusp of being part of this year’s “Big Three” – Jordan Spieth, Rory McIlroy and Rickie Fowler.

“They’ve clearly played the best out of anyone over the past few months to couple of years,” Fowler said. “So I’m trying to be a small fourth thrown in there. But there’s a lot of other really good young players playing well right now, as well.”

Spieth and Day each have four wins, all on the PGA Tour, and three of the four majors. McIlroy has three wins – Dubai, Match Play and the Wells Fargo Championship – and lost some momentum when he missed two months with an ankle injury.

Fowler hasn’t been as consistently good as the other three this year, though he made this much clear on the TPC Boston. Get him near the lead on the back nine, or at least in the final hour of a tournament, and he’s not going to back down.

What stood out from The Players, beyond his three birdies on the island-green 17th (two in a playoff) in one day, was his fearless and free swing when the pressure was at its peak. The 18th at the TPC Sawgrass is one of the toughest in golf, and Fowler split the middle twice in the final round.

Needing a birdie to win at Gullane No. 1 in the Scottish Open, he pounded his drive down the middle that set up birdie.

Clinging to a one-shot lead against Stenson on the par-5 18th, Fowler went with driver with a small margin of error because of the bunkers in the middle of the expansive fairway and trees to the left. He nailed it 341 yards, leaving him a 7-iron for his second shot.

“Luckily, there’s just enough room down there in the neck. I hit it perfect. I made a great swing,” Fowler said. “And it’s nice to be able to look back at The Players and the Scottish Open and remember the drives that I hit there to give me that little boost of confidence when I need it.”

Stenson lost as much as Fowler won.

Whether he had the wrong club (7-iron) or hit it poorly, he came up short and left on a hole with water short and left.

“I obviously pulled the wrong club on 16 and was trying to get the most out of a 7-iron into the wind and ballooned that one a little bit and that was the crucial mistake. Making double there was really a killer,” Stenson said. “I tried to get those two shots back or at least one to force a playoff on the last two holes and couldn’t manage to do it.”

Stenson now has finished runner-up in both FedEx Cup playoff events (he was six shots behind Day at The Barclays), and he has been runner-up four times this year.

The consolation was moving to No. 4 in the FedEx Cup behind Day, Spieth and Fowler, still in the mix for a $10 million bonus at the Tour Championship.

Also still in the running are Hunter Mahan and William McGirt, both moving into the top 70 in the standings to advance to the third playoff event in two weeks. Mahan tied for fourth and kept alive his streak of playing every FedEx Cup playoff event since the series began in 2007. McGirt holed out with a 7-iron for eagle on the 17th hole, and that was enough to extend his season.