PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Tall and fit with all those Instagram photos to prove it, long-hitting Lexi Thompson figured she might have an edge on the LPGA Championship’s new course.

She did.

Thompson and South Korea’s Meena Lee shot 6-under-66 on Thursday to share the first-round lead in the LPGA Tour’s fourth major championship of the season.

“It’s all about confidence,” Thompson said. “You just have to go into every shot just telling yourself you’re going to pull it off.”

Thompson, the Kraft Nabisco winner in April for her first major title, and Lee each made eight birdies and a pair of bogeys at Monroe Golf Club to finish a stroke ahead of ahead of Brittany Lincicome, Colombia’s Lisa McCloskey and Canadian rookie Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont.

Shanshan Feng of China, the tournament winner two years ago, was tied for sixth at 68 with 2010 champion Cristie Kerr.

Catriona Matthew of Scotland, runner-up a year ago to South Korea’s Inbee Park, was tied at 69 with seven other players. Park was at even-par 72, one shot better than Paula Creamer and Karrie Webb.

Top-ranked Stacy Lewis, a three-time winner this year, started on the back nine and birdied three of the first five holes, then faltered with three straight bogeys before the turn. She finished at 71.

Locust Hill had been LPGA’s host in the Rochester area for 37 straight years before the tour made the switch this year to nearby Monroe and moved the date from June to August. The Donald Ross-designed course is about 300 yards longer at 6,717 yards and does not have a single water hazard, but it does feature 106 bunkers, more than double the number at Locust Hill, and they’re deeper.

The par 3s are longer, too, at 183, 193 and 207 yards, but the wider fairways favor long hitters like Thompson, who led the LPGA coming in with an average of 271.2 yards off the tee. A course made soft by recent rain only made that edge even larger, as did a stiff wind.

“I would say it (driving) was an advantage,” said the 6-foot-1 Thompson, who had slumped in her previous four outings, missing one cut. “You just have to hit it straight. Doesn’t matter what club you’re hitting.”

Not a problem on a cool, cloudy, breezy day as the LPGA marks the end of its long run in the Rochester area. Thompson used driver on 14 holes and birdied all four par 5s. And she was accurate, hitting 10 of 14 fairways and reaching 16 of 18 greens in regulation. Consecutive three-putt bogeys on the back side were the only blemishes on a round that reached 7 under with a birdie on the par-5 14th hole.

Lincicome, whose best finish this year is a tie for 10th at the Airbus LPGA Classic in Alabama in May, had eight birdies and three bogeys and avoided any three-putt greens.

“I think, take today and just build,” Lincicome said. “I feel like I’ve been playing well. I’ve been doing a lot of really good things. It’s just not all coming together. I was hitting things to like a foot and just tapping them in. It was stress-free.”

Lee hit 12 of 14 fairways, reached 13 of 18 greens in regulation, and needed only 25 putts on the round.

“It’s very exciting, and then, well, it’s just (the) first day,” she said.

A year ago, Park survived the stress of a playoff to beat Matthew and start a three-tournament winning streak that also included victories in the Walmart NW Arkansas Championship and U.S. Women’s Open, her third straight major win of the season. She began defense of her title with a round that included just two birdies to go with two bogeys.

U.S. players have won the first three majors this year. Besides Thompson’s triumph in the Kraft Nabisco, Michelle Wie won the U.S. Women’s Open and Mo Martin surged to victory in the final round at the Women’s British Open.

The last time the first three majors in the LPGA were won by American players was in 1999, and not since 1992 have Americans won them all. A fifth major, the Evian Championship in France, was added last year.

Wie is not playing this tournament because of an injury to her right index finger, while Martin had to cope with a sore thumb and shot a 72 that included four birdies and four bogeys.

“I’m happy with it,” Martin said. “It was the first time I hit a lot of shots out there, so just learning how this course reacts, where to land my shots and where the prevailing winds are.”

Rookie Emma Jandel, who made the field when Wie withdrew, shot a 69.

“It’s a little different having cameras in your face, so I’m just kind of learning to put it all together,” said Jandel, who found out Monday morning she was playing. “I know I got the game.”

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Team Canada’s Corey Conners advanced to the U.S. Amateur quarterfinals Thursday, beating Spaniard Jon Rahm 3&1 at Atlanta Athletic Club.

A recent Kent State graduate, Conners led thru the first 12 holes before Rahm was able to square the match on No. 13. Conners would win holes 14, 15 and 17 to earn his victory.

Conners, a Listowel, Ont. native who is currently ranked as the No. 44 amateur in the world, finished as a semi-finalist at last year’s U.S. Amateur in Brookline, Mass. He also carries momentum from a successful summer which saw him capture the Jones Cup and place runner-up at the Men’s North & South Amateur Championship.

He now faces Zachary Olsen of Cordova, Tenn. Friday at 11:40am (EDT). Olsen is ranked 147th in the World Amateur Golf Rankings.

Follow scoring online here.

London, Ont. (Golf Canada) – Golf Canada in partnership with Canadian Pacific announced today the field of competitors set to challenge for the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open, August 18-24 at the London Hunt and Country Club in London, Ont.

In all, the 156 player field at London Hunt will feature nine of the top 10 players as well as 48 of the top 50 players and 96 of the top 100 on the current LPGA Tour Official Money List.

Two-time defending champion Lydia Ko headlines a field that includes LPGA stars Stacy Lewis, Inbee Park, Anna Nordqvist, Lexi Thompson, Suzann Pettersen, Paula Creamer, Cristie Kerr, Karrie Webb, Morgan Pressel, Ai Miyazato, Azahara Munoz, Brittany Lincicome, Shanshan Feng, So Yeon Ryu, Angela Stanford and Jessica Korda.

Other notables competing on exemptions include Team Canada members Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. and Jennifer Ha of Calgary as well European rising stars Charley Hull and Stephanie Meadow.

“We’re going to welcome one of the strongest fields on the LPGA Tour and together with our partners at Canadian Pacific, we are expecting the world’s best professional and amateur golfers to challenge for Canada’s National Women’s Open title,” said Canadian Pacific Women’s Open Tournament Director Brent McLaughlin.

The winner’s share of the $2.25 million USD purse for the 2014 Canadian Pacific Women’s Open will be $337,500 USD.

Eight Past Champions to Compete at London Hunt:
Eight of the event’s former champions will be competing at London Hunt including 17-year old two time defending champion Lydia Ko; Brittany Lincicome (2011); Suzann Pettersen (2009); Katherine Hull-Kirk (2008); Cristie Kerr (2006); Meena Lee (2005); Karrie Webb (1999); and Laura Davies (1996). Former champion and money list no. 2 Michelle Wie was forced to withdraw this past weekend with a hand injury.

14 Canadians including two Team Canada Members in the Field:
The current field includes 14 Canadians looking to become the first Canadian to win a LPGA Tour event on home soil since Canadian golf legend Jocelyne Bourassa’s historic victory in 1973 at La Canadienne Golf Championship. Leading the charge are LPGA Tour players Lorie Kane of Charlottetown, P.E.I., Alena Sharp of Hamilton, Ont., Rebecca Lee-Bentham of Richmond Hill, Ont., Jennifer Kirby of Paris, Ont. and Sue Kim of Langley, B.C. Other Canadian hopefuls include Maude-Aimee LeBlanc of Sherbrooke, Que., Sara-Maude Juneau of Fossambault, Que. Samantha Richdale of Kelowna, B.C., Nicole Vandermade of Brantford, Ont., Natalie Gleadall of Stratford, Ont., Erica Rivard of Tecumseh, Ont., and Jessica Wallace of Langley, B.C. Two members of Team Canada will also challenge the world’s best golfers including National Amateur Squad members Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., and Jennifer Ha of Calgary.

Click here for the full field

Final Four Spots Available Through Monday Qualifier:
Four additional spots into the field will be determined on Monday, August 18^th at the Canadian Pacific Women’s Open Monday Qualifier at Sunningdale Golf and Country Club.

CP Birdies for Heart:
As an added incentive, title sponsor CP has stepped up to encourage players to make birdies on the 17^th Green during tournament play by offering to donate $5,000 for each birdie made to the Children’s Health Foundation in support of paediatric heart health programs. CP Birdies for Heart is one of the fundraising activities taking place at CP Women’s Open, with all proceeds going to Children’s Health Foundation to support cardiac research and care of children with congenital heart disease from London and across Southwestern Ontario.

To date, CP has committed $550,000 to Children’s Health Foundation, through the CP Ticket Rally for Heart where CP donated at least $100 per eligible ticket sold through August 17, 2014. More fundraising activities will be in play throughout the tournament, with opportunities for spectators to chip in for children’s heart health.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Team Canada’s Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont. has advanced to Thursday afternoon’s Round of 16 at the U.S. Amateur at Atlanta Athletic Club.

Conners, 22, defeated Jesse Heinly of Bend, Ore., winning 4&3. The recent Kent State graduate went on a run early after the 4^th hole, building a 4-up advantage through the next seven holes. Conners kept his foot on the pedal, closing the match out on the 15^th.

Conners is looking to mirror the success of last year’s U.S. Amateur in Brookline, Mass., where he finished as a semi-finalist. He also carries the momentum from a successful summer which saw him capture the Jones Cup and place runner-up at the Men’s North & South Amateur Championship. The world’s no. 44 ranked amateur who is seeded 31st this week will face 50^th seed John Rahm of Spain this afternoon at 2:10 pm EDT.

Team Canada teammate, Garrett Rank, fell in his round of 32 match to Kyle Jones of Taylor, Ariz. The match was all-square after 10 holes, but Jones won three consecutive holes after that and did not look back, winning 2&1.

Click here for scoring.

Garrett Rank (USGA)

CALGARY— Calgary’s Stephen Ames has confirmed he will tee-it-up in his own backyard at the Champions Tour’s 2014 Shaw Charity Classic, August 27-31.

Ames, who became eligible to play on the Champions Tour after turning 50 on April 28, 2014, will make his second start on the senior circuit, and first in the tournament he helped bring to Calgary one year ago. Ames is part of six-person philanthropic Patron Group who has backed the award-winning tournament that doled out a record-setting charitable donation for youth-based charities in southern Alberta in its inaugural year.

“I am thrilled to have the opportunity to tee it up at home here in Calgary for the Shaw Charity Classic,” said Ames. “Many of us worked very hard for a long time to bring an event of this caliber to this market.  It will be truly satisfying for me to finally get a chance to compete in front of my friends and family.”

Ames, who has played 21 seasons on the PGA Tour, made his Champions Tour debut earlier this year at the Senior PGA Championship where he finished tied for 15th.

“I absolutely loved it,” said Ames of his lone Champions Tour start. “The guys on the Champions Tour very much mean business and are very competitive. There are a lot of career wins out here, but everyone remains very driven and has an appreciation for the work they have put in to get to this stage of their career. One thing that never leaves any of us is that we still want to play well. We still want to win. I would take great pride in doing both in Calgary.”

One of Canada’s most renowned golfers, Ames is no stranger to the winner’s circle having captured four PGA Tour victories during his illustrious career where he has racked up nearly $20 million in earnings. The longtime Calgary resident has finished in the top-10 58 times, and is recognized most for his dominant win at The Players Championship at TPC Sawgrass in 2006.

“Stephen has played a key role in helping the Patron Group bring the Champions Tour back to Calgary last year, and to have him compete in this event at home, will be a real treat for our spectators,” said Sean Van Kesteren, tournament director, Shaw Charity Classic. “Stephen is a big-time player, and one of the best ball strikers on the PGA Tour. Having him in the field playing in front of his fellow-Calgarians will make this year’s tournament extra special.”

It promises to be a memorable week, both on and off the golf course, for Ames who still has full-time privileges on the PGA Tour. In addition to playing in the tournament, he will also be officially inducted into the Canadian Golf Hall of Fame during a private ceremony at Canyon Meadows Golf and Country Club on Tuesday, August 26.

JOHNS CREEK, Ga. – Two Canadians who qualified for match play at the U.S. Amateur have advanced to Thursday morning’s Round of 32 at Atlanta Athletic Club. Two did not.

No. 31 seed Corey Conners won his Round of 64 match Wednesday against Scottie Scheffler of Dallas 1-up. The Listowel, Ont. native had five birdies on the day, including a timely two on the par 3 15 hole, which gave him a 2-up lead. Scheffer, seeded 34th,  would win No. 16 with a par, but Conners would hold on for the victory.

Conners now faces Jesse Heinly of Bend, Ore. Thursday morning.

Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont. beat fourth-seeded Jimmy Beck of Columbus, Georgia, 1 up. Rank, a 26-year-old hockey referee, made a 6-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole to win the match.

“I knew going into 18, if I could put two good swings on it, or at least give myself a chance to go for the green, that I could make birdie,” Rank said.

Rank, who earned his spot into match play via a 17-for-4 playoff early Wednesday morning, will face Kyle Jones of Taylor, Ariz.

Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., seeded 42nd, lost 2&1 to 23 seed Zachary Olsen of Cordova, Tenn.

Taylor Pendrith of Richmond Hill, Ont., Canada’s highest seed at No. 11, fell 4&2 to 54 seed Jonathan Chang of Corona, Calif.

Tiger Woods removed himself from consideration for the Ryder Cup team Wednesday evening with a clear message that he is not healthy enough to play.

One day after U.S. captain Tom Watson said he trusted Woods to give him the “straight skinny” on the condition of his back injury and his game, Woods said he called the 64-year-old captain to say he would not be available.

The decision spares Watson from having to leave Woods off the team, and it eliminates a distraction over the next three weeks before Watson announces his three captain’s picks for the Sept. 26-28 matches against Europe at Gleneagles.

“I have already spoken to Tom about the Ryder Cup, and while I greatly appreciate his thinking about me for a possible captain’s pick, I took myself out of consideration,” Woods said in a statement on his website. “The U.S. team and the Ryder Cup mean too much to me not to be able to give it my best.”

That he was even under consideration was mildly surprising.

Woods’ best finish this year was a tie for 25th because of nagging back issues at the start of the year that led him to have surgery on March 31. He missed two majors, including the Masters for the first time, and did not return for three months. In the four events he played upon his return, he missed the cut twice, withdrew during the final round at Firestone and finished 69th in the British Open for his worst 72-hole result in a major.

“My primary wish is for Tiger to be healthy and competitive, and I hope that he’ll return to the game very soon,” Watson said in a statement released by the PGA of America. “Of course, I’m disappointed that Tiger Woods has asked not to be considered for the U.S. Ryder Cup team, and that his health is not where he would like it to be. However, I think we can all agree that we need Tiger Woods in this great sport, and he has taken the high road by informing me early on in the selection process.

“My focus will remain on identifying three players to join the U.S. team and give us the best chance for success at Gleneagles.”

Woods said his recent back trouble was not related to the impinged nerve that led to surgery.

He missed the cut by five shots at Valhalla, and he grimaced for the final three hours of the second round at the PGA Championship.

“I’ve been told by my doctors and trainer that my back muscles need to be rehabilitated and healed,” Woods said. “They’ve advised me not to play or practice now. I was fortunate that my recent back injury was not related to my surgery and was muscular only.”

Woods said he would not return until his World Challenge in Orlando, Florida, the first week of December.

That would mean he doesn’t play the Frys.com Open or an exhibition in Argentina with Matt Kuchar scheduled for October. Woods was considering the Frys.com Open, a requirement for eight players who competed in an exhibition in Turkey two years ago.

Watson and Woods have never been close, and they only talked about his Ryder Cup situation for the first time a few weeks ago. Even so, Watson said all summer that he wanted Woods on the team provided he was healthy and playing well.

And while Woods was injured and not playing at all, Watson remained interested.

“I don’t make this comment loosely. He is Tiger Woods and he brings a lot to the team – if he has the ability to play and he’s healthy, “Watson said Monday. “He brings a lot to the team. And I’d be a fool not to consider him.”

Watson already has lost Dustin Johnson, who went 3-0 at Medinah in the last Ryder Cup, because he has taken an “involuntary leave” to face “personal challenges.” Jason Dufner, who went 3-1 in his Ryder Cup debut two years ago, has a neck injury and is out indefinitely. Dufner fell out of the top nine who automatically qualified.

Watson already has three rookies on his team – Jordan Spieth, Jimmy Walker and Patrick Reed – facing a European team that features Rory McIlroy and three other players from the top five in the world.

American players have three weeks to audition for Watson before he announces his picks Sept. 2 in New York.

This will be only the second Ryder Cup that Woods does not play. He missed the 2008 Ryder Cup at Valhalla while sitting out the second half of the season following reconstructive knee surgery. That was the last time the Americans won the Ryder Cup.

PITTSFORD, N.Y. – Cristie Kerr knows the LPGA Championship is going to feel different, not only because it’s staged at a new golf course.

The LPGA announced in May that the tournament was getting a new name, two big partners, a lot more exposure and a change in venue outside New York City.

Hello KPMG. Goodbye Wegmans Food Markets, and goodbye to the greater Rochester area in upstate New York, a staunch supporter of women’s golf since the tournament began in 1977.

Rest assured a few tears will be shed.

“I’m definitely sad if it is (the last time),” said Kerr, who won the 2010 LPGA Championship at Locust Hill Country Club by a record-breaking 12-stroke margin. “They knew they weren’t going to get major status forever. All the players on the tour were hoping they would remain. It’s one of the best tournaments on tour, even if they weren’t a major. It’s up to them, but that would be really sad.”

Next year’s tournament will be called the Women’s PGA Championship. It will be the first women’s major run by the PGA of America and staged at Westchester Country Club in the northern suburbs of New York City. It will be televised on NBC during the weekend, only the second time a tour event has been on network television.

Wegmans has been a sponsor of the tournament for more than three decades and became title sponsor in 1997 when the event needed one to survive. In 2009, when the LPGA lost the title sponsor for the LPGA Championship, one of its majors, Wegmans increased its financial commitment and brought the championship to Rochester.

But higher purses and other factors will effectively double the cost for title sponsorship, too much for the supermarket chain to consider. The purse will increase in 2015 to $3.5 million, up from $2.25 million this year.

The tournament was played at Locust Hill for 37 years. The final LPGA Championship begins Thursday at nearby Monroe Golf Club for the last time under its old name. The plan is to move it around the country.

“The ball’s in our ballpark,” LPGA Commissioner Michael Whan said. “We just have to find the next hero.”

A return to Rochester in the future is something both sides seem to want.

“It would be strange for me to say we’re not going to be back in Rochester long-term,” Whan said. “I’ve seen it happen. Rochester has just become part of our fabric. This is where we belong. You almost took it for granted that we’d be in Rochester every year.

“We need to find somebody who says Rochester is important to us, so that we can make it important to them.”

Inbee Park won last year in dramatic fashion at Locust Hill, with players having to play 36 holes on Sunday because of a first-round postponement due to rain. Park nearly squandered a one-shot lead with a final-round 75 that included bogeys on three of her last five holes. But when Catriona Matthew forced a playoff with a final-round 68, Park rallied with a 20-foot birdie on the third playoff hole to win her second straight major.

U.S. players have won the first three majors this year: Lexi Thompson took the Kraft Nabisco Championship; Michelle Wie won the U.S. Women’s Open; and Mo Martin surged to victory in the final round at the Ricoh Women’s British Open. The last time the first three majors in the LPGA were won by American players was in 1999, and not since 1992 have Americans won them all.

Wie already is out of contention for this one. She’ll miss the LPGA Championship because of an injury to her right index finger.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – There’s always plenty on the line at the season-ending Wyndham Championship – in addition to the tournament itself.

For some, it’s the last chance to play their way into golf’s postseason.

Others are trying to catch Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson’s eye and earn one of the three remaining spots on the U.S. team.

“Everybody is playing for something this week, and yeah, the field might not be as deep as some other weeks around it,” two-time winner Davis Love III said Wednesday. “But the guys that are here are here for a lot of different, very important reasons and playing hard to try to get something out of this week.

“It’s a fun week to watch.”

And a stressful week to play. Even if the players say it’s not.

Webb Simpson – a Raleigh native who played at nearby Wake Forest and lives in Charlotte – insists it “kind of feels like there’s no pressure.”

He says he’s been texting Watson and “hopefully I’ll play well the next three weeks, or at least solid golf, to make it hard for him not to pick me.”

Simpson is one of two former Wyndham winners – along with Brandt Snedeker – who came to Sedgefield Country Club in pursuit of spots on the Ryder Cup team.

Simpson, the 2011 winner, is 15th on the Ryder Cup points list while 2007 champion Snedeker is 20th. Watson will make his three captain’s picks next month.

Last year’s champion, Patrick Reed, has already secured his Ryder Cup spot, and at No. 9 on the FedEx Cup points list, is in good shape entering the playoffs.

All he has to worry about is defending his title.

With his wife carrying his clubs around this Donald Ross-designed course, Reed claimed his first PGA Tour victory here when he beat Jordan Spieth on the second hole of a playoff.

“It really jump-started my career, that’s for sure,” Reed said. “Playing really well here, and actually being able to cap it off and win, it led to me being able to play very well for almost a full year in a row and hopefully that will continue.”

Reed will join Snedeker and Simpson for a threesome Thursday afternoon. A bad sign for Reed: Nobody has won this tournament two years in a row since Sam Snead in 1955-56.

Reed last year became the latest first-time winner at the Wyndham. Four of its past five champions had never won before on tour.

Asked who might be the next to raise a trophy for the first time, Reed said “there are literally so many good golfers out here that haven’t won yet that I literally could not name just one player.

“Anyone out here, if they have a good week and they’re on their game, has a good chance of winning,” Reed said.

For the players on the playoff bubble, the focus isn’t necessarily on winning but on prolonging their season by at least one more week. The FedEx Cup playoffs begin next week at The Barclays in New Jersey.

Among those on the bubble: No. 120 David Toms missed the playoffs last year and No. 124 Jhonattan Vegas hasn’t made the postseason since 2011.

If the season ended now, No. 125 Paul Casey would hold the final postseason spot while No. 126 Sang-Moon Bae, No. 127 Charlie Beljan and No. 128 Greg Chalmers would be on the outside looking in.

And Love – the 2012 Ryder Cup captain who won this tournament in 1992 and 2006 – was at No. 161 on the playoff points list. He likely needs to finish first or second to make it to next week.

“There’s a lot of guys playing for something, playing to keep their card,” Love said. “Obviously, the pressure is not on me to keep my (PGA Tour) card as much as for pride. I want to finish in the top 125. I don’t want to finish outside of it.”

GREENSBORO, N.C. – There’s always plenty on the line at the season-ending Wyndham Championship – in addition to the tournament itself.

For some, it’s the last chance to play their way into golf’s postseason.

Others are trying to catch Ryder Cup captain Tom Watson’s eye and earn one of the three remaining spots on the U.S. team.

“Everybody is playing for something this week, and yeah, the field might not be as deep as some other weeks around it,” two-time winner Davis Love III said Wednesday. “But the guys that are here are here for a lot of different, very important reasons and playing hard to try to get something out of this week.

“It’s a fun week to watch.”

And a stressful week to play. Even if the players say it’s not.

Webb Simpson – a Raleigh native who played at nearby Wake Forest and lives in Charlotte – insists it “kind of feels like there’s no pressure.”

He says he’s been texting Watson and “hopefully I’ll play well the next three weeks, or at least solid golf, to make it hard for him not to pick me.”

Simpson is one of two former Wyndham winners – along with Brandt Snedeker – who came to Sedgefield Country Club in pursuit of spots on the Ryder Cup team.

Simpson, the 2011 winner, is 15th on the Ryder Cup points list while 2007 champion Snedeker is 20th. Watson will make his three captain’s picks next month.

Last year’s champion, Patrick Reed, has already secured his Ryder Cup spot, and at No. 9 on the FedEx Cup points list, is in good shape entering the playoffs.

All he has to worry about is defending his title.

With his wife carrying his clubs around this Donald Ross-designed course, Reed claimed his first PGA Tour victory here when he beat Jordan Spieth on the second hole of a playoff.

“It really jump-started my career, that’s for sure,” Reed said. “Playing really well here, and actually being able to cap it off and win, it led to me being able to play very well for almost a full year in a row and hopefully that will continue.”

Reed will join Snedeker and Simpson for a threesome Thursday afternoon. A bad sign for Reed: Nobody has won this tournament two years in a row since Sam Snead in 1955-56.

Reed last year became the latest first-time winner at the Wyndham. Four of its past five champions had never won before on tour.

Asked who might be the next to raise a trophy for the first time, Reed said “there are literally so many good golfers out here that haven’t won yet that I literally could not name just one player.

“Anyone out here, if they have a good week and they’re on their game, has a good chance of winning,” Reed said.

For the players on the playoff bubble, the focus isn’t necessarily on winning but on prolonging their season by at least one more week. The FedEx Cup playoffs begin next week at The Barclays in New Jersey.

Among those on the bubble: No. 120 David Toms missed the playoffs last year and No. 124 Jhonattan Vegas hasn’t made the postseason since 2011.

If the season ended now, No. 125 Paul Casey would hold the final postseason spot while No. 126 Sang-Moon Bae, No. 127 Charlie Beljan and No. 128 Greg Chalmers would be on the outside looking in.

And Love – the 2012 Ryder Cup captain who won this tournament in 1992 and 2006 – was at No. 161 on the playoff points list. He likely needs to finish first or second to make it to next week.

“There’s a lot of guys playing for something, playing to keep their card,” Love said. “Obviously, the pressure is not on me to keep my (PGA Tour) card as much as for pride. I want to finish in the top 125. I don’t want to finish outside of it.”