Conners finishes inside top 10 at Northern Trust
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.
“Just a terrible swing, mate,” he said. “My driver has cost me a few tournaments this year. That makes me more determined to try and figure it out before the end of the year.”
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.
“I’ve played really nicely in big tournaments, but to turn in a 30 on the back nine of a playoff event, trying to chase down the best player in the world, those are all things that will go in the memory bank,” Finau said.
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.
“I hope I don’t have to wait another five years for the next one,” Finau said.
Conners shoots lowest career round at Northern Trust
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.
Rahm happy with 1-shot lead, not so much with FedEx format; Hughes T17
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.
“They still finished second,” he said.
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.
“It’s a trophy that a very select group of people are going to be able to put their name on,” he said. “It’s one of those, kind of like in majors and great events like The Players, to where … you have to show up and play good.”
For now, Rahm can only do so much, and the world’s No. 1 player is doing it well.
Hughes inside the Top 5 at the Northern Trust
JERSEY CITY, N.J. (AP) Jon Rahm returned from a month off and played like he was never gone. Justin Thomas took the advice of a 15-year-old and had his lowest score of the year.
Both opened with an 8-under 63 on Thursday at The Northern Trust as the PGA Tour’s postseason began with no shortage of bizarre developments.
Rahm, who missed his chance at the Olympics because of what amounts to a false positive test result for COVID-19, expected a little rust in his game. It just didn’t show on his card. He chipped in for birdie, saved par on the next two holes and was on his way.
Thomas had benched his putter for bad behavior after he spent too much of the year not seeing putts go in the hole. But during his junior event last week, a teenager asked why he wasn’t using his old putter.
“And I found myself defending myself to this 15-year-old,” he said. “I was like, `Why am I not using this thing?’ It’s not like I’m making a lot of putts with what I have. If you’re putting well, any of us can go out and putt with anything.”
He didn’t hole all of them, but enough to record nine birdies for his lowest round since a 62 last November in Mexico.
Bryson DeChambeau also made nine birdies. He was eight shots behind. His round of 71 was noteworthy because of the pars he made on No. 4 and No. 10. Those were the only pars he made all day. The nine birdies were offset by five bogeys and two double bogeys.
It was the first time in 10 years someone shot par or better with two pars or fewer.
Not to be overlooked was Dustin Johnson, one of the most stress-free players in golf at least he looks that way who uttered words rarely heard: “Threw me for a loop.”
He was hitting drivers on the range, and hitting them well, right before teeing off when a few of them came off the club funny and another one sounded funny. His driver cracked, and Johnson headed to the first tee with 13 clubs and one head cover for his 5-wood.
He had a spare 3-wood in the car but no driver and got that on the third hole. If that wasn’t enough, he decided on a putter switch at the last minute. He still managed a 70.
Otherwise, there was a range of good golf in surprisingly strong wind off the Hudson River across from the Manhattan skyline.
Harold Varner III had a 66 in the morning, boosting his postseason chances. He is No. 72 in the FedEx Cup standings, and only the top 70 after this week advance to the next tournament. With the points at quadruple value, some big movements are expected.
The six players at 67 included Adam Scott (No. 82), Robert Streb (No. 68) and Mackenzie Hughes (No. 67). Hughes sits tied for the fourth spot with Scott and Streb, putting him one off the lead heading into the second round.
British Open champion Collin Morikawa, the No. 1 seed, struggled to keep the ball in play and opened with a 74. Jordan Spieth at No. 2 opened with a 72.
Rahm has endured the strangest of times with COVID-19. He tested positive on the day he built a six-shot lead through 54 holes at the Memorial and had to withdraw, and then returned to win the U.S. Open for his first major.
And then after more negative test results than he can remember for the British Open he tied for third at Royal St. George’s he had two more negative tests prior to his departure for the Olympics before a positive result showed up. The next day, he took two more tests (both negative), but by then it was too late.
He returned from his bout with COVID-19 by winning a major. This is different. He never had a chance to win a gold medal because he never made it to Tokyo. But he wouldn’t mind the same result, which in this case would be a FedEx Cup title worth $15 million.
“I sure don’t want to have to rely on being pulled out of tournaments to be able to win one, let’s just say that,” he said.
Thomas knows putts that don’t fall is not the fault of the equipment, but something had to change, so he benched his putter at he U.S. Open. Ultimately, it’s about getting the speed to match with the line of the putt, and he did that well for so much of the day.
He holed a 35-foot birdie putt for his first lead on the par-3 14th, gave it back with a poor chip, and then drove the 283-yard 16th green to set up a closing stretch of three straight birdies.
The day started with another development: Patrick Reed withdrew with a sore ankle, the second straight week he has had to withdraw.
Reed is No. 22 in the FedEx Cup, and there are only two tournaments left to qualify for the Ryder Cup. He is No. 9 in the standings, and only the top six automatically qualify. The idea was to give it another week of rest and being ready for the next one.
Golf Canada Foundation Announces Bursaries for 2021-2022 Q-School
The Golf Canada Foundation has opened applications for bursaries to provide Canadian professional golfers with financial assistance for upcoming Q-school tournaments in support their journeys to the LPGA and PGA TOUR.
These bursaries are being made available this year in recognition of the increased travel expenses that many players have incurred due to the impact of COVID-19. For example, host family housing has not been available at many events, thus creating increased expenses for players.
Canadian professional golfers who anticipate expenses attempting to qualify for the 2021-2022 season on any tour that is affiliated with the PGA TOUR, European Tour, or LPGA tour are welcomed to apply through this link.
The application will be open until Monday, September 20 at 5pm ET. Bursaries will be awarded by mid-October in amounts ranging from $2,000 to $7,000, depending on a player’s competitive results and projected expenses.
For more information, please contact Emily Phoenix (ephoenix@golfcanada.ca).
Pendrith and Svensson earn PGA TOUR cards for 2021-22 season
On Sunday, Canadians Taylor Pendrith and Adam Svensson achieved a dream – reaching the PGA TOUR.
With the conclusion of the season-ending Pinnacle Bank Championship in Nebraska – the Korn Ferry Tour’s top 25 on the point list were finalized.
Pendrith, a native of Richmond Hill, Ont., finished at No. 5 and 27-year-old Svensson of Surrey, B.C., at No. 11, earning their PGA TOUR cards for the 2021-22 season.
For Svensson, it’s the conclusion of a two-year battle to find his way back to the PGA TOUR, after finishing outside of the playoff cut in 2019, sending him back down to the Korn Ferry loop.
But for Pendrith, it’s been a longer journey to make it to the top. After initially qualifying for the Korn Ferry Tour for the 2016 season, Pendrith lost his card the following year due to injury and was sent back down to the Mackenzie Tour – where he’d have to restart the climb to the top.
Since then, Pendrith has been on the prowl – finishing second on the Mackenzie Tour in 2019 and continuing that momentum into the 2020-2021 Korn Ferry Tour season.
“Yeah, it’s been a long journey for sure,” Pendrith said in a video posted to the Korn Ferry Tour Twitter account back in April when he first crossed the tour’s point threshold to secure a PGA TOUR card. “Starting in 2014 when I turned pro, but it’s always been a goal of mine and a dream to play on the PGA TOUR, and I’ll be able to do that next year. So, super excited.”
And although he’s receiving the coveted PGA TOUR card for the first time, Pendrith is not new to the top-level tour. In fact, he played in six events on the PGA TOUR over the course of the 2021 season, including both the U.S. Open at Winged Foot Golf Club in 2020 and at Torrey Pines Golf Club in 2021.
In those six starts, he only missed the cut once, and finished inside the top 25 on three separate occasions, including a career-high finish tie for 11th at the Barbasol Championship. At the 2020 U.S. Open, in a field that included famously long-hitters Bryson DeChambeau, Rory McIlroy and Bubba Watson, Pendrith finished third in overall driving distance, behind just Matthew Wolff and Dustin Johnson.
For Svensson, it’s been nearly two years since he last played an event on the PGA TOUR, which resulted in a missed cut at the Sanderson Farms Championship in September of 2019. But Svensson was a dominate force this season on the Korn Ferry Tour, with 17 top 25 finishes, including a win at the Club Car Championship in March.
While Pendrith is still looking for his maiden Korn Ferry Tour win, his four runner-up finishes this past season were more than enough to place him safely into a position to secure his card.
Pendrith will join his former Kent State University teammates Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., who both re-earned their PGA TOUR cards for the following season.
Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C. and Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., both also re-earned their cards, and Svensson will bring the B.C. contingent on tour up to three, and the Canadian total up to six.
As a result of winning the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am in 2020, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford will also be on the PGA TOUR for the upcoming season.
Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., and David Hearn of Brampton, Ont., both finished between 126-200 on the PGA TOUR this season, so they will get a second chance to re-earn their PGA TOUR cards at the Korn Ferry Tour Finals.
While Pendrith and Svensson have already secured their cards, they will have the chance to gain a higher ranking on the priority list by taking part in the three-event finals.
The first of said events will be the Albertsons Boise Open at Hillcrest Country Club in Idaho from Aug 19 – 22.
Kevin Kisner wins 6 man playoff at Wyndham Championship; Sloan finishes T2
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Kevin Kisner made birdie on the second extra hole to win a record-tying six-man playoff at the Wyndham Championship on Sunday.
Kisner struck his approach to 3 feet on the 18th hole at Sedgefield and made the putt for his first PGA Tour win since 2019 and fourth of his career.
Not that it was easy. Kisner began four shots off the lead and shot 66, making birdies on the 16th and 17th holes to reach 15 under and the playoff. His birdie bested Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na, Si Woo Kim and Branden Grace after all had made pars on the first additional hole.
“My first playoff win,” said Kisner, who had been 0-5 in playoffs. “To be standing here is pretty sweet.”
With Scott looking at a 4-footer for birdie on the first extra hole, Kisner thought he would have to hole a pitch from short of the 18th green just to stay in the playoff, and he nearly did it. Kisner grimaced as his ball settled just right of the cup.
But Scott’s short putt missed badly and all six players went back to the 18th tee. This time, only Kisner stuffed his approach close on the 505-yard closing hole.
Kim shot 64 in the final round. Scott had a 65 while Grace, Na and Sloan each closed with 66.
It was the third six-man playoff on the PGA Tour and the first since Robert Allenby won at Riviera in 2001.
It didn’t look like a playoff would be necessary after Russell Henley, who led after the first three rounds, recovered from a slow start to reach 17-under after a birdie on the 10th hole. But Henley bogeyed three of the next four and came to the 72nd hole needing par to stay at 15 under.
But Henley missed a 6-footer to go 0-for-3 this season with the 54-hole lead. He was in front after three rounds at Las Vegas last October and at the U.S. Open in June.
“I knew I had to shoot under par today, so just disappointed,” Henley after his 1-over 71. “It stings pretty bad.”
There was drama through the final round of the tour’s last regular-season event as players outside the postseason sought to get in.
It looked like former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, who started the week 138th, had done enough to make the 125-man field for The Northern Trust. But the Englishman missed a 5-footer for par on the final hole that dropped him to 126th – first outside the playoff field.
“Obviously it was in my hands up 18,” Rose said. “I didn’t do a very good job of that.”
Rose’s loss was Chesson Hadley’s gain. The veteran who finished second at the Palmetto Championship at Congaree in June made a hole-in one on the par-3 16th – complete with an awkward, leg-kicking celebration – and shot 62.
That was enough to sneak him into next week’s field at No. 125. And unlike Rose, Hadley needed to make the playoffs to secure full playing privileges for next season.
Sloan and Scott Piercy were two others who played their way into the playoffs. Canada’s Sloan moved from 131st to 92nd while Piercy came in at No. 126 and improved 10 spots.
Nick Taylor and Adam Hadwin, both of Abbotsford, B.C., finished tied for 10th at 13 under. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., finished tied for 37th and tied for 65th, respectively.
Three players who missed the cut this week fell from the top 125 after starting the week playoff-bound. Ryan Armour went from 122nd to 127th, Bo Hoag from 125th to 129th and Patrick Rodgers from 123rd to 128th.
Threatening weather for later Sunday led tour officials to move up tee times. They didn’t count on a mash-up at the top leading to the 12th playoff on the PGA Tour this season.
Henley shoots 69 to lead by 3 after third round at Wyndham; Sloan T3
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley was grateful to get through the round with the lead at the Wyndham Championship. He hopes to hold on for 18 more holes for his first PGA Tour victory in four years.
Henley shot a 1-under 69 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead.
Henley, who tied the lowest 36-hole score on tour this year, couldn’t keep up that pace at Sedgefield Country Club. Yet, he rolled in a 33-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 15th and went on to finish at 15-under 195 as he tries to win his fourth career title and first since the 2017 Shell Houston Open.
Henley acknowledged he was edgy enter the round with his large lead. “That’s not going to happen every time and these rounds are kind of what make and break really good tournaments,” he said. “So I’m really thankful to be under par today.”
Tyler McCumber, the son of 10-time tour winner Mark McCumber, shot a 66 and was at 12 under in second. He’s winless on the tour.
The group of six four shots behind at 11 under included three playoff outsiders in Rory Sabbatini, Scott Piercy and Roger Sloan now on track to tee it up in the 125-man field for the postseason that starts next week at The Northern Trust.
Sabbatini, the Olympic silver medalist last month, has used his momentum from Tokyo to make a charge in the playoff standings. His 69 included a birdie on the 17th hole that moved him from outside the postseason – he began the week at No. 141 – to a projected place of No. 122.
Piercy, too, continued his charge into the tour playoffs with a 68. He was first man out of the playoffs at No. 126 when the week began. But his third straight round in in the 60s projected him to 93rd.
Sloan also needed a big week to continue his season and he’s gotten it so far with a second straight 64 to move from 131st in the playoff standings to No. 102.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is tied for 15th at 9 under, while Nick Taylor of Abbotsford and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., are both tied for 28th at 7 under.
Others tied at 11 under were Branden Grace, Kevin Kisner and Kevin Na. Grace shot 64, Kisner 66 and Na 67.
Former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, who started the week 138th in the standings, shot 69 after a bogey on the final hole. He’s 126th in the projections.
There are no guarantees that current results mean anything come the next round – or next hole. Just ask Tyler Duncan, who made five birdies on his front nine to move up 61 spots in the playoff standings to 101st.
But Duncan played the back nine at 3 over for a 69 – and dropped to 150th by round’s end.
It won’t be a normal final round either as the PGA Tour will start earlier with the first golfers going off at 7 a.m. to beat expected bad weather later in the day. Golfers will also go off in threesomes and from the first and 10th tees.
Henley, who entered at No. 46, was locked into the playoffs long before this event began. He’s focused on finishing out the victory, something he could not two months ago when he was in a three-way tie for the top after three rounds of the U.S. Open.
Henley shot a final-round 76 at Torrey Pines to fall back.
He looked as if he’d regained his form with his eagle on No. 15. But Henley missed a 13-foot par putt on the 18th to drop a shot.
Henley hopes to get away from golf for a few hours tonight, knowing he’s got an earlier start than normal.
“I think just trying to get a good meal and get your mind away from it if you can,” he said.
McCumber’s career best came this year with a second at the Puntacana event in the Dominican Republic last September. He had missed his past six cuts before getting hot this week.
“You’ve got to stay in the process and I feel like I’ve been doing that pretty well and getting rewarded for it through the first three rounds this week, so taking that momentum into tomorrow,” he said.
Henley holds halfway lead at Wyndham Championship after 64; Hughes T12
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to open a four-stroke lead halfway through the Wyndham Championship.
Henley was at 14-under 126, tying Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage in April for the lowest 36-hole score this season in a tournament Cink went on to win.
Olympic silver medalist Rory Sabbatini was tied for second with past champion Webb Simpson and playoff bubble man Scott Piercy.
Sabbatini shot a 64, Simpson 65 and Piercy at 66.
Former FedEx Cup champion Justin Rose, outside the playoffs at the start of the week, continued his surge toward the postseason with a 65 that left him at 9 under in a group with Tyler Duncan and Brian Stuard.
Duncan had the lowest score of the round at 62. Stuard shot 66.
Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., fired a 63 and is the top Canadian at 7 under.
Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., (71) and Roger Sloan of Merritt, B.C., (64) are both 5 under, while Abbotsford’s Nick Taylor (71) and Michael Gligic of Burlington, Ont., (66) are 4 under.
When Henley teed off, the first-round leader had already been passed by Sabbatini, Piercy and Simpson. Henley, who opened on the back nine, got going with four straight birdies on Nos. Nos. 14-17 to regain the lead.
Henley added three more birdies on his final nine. It was a couple of months ago that Henley shared the halfway lead at the U.S. Open. He was among three leaders after 54 holes until falling off with final-round 76.
Henley hopes he can keep the same drive and mentality on the weekend. After all, this is not the U.S. Open and pars here will probably lead you out of contention.
“You have to do everything right,” Henley said. “So it’s kind of the same way except for I’m just mainly trying to keep committing to every shot off the tee and put myself in the fairway” where he can stay aggressive.
It was a good day for Sabbatini, Piercy and Rose, all who began the week outside the 125-man postseason cutoff, but have played themselves into next week’s Northern Trust with 36 holes to go.
Sabbatini, buoyed by his Tokyo experience, has moved from 141st in the FedEx standings to a projected 95th. He tied his career low 36-hole score of 130, last accomplished in 2003 at the Shriner’s Children’s Open.
Piercy started this week as first man out at No. 126. His 64-66 start has him projected at 80th for the playoffs.
Rose, who won the 2018 FedEx Cup, was also outside at No. 138 when he teed off Thursday. He’s inside the playoffs at 117th after shooting 66-65.
It was not the case for playoff outsider Rickie Fowler, who missed the cut after shooting 71-72. He had needed to finish 21st or better to keep his 11-season streak of advancing to golf’s postseason intact. Instead, Fowler will have a few weeks off before next season.
“I know what I’m capable of, I’ve been up there and played against the best in the world and been a top-five, top-10 player in the world for a number of years in my career,” Fowler said. “I’m not in a position where I’m comfortable or where I want to be.”
Sabbatini said his game kicked into gear in Tokyo – he finished with a 61 for the silver behind gold-medalist American Xander Schauffele – and has continued at the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event.
His play at Sedgefield Country Club has him pointing toward the playoffs. “I do potentially have a flight reservation, but I don’t know which direction.”
Piercy had made the playoffs the past six seasons.
Rose said his first two rounds have him thinking about more than the top-10 finish needed to continue his season: He’s aiming for his first PGA Tour win since the Farmers Insurance Open in 2019.
“I know I need to finish top-10, but at the same time there’s no point limiting yourself to that kind of thinking,” he said. “Winning would go a long way to kind of feel like you can compete in the playoffs.”
Among those missing the 3 under cut were Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and veteran Ryan Moore, who will miss the tour playoffs for the first time since it began in 2007.
Henley shoots lowest round in 2 years to lead Wyndham; Hadwin T2
GREENSBORO, N.C. (AP) – Russell Henley shot an 8-under 62, his lowest round in more than two years, to take the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Wyndham Championship.
Henley birdied three of his final four holes for a two-stroke lead over Sung Kang, Ted Potter Jr., Chris Kirkand, Hudson Swofford, Scott Piercy and Michael Thompson in the PGA Tour’s final regular-season event. Adam Hadwin also was 6-under, but had two holes left when darkness ended play.
Canadians Michael Gligic and Nick Taylor are both tied for ninth at 5 under. Mackenzie Hughes is tied for 108th and Roger Sloan is tied for 130th.
A storm halted play for 2 hours, 7 minutes, with 22 players unable to finish.
Past champion Webb Simpson and Kevin Kisner led a group of 10 another stroke behind at 65 at Sedgefield Country Club, where many competitors are scrambling to make it into top 125 to advance to the playoffs that start next week at the Northern Trust.
Henley, at No. 46 in the standings, had no worries about the postseason, but came out fast with a bogey-free round in chasing his first PGA Tour victory in four years.
He moved in front with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th before closing with birdies on 17 and 18, the last with a 20-foot putt. He had with his lowest round on the tour since a career-low 61 at the John Deere Classic in 2019.
Henley has played some solid golf of late. He was tied for the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open in June, then had two straight top-20 finishes before missing the cut at the British Open. He returned this week, hoping he can carry his strong play to the end.
“I haven’t won in years, so I feel like as well as I’ve been playing, I feel like I’ve underachieved a little bit,” he said.
“My mindset,” Henley continued, “is I feel if I can play my game, play my normal game, then I can maybe give myself a chance and that’s kind of where I’m at.”
There are several big names competing to keep their season’s alive. Adam Scott, who started at No. 121, and Matt Kuchar, at No. 124, both had strong starts at 66.
“I would like to play well this week and get a chance to play next week and keep getting my game into place,” Scott said.
Rickie Fowler, who came at 130th and needing a good week, didn’t help himself with a 71. Justin Rose, the Payne Stewart Award winner this week, has to finish in the top 10 to advance after coming in 138th. He opened with a 66, tied for 19th.
Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama was at 69, tied for 89th.
Olympic medalists Rory Sabbatini and C.T. Pan also are playing after the Tokyo Games. Sabbatini, who took silver for Slovakia behind U.S. gold medal winner Xander Schauffele, started with a 66.
Pan, from Taiwan, won a seven-man playoff for the bronze. He shot a 68.
Louis Oosthuizen, the only top 10 player in the FedEx standings entered, withdrew because of a neck injury.