NORTON, Mass. – Abraham Ancer of Mexico learned the hard way that a game that got him to the PGA Tour was good enough to win.

A Labor Day finish on the TPC Boston will be his biggest test.

Ancer opened with three straight birdies, had a birdie chance on all but one hole and shot a 6-under 65 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the final round of the Dell Technologies Championship that could change his career.

He showed up at the second FedEx Cup playoff event at No. 92 in the standings, hopeful of getting into the top 70 to keep his season going. A victory would send him to East Lake for the Tour Championship and give him a spot in all four majors.

But one look at the leaderboard is enough to suggest that 18 holes is a long way off.

Right behind is a player who had the lowest score before the largest gallery at the TPC Boston. That would be Bryson DeChambeau, who played with Tiger Woods for the first time in competition and delivered a 63 to get within one shot of the lead.

Tyrrell Hatton had a shot bounce off a cart and into the woods, never to be found, leading to double bogey. He still managed a 69 and joined DeChambeau one off the lead. They were among 10 players within four shots of the lead, a group that includes major champions Justin Rose, Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth.

“I just know to win I’ve got to play good,” Ancer said. “There’s no way if you play sloppy you’re going to win out here. So I know I have to put up a good score out there tomorrow. And I know if I follow my game plan and make some putts, that could happen.”

He was at 13-under 200.

Woods had to settle for a 69 that left him in a tie for 16th – along with Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, B.C. – at 7 under.

At least Woods saw plenty of good golf. DeChambeau has become of his regular practice partners, though they had never been in the same group until Sunday.

DeChambeau opened with two birdies and finished even stronger, with short birdie putts on the 16th and 17th, and then a 5-iron from 237 yards that stopped rolling 2 feet from the hole for an eagle.

“He’s my childhood idol,” DeChambeau said. “I’ve admired him my whole entire life. And to be finally able to play with him under tournament conditions, it was different. I was a little nervous, for sure. But I was able to get out there and execute shots and worry about my game and focus on hitting the best shots possible. And I was able to play really well like that.”

Not since Vijay Singh in 2008 has anyone captured the opening two FedEx Cup. DeChambeau led by four shots at Ridgewood Country Club last week and never was seriously challenged. This time, the 24-year-old Californian will have to come from one shot behind against a 27-year-old playing in only his 49th PGA Tour event.

Hatton had the lead until his approach on the par-4 12th went off a cart path and into the trees, and a search party of some three dozen fans and volunteers never found it. He did well to escape with a double bogey, and then finished with a birdie for a 69.

Justin Rose (70) and Cameron Smith (67) were another shot behind, followed by Emiliano Grillo (64) and Kyle Stanley (66).

McIlroy was making a charge until hitting into the water on the 16th hole and missing a short putt at the 18th. HE had to settle for a 68 and was in a group at 9-under 204 that included Beau Hossler (68), Ryder Cup hopeful Tony Finau (67) and Spieth (68).

More than being six shots behind, Woods has to climb past 15 players. He handled the par 5s, but didn’t make much else and spent some 45 minutes on the putting green after his round.

“I didn’t get a lot out of my round today,” Woods said. Looking ahead to Monday, he said he would need a round like he saw from DeChambeau.

“I’ve got to make a bunch of birdies, get off to a quick start and just get rolling early,” Woods said. “Kind of do what Bryson did today.”

Ancer knows what it’s like to be among the chaotic atmosphere that Woods brings to a tournament. He played in the group ahead of Woods in the third round of the Quicken Loans National, heard the cheers and delivered a 62 that hardly anyone saw.

He didn’t play his best from the final group, but it wouldn’t have mattered with Francesco Molinari closing with a 62.

Ancer got hot again, putting for birdie on every hole except No. 12, where he made a mental mistake by hitting 3-wood off the tee into a breeze and into a bunker. He was able to advance it only 100 yards on the 51–yard par 4.

Even with seven birdies and a 65, Ancer missed three birdie chances inside 10 feet, including a 5-footer on the par-5 18th.

NORTON, Mass. – The putt is one that Webb Simpson never practices enough. He wasn’t sure it even required his putter.

He worked it to perfection.

From just over 70 feet away off the green on the par-5 18th, Simpson rolled in the eagle putt for an 8-under 63 to take a one-shot lead Saturday at the halfway point of the Dell Technologies Championship.

“You just kind of laugh at those because you’re not trying to make them, you’re just trying to get them close,” Simpson said. “The grass around the greens is firm enough to where the ball runs pretty smoothly. I didn’t like my lie to chip it. I decided to putt it, and it came off really nice, just how I wanted it.”

A gorgeous Saturday in New England allowed for low scoring at the TPC Boston.

Tyrrell Hatton of England had eight birdies with his store-bought putter for a 63 and was one shot behind, along with Justin Rose (67). Tommy Fleetwood made it a trio of Englishman near the top with his 65, leaving him three shots behind.

Tiger Woods got into the act, too.

Woods only once came close to bogey, making a 12-foot par putt on the par-3 11th hole, and gave himself ample opportunities in his round of 66. It was an important day to move forward with conditions ripe for scoring, though he still was seven shots behind Simpson.

“I’ve got some work to do still,” Woods said. “This is a golf course you can’t sit still on. You have to keep making birdies. You have to keep getting after it. Conditions are going to be like this the rest of the weekend. You’re going to see plenty of birdies out there.”

Simpson was at 11-under 131, worth little more than pole position going into the final two days before the Labor Day finish.

Adam Hadwin, the lone Canadian in the field, sits in a tie for seventh at 6-under. The Abbotsford, B.C., native was 5-under for the day through 10 holes before two bogeys on the back nine left him with back-to-back 68s.

Ten players were assured of their season ending by missing the cut, meaning they will not finish among the top 70 to advance to the third event in the FedEx Cup playoffs next week outside Philadelphia.

Simpson, who won The Players Championship in a landslide in May, is at No. 9 and already assured of being among the top 30 in the Tour Championship.

He is more interested in doing well enough, often enough, to be consistently among the elite.

“I don’t want to just have a couple of good years and have it go away for two years,” Simpson said. “There are a few guys that are always top 10 in the world. I want to do that.”

A lot of those guys are still in the hunt at the TPC Boston.

Jordan Spieth showed signs of getting on track, despite opening with two straight bogeys. He ran off four birdies in a five-hole stretch after making the turn, and saved par from a bunker on the other, and had a 67 to be in the large group at five shots behind.

Dustin Johnson, the world’s No. 1 player, missed several birdie chances and shot 69. He was six behind.

Hatton is riding a hot streak with his $149 putter that he bought last week before the final round at Ridgewood Country Club.

Well, the putter his caddie bought. Hatton wanted to shake up his short game, but the equipment trucks had already left and he was too embarrassed to be seen in a golf store shopping for a new putter, even if not many in Paramus, New Jersey, would have recognized him.

His caddie headed to a Golf Galaxy store, using a video app so Hatton could look at the options.

“Obviously, he made a good choice,” Hatton said.

Abraham Ancer of Mexico was poised to get within one shot until he chipped across the 18th green and into a bunker, and then missed a 4-foot par putt and had to settle for a 69 that left him three shots off the lead, along with Cameron Smith of Australia (66).

It’s a big week for Ancer, who is No. 92 in the FedEx Cup and needs to move into the top 70 to advance to next week outside Philadelphia. After that, the top 30 make it to the Tour Championship for the FedEx Cup finale.

“I don’t play well, I’m not playing any golf next week,” Ancer said. “I’m not trying to put any extra pressure. I know what I need to do. And I just need to execute my game plan and it will be fine.”

Tony Finau had five birdies over his last eight holes for a 68, which might help his cause involving another cup – the Ryder Cup. U.S. captain Jim Furyk makes three of his four wild-card picks on Tuesday, and Finau entered the equation with a runner-up finish last week.

Rafa Cabrera Bello of Spain didn’t hurt his chances, either. The four European selections are Wednesday. Cabrera Bello chose to play in the FedEx Cup playoff event at the TPC Boston instead of going to Denmark with one last chance to qualify. He had another 68 and was at 6 under, which is sure to get the attention of European captain Thomas Bjorn.

NORTON, Mass. – Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, BC, finished with a share of 8th after firing a 3-under 68 on Friday at the Dell Technologies Championship.

The first time Justin Rose played a competitive round at TPC Boston, he shot 63. That was 15 years ago and he was not yet a TOUR member. He was playing on a sponsor’s exemption extended by then-tournament director Jay Monahan, now the PGA TOUR Commissioner.

Rose, then 23-years old, eventually finished solo third and earned his TOUR card without having to go through Q-school.

Since then, he’s played more than 300 TOUR events, won nine times – including a major and two WGC events – and also won an Olympic gold medal. It’s been a stellar career.

But he’s never been able to match that 63 – although he came close Friday with a bogey-free 6-under 65 to take the lead.

“This golf course has been changed and manipulated a lot through the years,” said Rose after his 45th career round at TPC Boston. “I think the first couple of years I played really well and enjoyed it. Then obviously significant changes through the years. I guess the last few years things have settled a little bit again.

“So I played better when it was pre-redesign. I probably had more success.”

Indeed. Besides his solo third in 2003, he tied for fourth in 2006. But since the debut of the FedExCup Playoffs the following year and the course’s redesign by Gil Hanse, Rose’s only top-10 finish came last year with a tie for 10th.

Perhaps he’s finally starting to solve it. He certainly solved the tricky wind conditions better than anybody else, and his bogey-free round was one of just two on the day (Abraham Ancer had the other in shooting 66).

Of course, it helps that he’s an established world-class golfer, ranked sixth in FedExCup points and fourth in the world.

Even so, TPC Boston – at least the latest version — may always seem liked a mystery to him.

“I’ve had some mixed results here,” said Rose, who turned his first missed cut of the season at last week’s FedExCup Playoffs opener into a six-day visit back home. “I’ve had some great weeks and I’ve had some poor weeks here. It’s a course I never really know exactly what to expect.

“But it’s a fun golf course.”

It was fun 15 years ago when he first saw it. Maybe it will be even more fun for him the rest of this week.

PARAMUS, N.J. – Canadian, Adam Hadwin, finished with a share of 11th this weekend at The Northern Trust. He recorded a 70 in his final round to sit 10-under for the tournament.

To his right was the silver trophy Bryson DeChambeau won Sunday , a victory that felt comfortable to everyone but him. To his left was the silver FedEx Cup trophy, a reminder of the ultimate prize in the PGA Tour season.

Missing was the gold Ryder Cup trophy.

DeChambeau took a giant step toward playing for that, too.

“Like I said yesterday, I’m a man on a mission right now – two missions, actually,” DeChambeau said after a four-shot victory in the opening FedEx Cup playoff event. “One being the Ryder Cup and one being the FedEx Cup. I’m doing pretty well right now and just got to keep moving forward in the right direction.”

That was the only direction his game went in a final round devoid of much drama.

Staked to a four-shot lead, DeChambeau never let anyone closer than two shots, ended the threat with consecutive birdies and closed with a 2-under 69 to win by four shots over Tony Finau, who also had the Ryder Cup on his mind.

DeChambeau never felt entirely in control until he stabbed at a chip short of the 12th green – a shot he had worked on all week and used that one time – that rolled out to 4 feet for a birdie that turned back his only threat.

His only wild shot was on the 18th hole, sending his drive so far to the right that landed in the fairway of a hole that wasn’t being used at Ridgewood Country Club. He still had a good angle to the green, made par and finished at 18-under 266.

He won for the second time this year, both against some of the strongest fields. He moved to the top of the FedEx Cup standings and is virtually assured of being one of the top five seeds at the Tour Championship who have a clear shot at the $10 million bonus.

Also on his mind is playing for no money at all at the Ryder Cup.

DeChambeau narrowly missed earning one of the eight automatic spots for the U.S. team when he missed the cut at the PGA Championship. Jim Furyk makes three of his four captain’s picks a week from Tuesday, and it will be tough to ignore a 24-year-old Californian with victories at the Memorial and a FedEx Cup playoff event.

“Hopefully he can see that I’ve got some grit and grind, and that even when I don’t execute certain shots, I can get it done,” DeChambeau said.

DeChambeau, who stayed on the practice range until it was dark Saturday night, came out firing with two straight birdies to stretch the lead to six shots. His only mistakes were a pair of three-putt bogeys on the front nine, the second one at No. 9 that reduced his lead to two shots over Aaron Wise.

But not for long.

Wise’s threat ended with a bogey on No. 16, about the time DeChambeau got up-and-down with that chip from just short of the reachable par-4 12th for birdie.

No one got any closer the rest of the way.

Finau also made a strong statement about a captain’s pick. Furyk invited Finau to join a small group of Americans who played Le Golf Nacional the weekend before the British Open. He was playing with Furyk at the PGA Championship when Finau tied a tournament record with 10 birdies in the second round.

And while he stared five shots back on a course where the greens were as firm as they have been all week, Finau closed with a 68 to finish alone in second. Finau cracked the top 20 in the world (No. 18) for the first time in his career.

“If I’m in the conversation, this doesn’t hurt my chances, I don’t believe,” Finau said. “I had a solid week all around. My game feels good and I feel confident. Whatever his decision is, I’ll be ready to play.”

Tiger Woods, coming off a runner-up finish at the PGA Championship, never got anything going. He closed with a 70 and tied for 40th, 14 shots out of the lead.

“I’m sure you guys are used to seeing me win five times a year or more,” Woods said. “It’s not that easy to win out here. What you’re seeing is that I’m close, and just one shot here, one shot there per day, flips momentum.”

Woods has played plenty of practice rounds with DeChambeau and is a strong advocate for adding him to the U.S. team that goes to France at the end of September.

“The guy is fiery,” Woods said. “He’s competitive, and we want guys like that. It’s going to be a tough environment, so we want guys that are mentally tough and can handle it.”

Billy Horschel (68) and Cameron Smith (69) tied for third.

Ryan Palmer also felt like a winner. He came into the FedEx Cup playoffs at No. 100 – the top 100 advance to the second stage next week at the TPC Boston – and Palmer delivered a 65 on Sunday highlighted by a wedge he holed for eagle on the par-5 third hole. He tied for fifth, along with Wise (67) and Adam Scott (69), and moved all the way to No. 50.

Dustin Johnson’s only consolation was four birdies over the final four holes for a 68 that enabled him to stay No. 1 in the world by the narrowest of margins over U.S. Open and PGA champion Brooks Koepka.

Nick Watney was among six players who moved from outside the top 100 to advance to the Dell Technologies Championship, which starts Friday. The others were Scott Stallings, Jhonattan Vegas, Bronson Burgoon, Brian Stuard and Danny Lee.

PARAMUS, N.J. — Bryson DeChambeau kept pouring in birdies as everyone around him went the other direction Saturday in The Northern Trust.

DeChambeau finished with two birdies, making an 18-foot putt on the last hole to cap off his 8-under 63 that gave him a four-shot lead over Keegan Bradley. Along with seizing control of the opening FedEx Cup playoff event, DeChambeau might make it tough for Ryder Cup captain Jim Furyk to ignore him.

He narrowly missed earning one of the eight automatics spots on the U.S. team. Furyk makes three of his picks a week from Tuesday.

DeChambeau made nine birdies, four in a five-hole stretch to start pulling away.

What made him stand out, even more than his tam o’shanter cap and single-length shafts, was all the stars around him were in reverse. Of the final 10 players to tee off, DeChambeau and Adam Scott were the only ones to break par. Scott had to birdie three of his last four holes for a 70.

Brooks Koepka, who shared the 36-hole lead with Jamie Lovemark, had a 13-hole stretch in the middle of his round with three bogeys and 10 pars. He shot 72 and fell seven shots behind to enter into a tie for seventh with Adam Hadwin (68) of Abbotsford, B.C., amongst others.

Dustin Johnson, who started the day tied with DeChambeau, added a double bogey to a week that already included two triple bogeys. Johnson birdied his last hole for a 72 to fall nine shots back.

Scott was one shot behind when he made two bogeys, then chopped up the par-3 11th for a double bogey.

“I really switched off there for five holes and made a mess of things around the turn,” Scott said. “Might have shot myself out of the tournament. We’ll see how it goes tomorrow, but it’s going to be costly and make life difficult for me to win this thing now.”

Bradley finished his round about an hour after the leaders teed off, making five birdies over his last seven holes for a 62. He was leading at the time and figured he would be at least a few shots behind when the third round ended.

He might not have expected DeChambeau to be the one he was chasing.

“Just looking at who is at the top of the leaderboard, when I got to 10, I was like any birdie from here on out is really going to be big going into tomorrow,” Bradley said.

Tony Finau (66) and Cameron Smith of Australian (65) were five shots behind, with Billy Horschel (65) and Scott another shot back. Jordan Spieth finally got his putter going and shot a 64, leaving him seven shots behind but in a tie for seventh, boosting his bid to return to the Tour Championship.

Spieth, who hasn’t won this year, started the playoffs at No. 43. The top 30 after three playoff events go to East Lake for a shot at the $10 million prize. For players like Bradley and Horschel, making it to East Lake means getting into three of the majors and two World Golf Championships.

And for DeChambeau, it’s simply the process of winning.

“I’ve got a four-shot lead, and never really been in this spot before,” DeChambeau said. “But I’m excited because this is a new challenge for me, and I always like challenges.”

Tiger Woods had his first bogey-free round of the year, but managed only three birdies for a 68. He was 13 shots behind. In scoring conditions, Woods has seven birdies in 54 holes. DeChambeau made that many in 12 holes Saturday.

“That’s not going to get it done,” Woods said. “As soft as it is, these guys are making a boat load of birdies. And I just haven’t made any.”

DeChambeau’s big run began from the rough on No. 8, one of the par 5s converted into a par 4 for the tournament. He carved a 5-iron onto the green to about 8 feet, made a short birdie on the next hole, hit 8-iron to 10 feet on the par-3 11th and then chopped out of the rough to below the short par-4 12th to a few inches for birdie.

“I was so focused on my game today that I didn’t even worry about anything else,” DeChambeau said. “And so you just get in the zone every once in a while and block everything out and I really didn’t notice anybody else, actually. It’s a great feeling to have and I hope to bring it tomorrow.”

The top 100 in the FedEx Cup after Sunday advanced to the second playoff event at the TPC Boston. Among those on the bubble is Sean O’Hair, who is No. 121 and played with DeChambeau. O’Hair had a 72 to fall 10 shots behind, leaving him right on the bubble.

PARAMUS, N.J. – Canadian Adam Hadwin had a great round recording a 65, six strokes better than his 71 on Thursday. He sits tied in 11th after carding four back-to-back birdies on his front nine on Friday at The Northern Trust.

Brooks Koepka showed some muscle and unleashed a monstrous finish Friday to share the lead.

Tiger Woods missed yet another putt and was relieved to still be playing.

Koepka spent most of the second round trading birdies and bogeys, going nowhere. One swing changed everything on the 631-yard 13th hole at Ridgewood Country Club. From just under 310 yards, he swung 3-wood as hard as he could and saw the tight draw that had been missing all day. It stopped 20 feet from the hole, Koepka made it for eagle and then closed with three straight birdies for a 6-under 65.

He tied Jamie Lovemark, who shot a 66.

“I wasn’t happy the first 11 holes the way I hit it,” Koepka said. “When I hit that 3-wood, it all clicked. I felt like I was finally able to release the golf club. Just tried to hit as hard as I could, big draw. Aimed at the tree on the right and tried to draw it back to the flag. When I did that, everything started to click.”

The U.S. Open and PGA champion took it from there.

Lovemark, winless in 135 starts as a pro, made five birdies in a six-hole stretch around the turn and was the first to reach 10-under 132.

Before long, a list of contenders lined up behind them in an entertaining start to the FedEx Cup playoffs.

Adam Scott, building on his confidence from playing in the final group at the PGA Championship, had a 64 for the low round of the tournament and was one shot behind. Another shot back was Dustin Johnson, the world No. 1, who had another 67 that for the second straight day featured a triple bogey on his card. At least he got this one out of the way early, taking five shots from a mangled lie in deep rough behind the first green.

“That was not a fun start,” Johnson said. “There was nothing to do but laugh at that point.”

Bryson DeChambeau had a 66 and joined Johnson at 134. The group at 7-under 135 included Sean O’Hair, who is No. 112 in the FedEx Cup and needs to get to No. 70 by the third playoff event at the BMW Championship being played this year at Aronimink, his home club outside Philadelphia. He already is planning to play the member-guest a few weeks later, but O’Hair would love to play Aronimink for a $9 million purse.

Woods was not part of the action, even though he hit the ball beautifully. Woods had a birdie putt on every hole until the par-3 15th, when his tee shot rolled just off the green against the collar. All he had to show for it was two birdies, giving him four birdies in 36 holes.

He finished with a three-putt bogey from just inside 30 feet, giving him another 71. He made the cut on the number, leaving him 10 shots behind.

“The name of the game is you’ve got to make putts, and you’ve got to roll it,” Woods said. “No matter how good your drive, you’ve still got to roll them and still got to make putts, and I didn’t putt very well today. I had a hard time seeing my lines, and consequently didn’t make anything.”

Jordan Spieth made putts to get off to a good start, only to give it all back with a triple bogey on his 10th hole of the round at No. 18. Worse than pulling his tee shots into the trees, worse than the penalty shot, was Spieth sweeping in a 10-inch putt for double bogey only to stub the putter and move the ball only a few inches.

Scott continues to keep two putters in the bag, long and short. The idea is to use the short putter for the medium-length putts that have been a struggle for him. At the PGA Championship and at Ridgewood, however, he has found a good stroke with the long putter and felt no need to change.

The biggest difference is confidence. He is starting to recognize the player who reached No. 1 in the world a few years ago, and only a month ago was getting closer to falling out of the top 100. The third-place finish at Bellerive at least put him back in the top 50, but did a world of good between the ears.

“It’s just been very hard to find that consistency for me this year, and I’ve been chipping away at it the last couple months and it all came good at the PGA,” Scott said. “And teeing off this week, I felt the most confident of any tournament this year. I just couldn’t wait to get up here, really.”

Koepka knows all about confidence with two major trophies sitting at home in Florida. The knock has been that he hasn’t won enough regular PGA Tour events, so he wanted to treat the FedEx Cup playoffs like majors in how he prepared, even down to renting a house and bringing his own chef, trainer and regular crew.

Five shots out of the lead, he tugged a tee shot into the left bunker on the reachable par-4 12th, and hit a clean sand shot to 3 feet for birdie. Then came a big drive on the 13th, and a 3-wood that carried him to his big finish.

Kevin Tway was the only other play to reach the 13th green in two. He shot 69 and was part of the group at 7-under 135.

“Sometimes it doesn’t always go as perfectly planned as you’d like, and then you make one good golf swing, and all of a sudden you’ve got that feeling, you’ve got that rhythm and then you can build off that,” Koepka said. “And that’s kind of what happened today.”

After shooting the round of his life to preserve his PGA Tour status, Canadian golfer Nick Taylor chose to mark the achievement with a modest celebration.

He and his wife, Andie – who just turned 30 – went to Wendy’s for ice cream.

“It was a roller coaster week, let alone day,” Taylor, from Abbotsford, B.C., said in a phone interview. “We were just so exhausted.”

A winner on the PGA Tour in 2014, Taylor was outside the top-125 on the FedEx Cup standings going into last week at the Wyndham Championship. His 7-under-par 63 Sunday (his low round of the year) helped move him to 119th. That allows him to pick and choose his schedule on the PGA Tour next year.

“I knew just making the cut and getting to the weekend wasn’t what I needed,” said Taylor. “I needed a top-25 finish at minimum. I feel like that helped me. If I just tried to make the cut I might have been a little tighter and a little more defensive.”

Taylor said his season was an interesting one. He had three straight top-25 finishes in the first three events, but through March and into May he missed six straight cuts. He began working with new swing coach Mark McCann in May after The Players Championship and things have turned around favourably since.

“There was a different eye and different opinion and that helped,” said Taylor. “It kind of saved the season.”

Taylor will now play The Northern Trust at Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey, the first FedEx Cup playoff event. Fellow Abbotsford golfer Adam Hadwin, who was 70th in the FedEx Cup standings, is also in the field.

Taylor said he feels like he’s got “nothing to lose” this week.

“I’m playing with house money a little bit,” he said. “I’m still trying to win and move on, but definitely not as much pressure as last week.”

Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., Ben Silverman of Thornhill, Ont., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., finished outside the top 125 and will play the four-tournament Web.com Tour finals to try to improve on their PGA Tour status for next year.

Conners (130th), Silverman (136th), and Hearn (138th) will play out of the category for golfers 126-150 on the FedEx Cup standings and have partial status.

Hearn was in that category this season and still played 21 tournaments.

Graham DeLaet of Weyburn, Sask., finished 185th on the FedEx Cup standings but will start next year on a major medical exemption after having back surgery on August 3.

DeLaet’s agent, Danny Fritz, said in an email to The Canadian Press “all went well” and he is “resting and on the road to recovery.”

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is fully exempt next year after his win at The RSM Classic in 2016.

NORTH PLAINS, Oregon – The first 25 of 50 available PGA TOUR membership cards for the 2018-19 season were secured on Sunday at the Web.com Tour’s final Regular Season event, the WinCo Foods Portland Open presented by Kraft-Heinz, contested on the Witch Hollow Course at Pumpkin Ridge Golf Club.

Canadian Adam Svensson of Surrey, B.C., finished the regular season at No. 14 thanks to four top-10 finishes and one victory at the Bahamas Great Abaco Classic.

South Korea’s Sungjae Im, who has led the money list each week this year after winning the season-opening Bahamas Great Exuma Classic at Sandals Emerald Bay, posted rounds of 65-66-68-67—266 (18-under) to win by four shots over John Chin. The $144,000 first-place check pushed Im to $534,325 in earnings and allowed him to join Martin Trainer as the only players on Tour to win twice in 2018.

The 20-year-old Im, along with the other 24 card earners, will carry over earnings to the Web.com Tour Finals, where positions on the priority ranking list, used to set PGA TOUR fields each week, will be finalized.

An additional 25 cards will be awarded following the conclusion of the four-event Finals, which begin next week in Columbus, Ohio, with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital Championship. The final three events consist of the DAP Championship (August 30-2), Albertsons Boise Open presented by Kraft Nabisco (Sept. 13-16) and Web.com Tour Championship (Sept. 20-23). The second set of 25 cards will be based on money earned solely in the Finals.

The battle for the 25^th and final card came down to rookies Hank Lebioda and Kevin Dougherty, with Lebioda securing the last spot by $1,923.

Lebioda finished up a final-round 71 nearly two hours before Dougherty finished, and was forced to wait and watch the projected money list to see what his fate would be.

Dougherty birdied the par-4 17^th and had to birdie the par-5 18^th to earn his PGA TOUR card, but fell to his knees in disbelief as his birdie chip from just short of the green narrowly missed going in. The closing par left the former Oklahoma State golfer at No. 26 on the money list, and in turn vaulted Lebioda to the TOUR this fall.

The top 25 who secured their 2018-19 PGA TOUR membership are:

*=PGA TOUR rookie in 2018-19

The top 25 will be joined at the Finals by those PGA TOUR players who finished 126-200 in the FedExCup standings (less those with exemptions), plus non-members who earned enough equivalent FedExCup points to finish within the 126-200 range.

The 50 graduates will join the PGA TOUR for the 2018-19 season, which opens the week of October 1-7 with the Safeway Open in Napa, California.

Seventeen of Sunday’s 25 card earners will be rookies on the PGA TOUR in 2018-19.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — When the sun set on the Wyndham Championship, Nick Taylor of Abbotsford, B.C., and David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., were tied for eighth to become the top Canadians at the tournament.

With four consecutive birdies on the front-nine, an eagle on the 15th hole and a round closing birdie, Taylor fired a scorching 63 to finish the PGA regular season 119th in the FedEx Cup standings, qualifying for the FedEx Cup playoffs and earning full PGA status for next year.

Hearn also ended the tournament in a tie for eighth at 15 under after carding a 70 in the final round. He finishes short of the top-125 at No. 138.

Brandt Snedeker won the Wyndham Championship on Sunday for his ninth PGA Tour title, four days after opening with an 11-under 59.

Snedeker closed with a 65 for a three-stroke victory in the regular-season finale, breaking a tie with C.T. Pan on the final hole with a birdie and Pan’s double bogey in the group ahead.

Snedeker finished at 21-under 259 for his first win since 2016 and his second at the tournament, but first at Sedgefield Country Club.

Pan shot a 66 to tie for second with Webb Simpson.

Simpson matched his career-best with a 62.

Snedeker opened the tournament with the 59 that made him the first tour player this year and just the 10th ever to break 60, then on the final day played 29 holes at 5 under to seal it.

He was never in danger of missing the Fed Ex Cup playoffs for the first time in his career, but the victory gave him a huge jump on the points list. He climbed 50 spots to No. 30 on the list, after arriving at 80th _ which would have been his lowest finish.

For a while, it looked like it might come down to a playoff between Pan and Snedeker, who were even at 20 under entering Pan’s final hole.

But the 26-year-old from Taiwan ran into big trouble: Playing in the threesome immediately ahead of Snedeker, Pan shanked his tee shot out of bounds off a cart path down the right side of the fairway and needed four shots, including the penalty stroke, to reach the green on the par 4.

With the victory seemingly inevitable at that point, Snedeker sank a 20-foot birdie putt on the 18th to end it.

Severe weather led organizers to suspend the third round with 30 players still on the course and bring everybody back to Sedgefield on Sunday morning, leaving Snedeker with 29 holes to play on the final day.

He wrapped up that round with a one-stroke lead at 16 under before heading back onto the course. Since the tournament moved here in 2008, every third-round leader who was that far under par has gone on to win.

The other subplot at Sedgefield is the last-minute push for the playoffs, which begin next week at The Northern Trust in New Jersey with the top 125 players qualifying. With every player who was between Nos. 122-127 missing the cut, there figured to be plenty of movement near the bubble.

Sergio Garcia will miss the playoffs for the first time in his career after winding up 131st on the points list. Harris English and Nick Taylor played their way in, with Taylor saying he would “kind of soak it in and realize that we’ve finally done it.

“It’s really satisfying to finish it off,” he said.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Four Canadians survived the cut on Friday at the Wyndham Championship. David Hearn of Brantford, Ont., was the top Canadian for the second consecutive day thanks to a bogey-free front-nine. The 39-year-old registered only one bogey, ultimately shooting a 67 to head into the weekend tied for fourth.

Nick Taylor of Abbostsford, B.C., also cracked the top ten, sitting in a tie for tenth at 8 under. Two other Canadians — Corey Conners of Listowel, Ont., and Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont. — also made the cut at 6 under and 4 under, respectively.

Brandt Snedeker couldn’t block out the buzz that surrounded his first-round 11-under 59 at the Wyndham Championship. He refocused just in time to reclaim the lead.

Snedeker followed his historic opening score with a 67 on Friday to take a two-stroke lead into the weekend at the Wyndham Championship.

A day after becoming the 10th player in PGA Tour history to break 60, Snedeker moved to 14-under 126 halfway through the final PGA Tour event before the playoffs.

“You hear people telling you every two seconds, ‘Mr. 59,’ or saying how cool it was to watch it,” Snedeker said. “So, yes, totally on your mind.”

D.A. Points shot a 64 to reach 12 under _ one stroke ahead of C.T. Pan, who also had a 64. David Hearn, Peter Malnati, Keith Mitchell, Harris English, Brett Stegmaier and Sergio Garcia were 9 under.

Snedeker, the 2012 FedEx Cup champion, won this tournament in 2007 before it moved across town to the par-70 Sedgefield Country Club. He had the tour’s first 59 of the year during the first round.

But it wasn’t easy to follow a score like that. Of the nine previous players who have broken 60 on the tour, six had to play the next day and only one has shot better than 65 in that round: Justin Thomas, who had a 64 in the second round of last year’s Sony Open.

“You can’t ignore it, you can’t try to forget about it,” Snedeker said. “Hardest thing is trying to get back into a rhythm. … Now I’m better equipped for the next time I shoot 59 and play the next day.”

By the time Snedeker teed off Friday afternoon, that low score had held up for a one-stroke lead. It temporarily slipped away when he had three bogeys on the front nine.

He reclaimed the lead late in his round with some nifty putting. He sank two putts longer than 30 feet, one for eagle on the par-5 15th and another for birdie on the par-4 16th, and wrapped up with the best two-round score at this tournament since Carl Pettersson’s 125 a decade ago.

“When I finally convinced myself to hit a few putts, they started going in,” Snedeker said. “Over 72 holes, you’re going to have stretches where balls don’t go in the hole, you’ve got to be able to kind of overcome, be patient, wait for the long ones to fall, and luckily I made a couple coming down the stretch.”

Points, who has made only one cut since January and failed to reach the weekend in 19 of his 24 tournaments this season, had a strong front nine with three birdies and an eagle on the par-5 fifth hole, where he sank a 40-foot putt. He has finished in the top 20 at this tournament twice since 2014, and after starting far off the bubble at No. 214 on the points list, could play his way into the playoffs this weekend.

“Basically, I know this is possibly my last event of the year, so I haven’t been grinding really hard,” Points said. “It seems to be paying off.”

Pan, a 26-year-old from Taiwan, had birdies on three of his final four holes to climb the leaderboard. He sank a 20-foot birdie putt on No. 17 and an 8-footer on the 18th to match the best round of his young career. He also shot 64s last year at the Travelers Championship and the RSM Classic.

“I love this course,” Pan said, adding that his “trajectory tends to be lower than compared to other guys, so I think I have an advantage here.”

Among the other highlights: Brian Gay had the day’s best round, a 63 tarnished only by a bogey on his final hole on which he missed a 4-foot par putt. And Mitchell opened with five consecutive birdies to briefly raise the possibility of a second sub-60 score in two days, before slipping back later in his round.

“It’s definitely a different feeling,” Mitchell said. “But it’s a feeling you try to get comfortable with because you want to be in that zone.”

A key subplot at Sedgefield every year is the push by bubble players to earn post-season spots. The top 125 players on the points list make the field for the Northern Trust in New Jersey, and everyone from No. 122 to No. 132 is playing this weekend.

Bill Haas, who at No. 150 is in danger of missing the playoffs for the first time, made the cut at 3 under. Garcia, at No. 131, also is trying to make it for the 12th straight year. Johnathan Byrd _ who at No. 183 probably needs to win or finish alone in second place to earn enough points to qualify _ remains in the mix at 8 under.

“It’s kind of an easy mentality in a sense,” Byrd said. “Just got to play amazing or go home, or go to the (Web.com Tour) finals.”