Hosted by TSN’s Lindsay Hamilton, the virtual Summit features dynamic speakers across sport and business including PGD Global executives the Sadekar sisters, LPGA Tour athletes Cheyenne Woods and Lydia Ko, WNBA Commissioner Cathy Engelbert, and more.

Canadian Pacific has triple-matched donations made during the summit in support of the B.C. Children’s Hospital Foundation.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Tony Finau was developing a label as the player who did everything right but win. What he never lost was his belief he could beat the best.

That moment finally arrived late Monday afternoon at The Northern Trust against the sunlit backdrop of the Manhattan skyline. Finau delivered the best back nine of his career to track down Jon Rahm, the world’s No. 1 player, and then beat Cameron Smith in a playoff.

Finau tapped in the winning par putt at Liberty National, tilted his head to the sky and fluttered his lips in a sigh that was equal parts relief and satisfaction.

“It’s more massive I think for just my sense of
accomplishment,” he said. “It’s hard losing, and it’s hard losing
in front of the world. I’ve done it already a couple of times this
year. That made me more hungry. If it doesn’t discourage you, it
makes you more hungry. You guys keep telling me, `When are you going
to win again?’ That makes me more hungry.

“It all equals up to now. It was time for me to win again.”

In a rain-delayed start to the FedEx Cup playoffs, with players sitting out Sunday as Hurricane Henri moved off the eastern seaboard, Finau ended a drought that had stretched more than five years and 142 starts on the PGA Tour.

He had eight runner-up finishes, three of them playoff losses, and 39 top 10s since his lone victory in the Puerto Rico Open in the spring of 2016.

That ended with a dynamic charge, starting with a birdie-eagle-birdie stretch for a 30 on the back nine to close with a 6-under 65.

And like most victories on this tour, he needed plenty of help.

Rahm, who had a two-shot lead at the turn, made his first bogey of the final round on the 15th hole and then had to settle for par on the reachable par-4 16th, which felt like a bogey. He had to settle for a 69 to finish alone in third.

Smith had a big finish of his own with two straight birdies and a chance at three in a row with a 25-foot putt on the 18th for the win. He missed and shot 67, and that was as close as the Australian came to winning.

Returning to the 18th in the playoff, Finau pounded his drive down the middle. Smith pushed his drive so wild to the right that it sailed over the retaining wall that separates Liberty National from the edge of the Hudson River.

At that moment, the playoff was effectively over. For Smith, it was the second straight time a bad drive at the end cost him a chance to win.

The timing was just right for Finau. He moved atop the FedEx Cup standings for the first time with two events left in the chase for the $15 million prize.

It also moved him to No. 6 in the Ryder Cup standings. The top six after the BMW Championship this week automatically qualify. Even if Finau falls out, it would be hard for U.S. captain Steve Stricker to leave him off the 12-man team.

“I told myself, `If you didn’t win, you’re not going to make the team.’ Although I’ve always been high in the rankings, I wanted this validation more for myself to be part of a team like that as a winner this season and playing good golf going into the Ryder Cup,” Finau said.

Finau, who had to save par from the bunker with a 6-foot putt on the 18th in regulation to finish at 20-under 264, only had to two-putt for par in the playoff.

There were other big winners Monday, starting with Keith Mitchell. He was at No. 101 in the FedEx Cup, and only the top 70 advance to the BMW Championship. Mitchell needed a big finish and delivered with three straight birdies for a 69 to tie for eighth at 13-under 271.

Tom Hoge started at No. 108 and tied for fourth to advance. That was his best finish of the year, and it came at just the right time with points counting quadruple.

Also moving on to the BMW Championship later this week were Alex Noren, Erik van Rooyen, Harold Varner III and Harry Higgs. Van Rooyen was in contention on the front nine until he hit two shots in the water on the par-3 11th and made a quadruple-bogey 7.

Canadian Corey Conners walked away from the Northern Trust with a personal victory of his own, scoring his career lowest score of 62 to wrap up the third round. Conners momentarily tied the course record before Cameron Smith set a new record of 60 in the same round.

Conners rocketed up the leaderboard and finished the tournament tied for the 8th spot, after the postponement. Listowel Ont.’s Corey Conners is one to watch at the BMW Championship alongside fellow Canadian, Mackenzie Hughes.

The final round was postponed on Sunday as Hurricane Henri approached, and the edges of what became a tropical storm at landfall dumped more than 6 inches of rain on Liberty National. There was another four-hour delay in the morning and spectators were kept away.

They missed quite a show, and a popular winner. Few others have been so gracious as so many chances to win got away from him.

FORT MCMURRAY, Alta. – The top Canadian men’s amateur golfers over the age of 25 will head to Fort McMurray, Alta., for this year’s Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship at Fort McMurray Golf Club from Aug. 24 – 27.

The 122-player field includes two retired NHL players, Max Reinhart and Michael Cammalleri. Reinhart, brother of current Florida Panthers winger Sam Reinhart, played 23 games for the Calgary Flames between 2012 and 2015. He played in the 2019 B.C. Mid-Amateur and Mid-Master Championships at Ledgeview Golf and Country Club in Abbotsford, B.C., where he finished tied for fifth.

Cammalleri spent 17 seasons in the NHL between 2002 and 2018 where he played in 906 games, racking up 294 goals, 642 points and 425 penalty minutes. The 39-year-old most recently was in the field for the Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship at Ambassador Golf Club in Windsor, Ont.

Charles Fitzsimmons of London, Ont., is the highest ranked amateur in the field at No. 1247 on the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR). Fitzsimmons finished third at the 2019 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship and has also finished in the top 5 at the previous three national championships.

Other notables in the field that finished in the top ten at the 2019 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship include Mike Aizawa (Richmond, B.C.) at 5^th, David Lang (Toronto) at 6^th, and Ryan Sevigny (Ottawa, Ont.) at 9^th.

Nestled along the banks of the Athabasca river, the Fort McMurray Golf Club is ranked one of the must play golf courses in Alberta by The Edmonton Sun. The 27-hole facility features a variety of shots both over valleys and creek beds along with large greens of varying degrees of undulation.

The Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship is a 72-hole stroke play event, with a 36-hole cut to the low 70 players and ties. In the event of a tie at the end of four rounds, there will be a hole-by-hole playoff immediately following completion of 72-holes. The Mid-Amateur division will run concurrently with the Mid-Master division for players 40 and older. The Mid-Amateur champion will earn an exemption into the 2022 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship.

Previous winners of the tournament include Canada’s top-ranked men’s amateur golfer and NHL referee Garrett Rank of Elmira, Ont., won the event three years in a row between 2014 and 2016; Graham Cooke who won it seven times between 1987 and 2002; and Stu Hamilton who won it on four separate occasions between 1990 and 1994.

Click here for the full field and tournament information.

NOTABLES

Charles Fitzsimmons (London, Ont.)

Fitzsimmons is currently ranked at No. 1247 on the World Amateur Golf Rankings, and once had a career high ranking of No. 301. He played on Western University’s Men’s Golf Team for 12 seasons between the 2006 and 2018 seasons. In 2019, he won the Ontario Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship, and finished third at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

Brandon Markiw (Calgary, Alta.)

Brandon Markiw is currently ranked No. 1530 on the WAGR. In early June of this year, Markiw won the Alberta Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship. His best finish at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship came in 2016 when he finished tied for 12th.

Ryan Sevigny (Ottawa, Ont.)

In 2019, Ryan Sevigny finished ninth at the Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship and finished tied for second at the 2016 Canadian Men’s Mid-Amateur Championship.

Matt Williams (Calgary, Alta.)

Matt Williams is a former member of the Team Canada Junior Squad (2014). Williams finished tied for eight at the 2017 Canadian Men’s Amateur Championship, and runner-up at the Alberta Men’s Amateur Championship in 2016.

FAST FACTS

The Championship was first contested in 1987 and was originally known as the RCGA Pre-Seniors Championship before it was renamed to its current name in 1989.

Graham Cooke of Hudson, Que. and Stu Hamilton of Brampton, Ont. captured 11 of the first 20 championships played. Cooke was the inaugural champion in 1987 and has the most event wins with seven.

Three players have won the event three times in a row: Garrett Rank, Dave Bunker and Graham Cooke – no one has won it four straight years.

The format changed from match to stroke play in 2006, with the Mid-Master category introduced for golfers over the age of 40.

In 2019, Team Ontario won the inter-provincial R. Bruce Forbes Trophy for the fifth straight year.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) Rod Pampling won the Boeing Classic on Sunday for his first PGA Tour Champions victory when Jim Furyk and Woody Austin failed to get up-and-down for birdie from greenside bunkers on the par-5 18th.

Pampling, playing five groups ahead of Furyk and Austin at Snoqualmie Ridge, shot a 6-under 66 to finish at 12-under 204. The 51-year-old Australian won three times on the PGA Tour, the last in 2017 in Las Vegas, and has two PGA Tour of Australasia wins.

“It’s fantastic,” Pampling said. “You look at all the Hall of Famers are just phenomenal out here. There’s so many and they still play really good golf, which people think they don’t, but I’ll tell you what, they play so good. It’s just not quite as far off the tee anymore, but everything else is still really good. To get a win you’ve got to play good and thankfully I did today.”

Furyk dropped a stroke back with a bogey on the par-3 17th after hitting well short of the green and chipping 8 feet past. He hit left into a greenside bunker on 18, sent his third across the green nearly to the fringe and missed a 20-footer.

“Today on the way in everyone kind of ended up making some bogeys and went the other way,” Furyk said. “It’s just kind of that type of golf course. There’s some holes where there’s just no bail-out, so you fly it at the pin and if you hit a good shot, great. if not, you make bogey. There’s a few of those holes.”

Austin, the second-round leader, took two to get out of a right-side bunker and made a bogey to drop to 10 under.

Stephen Ames shot a 70, finishing the classic inside the top 10 tied for the 7th spot.

Furyk had a 70 to tie for second with Tim Herron (67) and Billy Mayfair (69). Austin’s closing 72 left him tied for fifth with Alex Cejka (66).

Pampling opened eagle-birdie, birdied Nos. 7 and 9, bogeyed the 10th, birdied Nos. 11, 12 and 14 and bogeyed the 16th.

Colin Montgomerie, playing in the final group with Furyk and Austin, shot a 74 to tie for 11th at 7 under. He had a double bogey on 17 after hitting into the water.

Local favorite Fred Couples closed with a 71 to tie for 26th at 4 under.

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) Anna Nordqvist kept her ball out of trouble to make a routine par at the last and win the Women’s British Open for a third major title.

For playing partner Nanna Koerstz Madsen, her 72nd hole of the tournament could hardly have been more traumatic.

The Scandinavians were tied for the lead on 12-under par as they made their way down the famous No. 18 at Carnoustie on Sunday, with even their tee shots unable to really separate them.

After Nordqvist landed her approach from the middle of the fairway safely on the green and 25 feet from the pin, Koerstz Madsen turned away in disgust as she pushed her shot from the light rough on the left into a horseshoe-shaped greenside bunker on the right.

Facing a plugged ball and a downhill lie at the back of the bunker, Koerstz Madsen shanked a shot that flew sideways and almost out of bounds at the back of the green.

The Danish player’s chip from straggly rough fell short and left of the cup, leaving Nordqvist with two putts for the title. The second was a tap-in from a couple of inches, securing a one-shot victory on what proved to be a shootout in perfect conditions over the storied Scottish links.

“The only thing I could really control was myself,” said Nordqvist, who closed with a 3-under 69. “It was going to be my time.”

Three players Lizette Salas (69), 2018 champion Georgia Hall (67) and Madelene Sagstrom (68) tied for second place, with a double bogey at the last dropping Koerstz Madsen (71) into a tie for fifth with Minjee Lee (66).

Canadian Brooke Henderson began the day in the chasing pack three shots behind the leaders, but she failed to gain any ground. Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont., closed with an even-par 72 to finish in 13th place at 6 under. The Canadian bogeyed the ninth, 10th and 12th holes.

By adding the Women’s Open to her victories at the 2009 LPGA Championship and the 2017 Evian Championship, the 34-year-old Swede became just the third European woman after Annika Sorenstam and Laura Davies to have won three or more majors. She received a check of $870,000 from the $5.8 million purse, the largest in women’s golf.

When it was all over, Nordqvist was joined on the 18th green by her husband, Kevin McAlpine, a former Scottish Amateur champion who is from Dundee, a city barely 20 minutes from Carnoustie. On Christmas trips back to Scotland, the couple play the storied links course that can often bring players to their knees but was defenseless Sunday because of little wind and almost balmy temperatures.

A third round of 65 the lowest round of the week set up Nordqvist’s first win in four years, since the Evian Championship. But the title was up for grabs midway through the final round when, at one stage, there were six players in a share of the lead on 9 under, including the overnight leaders in the final group.

In the end, what transpired on the 18th hole over a stretch of couple of hours decided the championship. First, Lee, who started five shots back but briefly moved into outright first place, made bogey to drop to 10 under overall after nearly going into the Barry Burn that runs in front of the green.

Sagstrom, playing in the third-to-last group, also bogeyed the last to fall out of a three-way share of the lead.

Salas missed a 15-foot birdie putt in the next-to-last group and couldn’t get to 12 under, leaving Nordqvist and Koerstz Madsen to duel it out.

While Nordqvist played the 72nd hole perfectly, Koerstz Madsen lost her nerve as she sought to become the first Dane male or female to win a major.

“On 18, I tried to not make a mistake,” she said, “and that was the only thing I shouldn’t do.”

It was the first year since 2010 that a South Korean failed to win a major.

The last 13 LPGA majors have been won by 13 different players.

CALEDON, Ontario —Noah Steele birdied five of the first eight holes Sunday, cruising to a six-stroke win over fellow amateur Etienne Papineau at the Osprey Valley Open.

The Golf Canada National Amateur team member recorded a final round of 66 (5-under) on the Heathlands course at TPC Toronto at Osprey Valley, finishing the tournament at 23-under.

“It has not sunk in yet,” said the 23-year-old from Kingston. “I’m super, super thankful to be in the position that I’m in, and I was able to really enjoy the week and enjoy the day. I was able to smile out there and enjoy it and play good golf, which was great.”

It’s not often an amateur wins a professional tournament, and not surprisingly, Steele ranks his performance this week as a career highlight.

Fellow National Amateur Team member Papineau of St-Jean-sur-Richilieu, Quebec also showed he was not out of place playing with the pros. The 24-year-old started the day with an eagle on No. 1 before recording four birdies, finishing alone in second place at 17-under.

“I played really solid all week long,” said Papineau. “I tried to minimize my mistakes all week, and it worked.”

Playing in the final group for the last two rounds, it was also the first time the two friends had played together in a competitive tournament.

“It was definitely great to be part of this group,” said Papineau. “Watching Noah play the last two rounds was unbelievable. I think he made two bogeys in the last two rounds, so it was really good to watch.

“Playing the last two days was a lot of fun,” added Steele. “He’s playing really well, and he’s going to (Prince Edward Island) next week, so he’s got lots of stuff to look forward to.”

Next up for the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada is the Prince Edward Island Open at Dundarave Golf Club, with a quick turnaround, the opening round set for Wednesday.

SNOQUALMIE, Wash. (AP) Woody Austin birdied the par-5 18th on Saturday for a 4-under 68 and a one-stroke lead over Jim Furyk and Colin Montgomerie in the PGA Tour Champions’ Boeing Classic.

The 57-year-old Austin had three straight birdies on Nos. 13-15. He has four senior victories after also winning four PGA Tour titles.

Austin took a 10-under 134 total into the final round at Snoqualmie Ridge.

“It will be fun,” Austin said. “I mean, that’s all you ever ask for is a shot and I give myself a shot and I’ll see how it goes. … I’m always confident. I think I can beat anybody on any given day.”

Furyk and Montgomerie, playing in the same group, each shot 67.

The 51-year-old Furyk won in his first two senior starts last year and took the U.S. Senior Open last month in Nebraska.

The 58-year-old Montgomerie birdied the final two holes. He won the last of his seven senior titles in 2019.

“I enjoyed playing with Jim Furyk, I must admit,” Montgomerie said. “A gentleman and someone I’ve admired for many, many years since we first came across Jim in ’97 at Valderrama at the Ryder Cup. I’ve always admired his game and it’s great to play with him here in America.”

Jerry Kelly (69) was two strokes back at 8 under with Brett Quigley (67), Tim Petrovic (67), Glen Day (68) and Billy Mayfair (70). Kelly won the 2017 tournament.

Ernie Els, tied for first-round lead with Austin and Mayfair, had a 71 to fall into a tie for ninth at 7 under with Stephen Ames (66) and Jesper Parnevik (69).

Brandt Jobe, the 2019 winner in the event that was canceled last year because of the COVID-10 pandemic, was 1 over after a 75.

Two-time Boeing winner Bernhard Langer was 6 under after a 68.

Local favorite Fred Couples shot a 69 to get to 3 under.

“It was a little better,” Couples said. “I hit a few good shots and I made a few putts.”

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Cameron Smith missed out on his chance at a 59 and figured he at least would keep close to the lead Saturday in The Northern Trust. Thanks to a few surprising blunders by Jon Rahm, they wound up in a tie.

And now they get a day off because of Hurricane Henri.

Smith missed a 12-foot birdie putt on the final hole and had to settle for an 11-under 60 to set the course record at Liberty National. Rahm finally got going with a string of birdies, only to twice hit into the water that briefly cost him the lead and certainly slowed his momentum.

The U.S. Open champion had two birdies, one bogey, a double bogey and a terrific par save over the final five holes to scratch out a 67.

They were at 16-under 197, one shot ahead of Erik van Rooyen of South Africa. He made 10 birdies for a 62, one of four rounds at 62 or lower.

Justin Thomas (67) and Tony Finau (68) were three shots behind. Shane Lowry and Corey Conners each shot 62 and remained in the mix. Conners scored his lowest career round on Saturday flying up the scoreboard with an eagle and 9 birdies.

The average score in the third round was 68.3

Rahm was still 30 minutes from starting his third round when the PGA Tour looked at the path of Henri and determined there was enough rain and dangerous wind on the edges of the hurricane that it was best to wait until Monday for the final round.

Workers began taking down loose structures, such as the poles to which cameras are attached for its ShotLink data. The final round Monday won’t start until the course is ready, and it likely will be played in threesomes off both tees.

That’s what made the finish important. There’s enough uncertainty about the storm and any lingering weather that a 54-hole event was not out of the question.

Smith teed off some three hours before the leaders and opened with five birdies in six holes, one of several good starts. The Australian, however, kept it going. He picked up his eighth birdie on the 13th, came within a foot of a hole-in-one on the 14th and started thinking 59.

Smith narrowly missed an eagle putt on the reachable par-4 16th, hit a wedge stiff on the 17th to reach 11 under for the round and was one birdie away from the 13th sub-60 round on the PGA Tour. His approach to the 18th settled 12 feet to the right of the flag.

“Just didn’t do it,” Smith said.

Even with Smith posting his 60, Rahm regained the lead with his fifth birdie of the round on the 11th hole, and he had good scoring chance ahead of him.

They just didn’t work out very well for him.

From the fairway on the par-5 13th, he found the water in front of the green. After a penalty drop, he hit it well to the left into deep rough on a bank, barely got that on the green and took two putts for a double bogey.

Then, he went long on the par-3 14th along the Hudson River into rough so thick he could barely see his ball. Opening up the face of his lob wedge and playing it like a bunker shot, he chopped out superbly to 5 feet for par.

He regained a share of the lead with a short birdie on the 15th, and then drove just left of the green on the 16th. But his flop shot came out way too hot, rolled across the green and into the water, leading to bogey. He answered that with a 2-foot birdie on the 17th and narrowly missed a birdie chance on the 18th.

Thomas was among several players making a move that got stopped in their tracks. He started the back nine with three birdies in four holes, only to go long of the par-3 14th into a hazard and made double bogey. Even so, he’s very much in the mix.

Harold Varner III made his blunder at the worst time. A poor drive on the 18th was followed by a blocked approach over the wall and into the hazard. He made triple bogey, had to settle for a 68 and went form one shot off the lead to a tie for ninth, four shots behind.

Varner is still in good shape to be among the top 70 in the FedEx Cup who advance to next week. More pressure is on Tom Hoge (No. 108) and Keith Mitchell (No. 101), who have to finish somewhere around the top 10 to keep their seasons going.

Hoge shot 67 and was tied for sixth with Lowry and Viktor Hovland (65), three shots behind. Mitchell took triple bogey with a bad drive on the 10th. He was tied for 11th, five behind.

CARNOUSTIE, Scotland (AP) Anna Nordqvist and Nanna Koerstz Madsen, Scandinavians with contrasting resumes in golf, share the lead heading into the final round of the Women’s British Open.

A bunched-up chasing pack, containing Nelly Korda and Lexi Thompson, promises to make it a Sunday to remember at Carnoustie.

In the toughest conditions of the week on the storied Scottish links, the 34-year-old Nordqvist a two-time major champion from Sweden shot her lowest round in one of women’s golf’s five elite events with a bogey-free, 7-under 65 on Saturday.

Koerstz Madsen, a 26-year-old Dane with just one top-10 finish in a major, joined Nordqvist on 9 under overall by rolling in a 15-foot eagle putt at No. 12 and parring her way home down Carnoustie’s tough closing stretch to shoot 68.

They were a stroke ahead of Lizette Salas of the United States, whose up-and-down at the last completed a round of 70 that didn’t include a bogey from the fifth hole.

Yealimi Noh wasn’t so lucky. The 20-year-old American held at least a share of the lead for much of a third round that lived up to the “Moving Day” tag, only to drop shots on her final three holes and finish at 6 under with a 71.

That left Noh tied for eighth place with a star-studded group containing Korda (70), the recently crowned Olympic champion and new superstar of women’s golf, and two players who have won the Women’s Open in the last five years 2018 champion Georgia Hall (73) and 2016 winner Ariya Jutanugarn (68).

The top 14 were separated by just three shots going into the final round. Thompson, whose only major win was in 2014, was in a four-way tie for fourth place after a 70.

Perhaps the most unlikely player alongside Thompson on 7 under was Louise Duncan, a 21-year-old Scottish amateur who goes to Stirling University in her home country.

She gave a fist pump after making birdie at No. 8 for a 68 to stay in contention for much more than the Smyth Salver that is awarded to the leading amateur.

“The crowd was absolutely loving it and so was I,” Duncan said, “and to hole that putt tops it off as well.”

Duncan won’t be the only player counting on local support on Sunday.

Brooke Henderson heated up in the third round, with 3 birdies in a row. Completing the round with 6 birdies and shooting her way 3 back from the lead. Henderson sits tied for the 8th spot moving into the final round.

Nordqvist, who won the LPGA Championship in 2009 and the Evian Championship in 2017 for her two majors, said her husband was from a place 20 minutes away from Carnoustie and that many of his friends and family had been at the course.

“I am definitely feeling their support,” she said.

She is also mindful of the 2011 Women’s Open at Carnoustie, when she tied for seventh for her joint-best finish at the tournament, and she climbed 22 places Saturday.

A 25-foot putt for birdie at No. 8 was her highlight, along with the 230-yard approach at the 17th that set up her seventh and final birdie of the round.

At one stage, Nordqvist was in a five-way tie for the lead at 7 under, with Hall who shared the overnight lead Noh, Madelene Sagstrom and 2019 champion Hinako Shibuno.

Noh was the last one of those players to fall away, although Sagstrom another Swede bounced back from a double-bogey 6 at No. 9 with two straight birdies and then seven pars to finish for a 69. She was with Thompson, Duncan and Sanna Nuutinen (68) on 7 under.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Jon Rahm is young enough at 26 that the FedEx Cup has been a big part of the PGA Tour as long as he has been chasing his dreams, and winning the trophy would mean a lot to him.

He just doesn’t like the way it works, and building a one-shot lead Friday in The Northern Trust was only a reminder that great golf doesn’t really mean much without a great finish.

“I don’t like it. I don’t think it’s fair,” Rahm said Friday after another bogey-free round at Liberty National, this one a 4-under 67 for a one-shot lead over Tony Finau.

What never made sense to him was someone who could win the all the postseason tournaments and then finish with a dud at the Tour Championship and “you can end up with a really bad finish.”

The PGA Tour was trying to create drama among more than a few players at the final event. This is the postseason, and the example often cited was the New England Patriots going undefeated until losing the Super Bowl.

Rahm had an answer for that, too.

For now, Rahm can only worry about the tournament at hand, and while he has produced a mixture of great shots and great saves to reach 12-under 130, he still has his hands full.

“Believe it or not, hit my fair share of bad shots today,” Rahm said. “Much like yesterday, I was able to save a couple of good ones. Coming into the weekend, I’m definitely going to have to clean a couple of those mistakes up.”

Finau had a 64 with a bogey on the final hole as he tries to secure another spot among the 30 who make it to the season-ending Tour Championship, along with boosting his bid to play his way onto another Ryder Cup team.

Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele tied his personal best on the PGA Tour and the course record at Liberty National with a 62 and was in the group at 10-under 132 along with Justin Thomas (69) and Keith Mitchell (64).

Thomas, who shared the 18-hole lead with Rahm, couldn’t figure out which way the ball was going in making four bogeys in eight holes, only to play his last five holes in 5 under that included an eagle at the par-5 eighth to stay in the mix.

Mitchell did his work at the start of his round by running off six straight birdies, a streak that ended on the 18th hole as he made the turn. He took two shots to get out of a longer bunker and made double bogey on No. 7, only to close with two birdies.

More is it stake for Mitchell, who is No. 101 in the FedEx Cup and needs a high finish to be among the top 70 who advance to next week at the BMW Championship.

Jordan Spieth got back in the game with a consecutive eagles he holed out from the fairway on the par-4 fifth and holed a chip from the edge of the water on the par-5 sixth and tied the course record himself at 62. That left him four behind, along with Brooks Koepka (64).

Spieth started the day worried about making the cut, especially after a bogey on the opening hole. He ended it in a tie for 10th, and figures he led the field in luck with those eagles.

“When things starting well, you go on a run, right? You get momentum and the ball finds the cup and when it’s not going well it bounces the wrong way,” he said. “I feel like I’m on the right side of some momentum right now and I just have to keep it going.”

Canada’s Mackenzie Hughes remained inside the top 20 after the second round, completing the day with a 69 tied for 17th.

For others, their season is over.

Adam Scott, who missed a 4-foot putt in a playoff that would have won the Wyndham Championship last week, followed an opening 67 with a 75 to miss the cut by one shot. He was among 28 players outside the top 70 in the FedEx Cup who missed the cut.

Rahm isn’t the only player who doesn’t like the postseason model.

The new system that began in 2019 awards a two-shot lead to the No. 1 seed at the Tour Championship who starts at 10-under par.

“At the end of the day you could win 15 events, including both playoff events, and you have a two-shot lead,” Rahm said. “I understand it’s for TV purposes and excitement and just making it more a winner-take-all and they gave you a two-shot advantage. But over four days, that can be gone in two holes, right?”

He doesn’t have a solution of his own. And he does like the idea that with a staggered start of 10 under for the top seed down to even par for the final five players in the 30-man field, at least players know what they have to do.

He just knows the FedEx Cup is a trophy he’d like to have.

For now, Rahm can only do so much, and the world’s No. 1 player is doing it well.