MEMPHIS, Tenn., – One day prior to the start of the PGA TOUR’s TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, teen entrepreneurs myCryptoHippo from Junior Achievement (JA) of Central Ontario won the second annual FedEx Junior Business Challenge program for their business presentation and secured a $75,000 donation from FedEx to further support youth entrepreneurship.

myCryptoHippo, which aims to educate Generation Z about cryptocurrencies and blockchain through the use of their integrated cryptocurrency simulator, presented its business to a panel of judges, including Warrick Dunn (3-time Pro Bowler and Atlanta Falcons Ring of Honor member), David Cunningham (president and chief executive officer of FedEx Express), Ryan Lane (owner of Dream Beard and FedEx Small Business Grant Recipient) and Marc Leishman (3-time PGA TOUR tournament winner who is competing for the coveted FedExCup).

Through its PGA TOUR sponsorship, FedEx teed off the second annual FedEx Junior Business Challenge program earlier this year at the WGC-Dell Match Play Championship (Austin, Texas) and held three other qualifying events at THE PLAYERS Championship (Jacksonville, Florida), the RBC Canadian Open (Ontario) and Dell Technologies Championship (Boston).  Judging panels comprised of PGA TOUR players, business leaders and local celebrities selected one junior achievement business at each qualifying event to move on to the FedEx Junior Business Challenge finals. myCryptoHippo was the JA champter that moved on from the 2018 RBC Canadian Open held at Glen Abbey Golf Club in Oakville, Ont.

The four student-led companies that qualified for the finals were evaluated on their pitch skills, presentation content, visual aids and connection to innovation, sustainability, job creation or trade industry.  myCryptoHippo came out on top for their integrated cryptocurrency simulator, impressing the judges with their goal to make blockchain technology easy to learn and investing in cryptocurrencies less intimidating by providing a hands-on learning experience.

“It was incredible to see these teenagers from JA chapters across the country showcase their entrepreneurial skills and ambition, in addition to their innovation and intellectual curiosity,” said Warrick Dunn.  “I don’t remember what I was doing at their age, but I wasn’t starting a business.  I’m inspired by these young entrepreneurs and it’s comforting to know the kids from JA will be tomorrow’s business leaders.”

In just two years, the FedEx Junior Business Challenge program has provided more than 30 JA student-led companies the chance to present their businesses at more than ten PGA TOUR tournaments, and awarded $150,000 to empower the next generation of entrepreneurs.

“Every day around the world, businesses are faced with new challenges, and to stay ahead of competition, companies and leaders need to be creative, agile and innovative,” said David Cunningham, president and CEO, FedEx Express.  “Success in small business and entrepreneurship is paramount to FedEx, and the JA students who participated in today’s FedEx Junior Business Challenge finals proved that the future is bright.”

Since 1996, FedEx has donated nearly $14 million to JA Worldwide in support of small businesses and future entrepreneurs.  As a part of FedEx Cares global giving initiative, the FedEx Junior Business Challenge program is part of FedEx’s goal of investing $200 million in more than 200 global communities by 2020 to create opportunities and deliver solutions for people around the world.  The JA Worldwide network reaches more than 10 million young people in more than 100 countries, making JA a natural partner for FedEx Cares.

With FedEx as the official sponsor of the PGA TOUR since 2002, FedEx and the PGA TOUR have a long-standing relationship.  In 2007, the PGA TOUR introduced the FedExCup as the first season-long competitive and promotional platform, transforming the competitive landscape of professional golf.  The performance-based point structure culminates with the FedExCup Playoffs, a four-tournament playoff at the end of the season to determine the FedExCup Champion.

The last time Roger Sloan had long hair, he was playing on the PGA Tour.

After a tie for second at Sunday’s Albertsons Boise Open, the native of Meritt, B.C. locked up a return to the top circuit in men’s golf. And, he said, there was a consensus amongst his family it was time to “grow the flow” again.

While the long locks might make a return, Sloan will hope his scorecards have a different look from when he last played on the PGA Tour full time in 2015. He appeared in 20 tournaments but made only seven cuts that year, and has been playing on the feeder Web.com Tour since 2016.

With his tie for second Sunday, Sloan moved to 10th on money list of the Web.com Tour Finals – a four-tournament series where the top 25 earn status on the PGA Tour – and has already secured a promotion with one event left to play.

“It all came together and I was able to play Roger Sloan golf,” Sloan said in a phone interview. “At the end of the day it was a great score and we had a chance to win and we’re walking away with a job promotion. All in all it was a great tournament.”

The 31-year-old will cap his Web.com season when the circuit’s Tour Championship starts Thursday at the Atlantic Beach Country Club in Florida.

The 2018-19 PGA Tour season starts Oct. 4 at the Safeway Open in Napa, Calif.

Sloan will join fellow British Columbian Adam Svensson, who earned his first PGA Tour card by finishing in the top 25 of the regular season money list on the Web.com Tour, along with Nick Taylor, Adam Hadwin, Mackenzie Hughes, Corey Conners, David Hearn, and Ben Silverman as part of the Canadian contingent on the PGA Tour next season.

Sloan credited the work he’s done with mental coach Paul Dewland and swing coach Jeff Barton as keys for his success this year.

“He’s worked really hard, and that’s what it takes. Everyone gets mystical about the mental game but it’s just habits and skills. You’ve just got to work at it, and has,” said Dewland. “He’s ready for the PGA Tour.”

Sloan’s runner-up result Sunday was his best finish on the Web.com Tour since he won the Nova Scotia Open in 2014. He finished tied for ninth in Boise in 2017 and said the familiarity with the golf course helped him to a near-win.

“You just really have to be patient and tactical. That combination suits me, and how I prep for a golf tournament,” said Sloan. “Boise is also a very similar climate to where I grew up in Meritt, and there are a lot of similarities. Plus Boise is a great city, and my wife and I love being there.”

Sloan and his wife, Casey, welcomed their first child – Leighton Maddox – last September. Her first birthday is September 19, and Sloan said there would be a small celebration this week, followed by a big family party next week to also celebrate his promotion to the PGA Tour.

He said travelling with an infant while playing golf this year was like “throwing a wrench into an engine” in terms of his routine, but said it was an “easy” adjustment to make.

“I got to see first-hand my daughter growing up, whereas the alternative was to see her a few weeks throughout the course of the season. I wouldn’t have changed it for the world,” said Sloan, whose wife and daughter joined him on the road this year.

The trio will continue to travel together this year on the PGA Tour.

“It was a huge upgrade for my wife because there is consistent, quality health care at every event,” said Sloan. “She is more pumped than I am.”

Sloan played one PGA Tour event this summer, the RBC Canadian Open in Oakville, Ont. He made the cut and finished tied for 37th.

He said that week he knew he was “good enough” for the next level.

“I didn’t have the greatest week at the Canadian Open but I still was able to have a decent finish,” he said. “That validated the whole processed we’ve devoted ourselves to, and I’m excited for the next several months, and the rest of my career too.”

MARCHAND, SHARP LOCK UP LPGA TOUR STATUS

After Sunday’s final round at The Evian Championship, both Alena Sharp and Brittany Marchand secured LPGA Tour status for 2019.

At the LPGA Tour’s final major of the year, Sharp, of Hamilton, Ont., finished tied for 37th, while Marchand, of Orangeville, Ont., finished tied for 49th.

The top 100 on the money list after Sunday earned LPGA Tour status for next year.

Sharp was 92nd while Marchand, a rookie this year, was 89th.

Brooke Henderson of Smiths Falls, Ont. is second on the money list and finished tied for 10th at the Evian.

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, FLORIDA – With the upcoming 2018-19 PGA TOUR schedule reflecting previously announced, significant structural changes, PGA TOUR Commissioner Jay Monahan today unveiled further innovations that elevate the entire FedExCup season – from the Regular Season through the FedExCup Playoffs and ultimately, at the Playoffs Finale, the TOUR Championship. These changes include a simplified scoring system at the TOUR Championship that will determine the FedExCup Champion and a new $10 million program for the FedExCup Regular Season sponsored by Wyndham Rewards: the “Wyndham Rewards Top 10.”

The FedExCup Playoffs – which have been reduced from four to three events beginning next season and will conclude before Labor Day, allowing the TOUR to compete to own the August sports calendar – will feature fields of 125 for THE NORTHERN TRUST, 70 for the BMW Championship and 30 for the TOUR Championship, where the FedExCup Champion will be determined. While the points structure for the first two events will remain the same (awarding quadruple points compared to FedExCup Regular Season events), there will be a significant change to the format for the TOUR Championship.

Instead of a points reset at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, beginning with the 2018-19 event the TOUR is instituting a strokes-based bonus system related to the FedExCup standings through the BMW Championship. The FedExCup points leader after the first two Playoffs events will begin the TOUR Championship at 10-under par. The next four players will start at 8-under through 5-under, respectively. The next five will begin at 4-under, regressing by one stroke per five players until those ranked Nos. 26-30 start at even par.

With the implementation of this change, the player with the lowest total score will be the FedExCup Champion and be credited with an official victory in the TOUR Championship competition.

“This is a significant and exciting change for the PGA TOUR, our players, our partners and – most importantly – our fans,” said Monahan. “As soon as the TOUR Championship begins, any fan – no matter if they’ve followed the PGA TOUR all season or are just tuning in for the final event – can immediately understand what’s going on and what’s at stake for every single player in the field. And, of course, players will know exactly where they stand at all times while in play, which will ratchet up the drama, consequence and volatility of the competition down the stretch.

“Compared to the current system, the beauty here is in the simplicity. Fans are very familiar with golf leaderboards in relation to par, so they will have a clear understanding of the impact every shot makes during the final run for the FedExCup – ultimately leading to a singular champion without conflicting storylines.”

“It has been gratifying to witness the growth, popularity and importance of the FedExCup since its launch in 2007,” said Davis Love III, a current Player Director on the PGA TOUR Policy Board who also served on the Board during the development and launch of the FedExCup. “Several important refinements have been made along the way to help accelerate the FedExCup’s universal acceptance as a tremendous achievement in professional golf.

However, I believe this new strokes-based bonus system for the TOUR Championship might well be the most important of them all, as it will lend absolute clarity to where everyone in the field stands and what exactly they must do to win the FedExCup. It will make for a very exciting and dramatic four days.”

Meanwhile, the new $10 million Wyndham Rewards Top 10 not only will add drama to the Wyndham Championship as the final event before the FedExCup Playoffs but will also put an even greater premium on excelling over the course of the FedExCup Regular Season. The top-10 Regular Season finishers in FedExCup points through the Wyndham Championship – also sponsored by Wyndham Rewards – will reap the benefits of the Wyndham Rewards Top 10. The leader will earn $2 million, followed by $1.5 million for the runner-up with the 10th-place finisher earning $500,000. Additionally, each player in the top 10 will be invited into Wyndham Rewards at its most exclusive Diamond level, unlocking all the travel perks and unique Wyndham benefits that go along with it.

And while the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 will be recognized at the conclusion of the Wyndham Championship, the impact of the program will be felt throughout the season; a player’s performance every week becomes more critical than ever before, elevating the significance of each tournament on the schedule and producing drama for PGA TOUR fans at every turn.

“We are excited to unveil the Wyndham Rewards Top 10 next year, which will place an even greater premium on excelling over the course of the Regular Season,” said Andy Pazder, Chief Tournament and Competitions Officer for the PGA TOUR. “Season-long success is tantamount to qualifying for and advancing through the FedExCup Playoffs, and this is an exciting way to reward the best of the best and provide an added layer of drama for our fans in each market and around the world.”

In addition to the $10 million Wyndham Rewards Top 10, the existing FedExCup bonus pool will increase by $25 million, to $60 million. The FedExCup Champion will receive $15 million, versus the $10 million prize from previous years.

“Our players and fans have invested in the FedExCup over the past 12 seasons, and with these enhancements, we are reinvesting in the FedExCup in order to raise the stakes, so to speak, for their benefit,” said Monahan. “We are able to grow and diversify our fan base because we have the best athletes on the planet competing on the PGA TOUR. Now is the time to make these changes, and thanks to significant input in the process by our players, partners and fans, I believe we’re making exactly the right moves.

“To that end, these changes wouldn’t have been possible without the full support of the TOUR Championship’s outstanding Proud Partners – Coca-Cola and Southern Company – as well as longtime partner FedEx and an enhanced partnership with Wyndham Rewards,” he added. “They shared our vision for how we can challenge ourselves to raise level of excitement and fan engagement throughout the season up until the moment our FedExCup Champion is determined.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

By 2015, Svensson was ready to turn pro.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

As usual, it crowded around Tiger Woods.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Rose tried not to think about it.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk had an easy time deciding on three of his four picks for the Ryder Cup.

Xander Schauffele is making the last one a little more difficult.

Schauffele nearly holed a wedge on his second hole, rolled in a 40-foot birdie putt in the middle of his round Friday and wound up with a 6-under 64 in the BMW Championship for the lowest 36-hole score of his career and a two-shot lead over Justin Rose.

“I’m sort of in a position where I feel like a win is the only way I’d even be in consideration,” Schauffele said.

He also made it more difficult on Woods, who again goes into a weekend have to catch up to the leaders.

One day after he opened with a 62 – his lowest score since his last victory more than five years ago – Woods went eight holes before his first birdie and didn’t make many after that. He finished with two straight bogeys for a 70 that left him five shots behind in a tie for 12th.

“Very simple. I didn’t make any putts,” Woods said. “I hit a lot of beautiful putts that were on the top of the edge, and then obviously hit a couple bad ones on the last hole, but looked like all the putts were going to in. But they didn’t go in today.”

Schauffele was at 13-under 127 and will be paired in the third round Saturday with a familiar figure in Philadelphia. Rose, who played bogey-free for a 64, won the AT&T National at Aronimink in 2010, and he captured his only major at nearby Merion in the 2013 U.S. Open.

“Cheese steaks, I guess,” Rose said. “I played well. The crowd latched onto it, for sure. I get good support around here. It’s nice when they’re reminding you all the time that it’s your town, as well. It’s nice to have the added bit of enthusiasm from the crowd.”

Aronimink was even softer than the opening round from a burst of rain overnight. Starting times were moved up four hours because of a forecast for more rain. The trick Friday, when the average score was 67.33, was to avoid wedges that spun too much to back pin positions.

Hideki Matsuyama, who started the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 76, had a 64 and was in a group three shots behind that included Keegan Bradley, Alex Noren and Rickie Fowler. Matsuyama suddenly is in position to be among the 30 players who advance to East Lake in Atlanta in two weeks for the Tour Championship.

The same is true for Bradley and for Noren, the Swede who makes his Ryder Cup debut at the end of the month. Noren holed out for eagle on the par-5 ninth for a 66, while Bradley keeps flirting with contention in these playoff events.

Rory McIlroy (67), FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas (67) and Jason Day (64) were at 9-under 131.

Schauffele also needs a good week to get to East Lake, though he would like to extend his season an additional week in France at the Ryder Cup.

A runner-up at the British Open, the 24-year-old from San Diego finished 12th in the Ryder Cup standings. Furyk used three of his picks Tuesday night on Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Woods – Nos. 9, 10, 11 in the standings – and has one more pick after the BMW Championship.

Tony Finau is regarded the leading candidate, and he did nothing to hurt his chances. Finau made seven birdies in his round of 64 and goes into the final 36 holes at Aronimink just five shots behind.

“The possibilities are cool, the potential of what could happen,” Finau said. “But nothing good comes from thinking too far ahead. I got a couple rounds in front of me, 36 holes to try and win this tournament. And winning takes care of everything.”

Woods once used that phrase – “winning takes care of everything” – when he returned to No. 1 in the world after his injuries in 2013. Winning remains elusive, a cold putter didn’t do too much damage after starting with a 62.

He missed a 4-foot par putt on the par-3 fifth hole and didn’t convert any of the birdie putts from the 20-foot range. What he made on Thursday, he missed on Friday.

“I hit it just as good and putt it just as good,” Woods said. “Nothing went in. That’s the way it goes.”

Schauffele said he was on a mission, and the Ryder Cup was merely a byproduct. He was the PGA Tour rookie of the year last season after winning the Tour Championship for his second PGA Tour title. Now, results are harder to find.

His mission?

“Just prove to myself that I can win again and just be clutch,” he said. “I always thought I was rather a clutch player coming down the stretch and this year has said otherwise. I’m trying to prove it to myself again.”

NEWTOWN SQUARE, Pa. – With the glare of a scorching sun in his eyes, Tiger Woods couldn’t believe what he saw.

He finally missed a green on his 14th hole.

“Is that long?” he said to his caddie. “I thought it was perfect.”

Everything else felt that way Thursday in the BMW Championship, where Woods had his lowest score in an opening round in nearly 20 years and his best score on the PGA Tour since his last victory more than five years ago. With a bogey on his penultimate hole, he had an 8-under 62 at Aronimink.

And all that got him was a share of the lead with Rory McIlroy.

“Just the way it goes,” Woods said with a smile, caring more about a complete round of golf and a strong performance with his old putter than whether he was leading after one round in the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Aronimink was never easier, not with temperatures in the upper 90s and feeling even hotter. Not on a course with generous fairways and greens so soft that Woods hit a 3-iron from 242 yards that landed 8 feet in front of the hole and stopped 5 feet away next to the pin.

Woods hit nothing longer than a 9-iron into the par 4s. McIlroy relied heavily on his wedge game to make a strong bid at 59, only to make consecutive bogeys late in his round and having to settle for a 62.

Through all the sweat, through all the birdies, they managed to give Philadelphia fans a reason to cheer for golf in the hours before the Super Bowl champion Eagles opened the NFL season Thursday night against Atlanta.

“It was one of those days where it was out there,” McIlroy said.

And it was a Thursday, finally, that included Woods in the mix. He had failed to break par in the opening round at 10 of his last 11 tournaments.

“Got off to a better start than I have most of the season. And as of right now,” he said, pausing to smile, “I’m one back. Just the way it goes.”

He had just signed his card and saw that McIlroy was at 9 under, and by the time he stepped out from the hot sun and suggested another ice bath might be in order, McIlroy had dropped two shots before finishing with a two-putt birdie.

It was the lowest score for Woods since he shot 61 in the second round of the 2013 Bridgestone Invitational, which he won by seven shots for his 79th title on the PGA Tour and 90th worldwide. It remains his last victory.

And it was his best opening round since a 61 in the 1999 Byron Nelson Classic on a similar kind of day. Woods shot 29 on the front nine that day at Cottonwood Valley and it wasn’t even the best score in his group (Paul Goydos shot 28). Woods wound up with a one-shot lead that day and tied for seventh.

Woods returned to the same putter he has used to win 13 of his 14 majors – his third different putter in as many weeks – and saw some familiar results. He opened with a 20-foot birdie putt at No. 10, shot 29 on the back nine, and then rolled in a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 1 to reach 7 under through 10 holes.

He didn’t make many more, but he had chances.

His only bogey came at the par-3 eighth, by far the most difficult pin on the course. Woods was between clubs, went with a soft 4-iron and yanked it into the rough. He pitched to 18 feet, a good shot up a ridge and onto a green that sloped away from him. The putt caught the lip.

Woods and McIlroy still had to hit the shots and make the putts.

The wide fairways and temperatures in the 90s allowed the golf ball to seemingly fly forever and made for such low scoring that 48 players in the 69-man field broke par. Rickie Fowler opened with a 65 in his first tournament since the PGA Championship, and at times it felt like he was getting lapped playing alongside Woods.

Jordan Spieth couldn’t keep it in play off the tee and didn’t get under par until his 15th hole. He birdied three of the last four for a 67.

Peter Uihlein, who only advanced to the third FedEx Cup playoff event with birdies on his last three holes on the TPC Boston last week, had a 64 to join a group that included FedEx Cup champion Justin Thomas.

McIlroy was on the second green when he looked over at Woods, who had just hit wedge to 4 inches for birdie on the seventh hole and was waiting for the green to clear on the par-3 eighth. The crowd was much thinner for McIlroy, but those fans saw quite a show. He holed an 8-foot birdie putt on No. 2, part of a run six straight birdies.

When he was 9 under with four holes left – the last one a par 5 – he started thinking about breaking 60.

Instead, he missed the fairway on his next two tee shots, took bogey from about the same spot Woods was on No. 8, and those hopes were gone.

“You don’t get many opportunities to break 60 and today was one of them,” he said. “And I didn’t capitalize. I’m not going to say it stings too bad because I’d much rather shoot 62 today and win the golf tournament Sunday than shoot 59 today and maybe not win.”

NORTON, Mass. – Bryson DeChambeau plays golf differently from everyone else and is getting the results everyone wants.

It doesn’t take a scientist to figure that out.

For the second straight week in the richest part of the PGA Tour season, DeChambeau took down one of the strongest fields of the year by playing his best golf on the weekend to win the Dell Technologies Championship, becoming only the second player to capture the opening two playoff events in the FedEx Cup.

He closed with a 4-under 67 on Monday, making three straight birdies to close out the front nine and keeping his distance the rest of the way for a two-shot victory over Justin Rose on the TPC Boston.

“I wouldn’t have written it any better, to be honest with you,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve been playing some great golf this whole year. And I knew it was a matter of time before something cool showed up.”

Vijay Singh won the opening two FedEx Cup events in 2008, when the points system was different and points were not reset before the final playoff event. That allowed Singh to effectively wrap up the $10 million prize early.

DeChambeau, with his third victory this year, was assured of being the No. 1 seed when he gets to the Tour Championship, no matter what happens next week at the third playoff event outside Philadelphia.

And he would appear to be a shoo-in to be one of U.S. captain Jim Furyk’s three Ryder Cup picks to be announced Tuesday. The idea is to find the hottest player to fill out the team, and no one has been close to DeChambeau over the last two weeks.

The 24-year-old Californian is known as the “Mad Scientist” for his approach to the game, from his single-length clubs (34 inches, roughly the length of a 7-iron), to his work on biomechanics to the calculations that go into every shot.

Nine calculations, to be exact.

DeChambeau doesn’t want to give away all his secrets, but they range from yardage and wind to air pressure and adrenaline.

“He’s facing the biggest and best fields,” Rose said. “There’s a lot of conjecture about how he goes about it. But when he delivers as he is now, it just proves it.”

How much better can he get?

“You can always get better,” DeChambeau said. “How much? I would say it depends on what I can do in the restrictions of my biomechanics. So it’s all about error tolerances and being … less sensitive to error. So that when you do feel like you mess up, it’s not going to be that big of a mess-up. I hope that makes sense.

“But I can say there is another level.”

DeChambeau, who started the year at No. 99 in the world, moved to No. 7, one spot past Rory McIlroy. He finished at 16-under 268 and made $1,620,000 for the second straight week.

Canadian Adam Hadwin started his final round strong before settling with a 1-under 70 to finish 8-under in a tie for 21st.

The Abbotsford, B.C., native birdied three of his first four holes Sunday and reeled off 11 straight pars before back-to-back bogeys on No. 16 and No. 17 dropped him back two strokes.

Starting the final round one shot behind Abraham Ancer, and among 10 players within four shots of the lead, DeChambeau had a two-putt birdie from 50 feet on No. 7, took the lead with a 12-foot birdie putt on the 220-yard eighth hole, and then hit his approach to 6 feet to a back right pin at No. 9 for his third straight birdie.

Cameron Smith of Australia tried to make a run at him with a pair of late birdies, but DeChambeau answered with a birdie on No. 15 to keep his lead at two shots. Needing an eagle to catch him on the par-5 18th, Smith came up short and into the hazard and made bogey.

Rose birdied three of his last four holes for a 68 and wound up alone in second.

Ancer couldn’t keep pace, dropping three shots in the tough four-hole stretch early on the back nine. The 27-year-old Mexican hit into hazard on the 18th and finished with a bogey for a 73. The small consolation for Ancer was moving from No. 92 to No. 56, which at least made him among the top 70 who advance to the BMW Championship at Aronimink.

A few others also were happy to have another week left in a long season.

Peter Uihlein, the former U.S. Amateur champion in his first full season on the PGA Tour, birdied his last three holes for a 68. He played with Keith Mitchell, another PGA Tour rookie, who birdied his last two holes for a 69. Both moved into the top 70.

Matt Kuchar failed to advance beyond the second playoff event for the first time in 10 years, meaning he won’t get another chance to state his case as a potential Ryder Cup pick. Furyk makes his fourth selection after the BMW Championship.

The likely choices Tuesday would seem to be DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods – they finished Nos. 9, 10 and 11 when qualifying ended for eight automatic berths after the PGA Championship. Woods closed with a 71 and tied for 24th. Mickelson, who has played on every Ryder Cup team since 1995, boosted his case by winning a World Golf Championships event in Mexico in March, and he made nine birdies Monday in a closing round of 63.

“So fortunate also that it’s the day before the Ryder Cup picks, although I don’t feel that should be a bearing,” Mickelson said. “I think you have to look at the big picture through the course of the year statistically. … But it certainly doesn’t hurt.”