Following Sunday’s conclusion of the TOUR Championship and the FedExCup Playoffs, nominees for PGA TOUR Player of the Year and PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year were finalized by the PGA TOUR Player Directors and members of the Player Advisory Council (PAC).

The nominees for the Jack Nicklaus Award as the PGA TOUR Player of the Year are (alphabetically) Dustin Johnson, Hideki Matsuyama, Jordan Spieth and Justin Thomas. The nominees for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year are Wesley Bryan, Patrick Cantlay, Mackenzie Hughes, Grayson Murray and Xander Schauffele.

The Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year awards are determined by a member vote, with PGA TOUR members who played in at least 15 official money events during the 2016-17 season eligible to vote. The voting will close on Monday, October 2, with the winners to be announced that week.

Five nominated for PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year:

Wesley Bryan, 27
Augusta, Georgia (University of South Carolina)

• Entered 28 events with one victory at the RBC Heritage.
  Finished 41st in the FedExCup.
  Finished 113th in Adjusted Scoring Average (71.062).
  Recorded a total of five top-10 finishes with 19 made cuts.
  2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour.

Patrick Cantlay, 25
Jupiter, Florida (UCLA)

• Entered 13 events with a season-best runner-up finish at the Valspar Championship.
  Finished 29th in the FedExCup.
  One of two rookies to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship in 2017.
  Finished 15th in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.971).
  Recorded a total of four top-10 finishes with 13 made cuts.

Mackenzie Hughes, 26
Dundas, Ont. (Kent State University)

• Entered 31 events with one victory at The RSM Classic.
  Finished 36th in the FedExCup.
  Finished T109th in Adjusted Scoring Average (71.044).
  Recorded a total of two top-10 finishes among 22 made cuts.
  2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour.

Grayson Murray, 23
Raleigh, North Carolina (Arizona State University)

• Entered 30 events with one victory at the Barbacoa Championship.
  Finished 66th in the FedExCup.
  Finished 114th in Adjusted Scoring Average (71.064).
  Recorded a total of two top-10 finishes among 18 made cuts.
  2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour.

Xander Schauffele, 23
San Diego, California (San Diego State University)

• Entered 28 events with wins (2) at The Greenbrier Classic and TOUR Championship; first-ever rookie to win the TOUR Championship.
  Finished third in the FedExCup.
  One of two rookies to qualify for the season-ending TOUR Championship in 2017.
  Finished 27th in Adjusted Scoring Average (70.163).
  Recorded a total of four top-10 finishes among 20 made cuts.
  2016 graduate of the Web.com Tour.

Player of the Year nominees

Dustin Johnson, 33
Jupiter, Florida (Coastal Carolina University)

• Entered 20 events with victories (4) at the Genesis Open, World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship, World Golf Championships-Dell Technologies Match Play and THE NORTHERN TRUST.
  Finished fourth in the FedExCup.
  Finished seventh in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.549).
  Finished the season with eight top-10 finishes among 17 made cuts.

Hideki Matsuyama, 25
Sendai, Japan (Tohoku Fukushi University)

• Entered 22 events with victories (3) at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions, Waste Management Phoenix Open and World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational
  Finished eighth in the FedExCup.
  Finished 10th in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.624).
  Recorded a total of seven top-10 finishes among 20 made cuts.

Jordan Spieth, 24
Dallas, Texas (University of Texas)

• Entered 23 events with victories (3) at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, Travelers Championship and The Open Championship.
  Finished second in the FedExCup.
  Finished first in Adjusted Scoring Average (68.846) to earn the Byron Nelson Award.
  Recorded 12 top-10 finishes (tied with Justin Thomas for most this season) among 20 made cuts.
  Top-10 finishes in all four FedExCup Playoffs events in 2017: THE NORTHERN TRUST (P2), Dell Technologies Championship (2), BMW Championship (T7), TOUR Championship (T7).

Justin Thomas, 24
Jupiter, Florida (University of Alabama)

• Entered 25 events with victories (5) at the CIMB Classic, Sentry Tournament of Champions, Sony Open in Hawaii, PGA Championship and Dell Technologies Championship.
  Winner of the 2017 FedExCup.
  Finished first on Official Money List to earn the Arnold Palmer Award with $9,921,560.
  Finished third in Adjusted Scoring Average (69.359).
  Recorded 12 top-10 finishes (tied with Jordan Spieth for most this season) among 19 made cuts.
  Became just the fourth player since 1960 to capture five wins, including a major, in a season before the age of 25 (Jack Nicklaus, Tiger Woods, Jordan Spieth).

ATLANTA – Xander Schauffele ended his rookie season by winning the Tour Championship. Justin Thomas ended the best season with the FedEx Cup.

Schauffele, a 23-year-old worried about keeping his PGA Tour card just over three months ago, swirled in a 3-foot birdie putt on the final hole Sunday for a 2-under 68 to beat Thomas by one shot and become the first rookie to win the Tour Championship.

Thomas had plenty of reasons to celebrate his runner-up finish. He capped off a season of five victories and his first major championship by claiming the $10 million bonus. He closed with a 66 after he narrowly missed a 25-foot birdie putt on the 18th.

It was the first time since 2009 that the Tour Championship and FedEx Cup were won by different players.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot a 70 to finish 1-over for the tournament.

ATLANTA – Paul Casey shot a 5-under 65 to build a two-shot lead in the Tour Championship. That leaves him one round away from ending eight years without winning on the PGA Tour in the biggest way possible.

Casey holed a 40-foot birdie putt on the 17th hole and escaped with par on the closing hole at East Lake.

He was at 12-under 198, two shots ahead of Kevin Kisner (64) and PGA Tour rookie Xander Schauffele (65). Casey’s only PGA Tour victory was in 2009 at the Houston Open. A victory Sunday might be enough to also give him the FedEx Cup and the $10 million bonus.

Justin Thomas had to rally for a 70 and fell five shots behind. He’s still in the hunt for the FedEx Cup.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., struggled to a 3-over 73 and is 1 over for the event.

ATLANTA – With two swings, Justin Thomas showed that every shot counts in the FedEx Cup, even at the season-ending Tour Championship.

Thomas had six players ahead of him Friday when he smashed a 335-yard drive down the bottom of the hill on the par-5 18th hole at East Lake, and then a 5-iron that settled 6 feet below the cup for a closing eagle.

Just like that, Thomas had a 4-under 66 and a share of the lead with Paul Casey and Webb Simpson and was back in control – a loose term the way this tournament is shaping up going into the week – of his chase for the $10 million bonus.

“It’s nice to have everything in my own hands and know that if I just take care of what I need to do, then it’s over,” Thomas said.

It’s not over yet, not even close.

Casey stumbled with some errant tee shots into the troublesome rough for back-to-back bogeys in a 67 that slowed his momentum. Simpson paid for a wild drive on No. 13 with a double bogey and made nothing pars coming in for a 67.

They joined Thomas at 7-under 133.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., is five shots back and tied for 18th after a 67.

As one of the top five seeds, Thomas only has to win the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup. Even a third-place finish might be enough to take home golf’s richest bonus depending on who wins.

But that list is plenty deep after two sweltering days at East Lake.

Jon Rahm, the No. 5 seed who also has a clear path to the top prize, played bogey-free for a 67. He was one shot behind, along with Patrick Reed (65), Justin Rose (66) and Gary Woodland (67), all of them trying to win for the first time this year.

Dustin Johnson, the No. 3 seed, has been sputtering along. He failed to birdie either of the two par 5s, managed only a 69 and still was only four shots behind.

“I just want to get within striking distance,” Johnson said. “If I can get it within three, I would be happy.”

He was four behind, so it doesn’t require much math to figure out he’s not far away.

Jordan Spieth was lucky to still be just four shots behind. The No. 1 seed in the FedEx Cup missed five straight greens in regulation on the back nine and kept in the game with some crucial par putts. He had to settle for a 70 and headed straight for the practice area.

Twenty players from the 30-man field were under par, meaning they were separated by just six shots with 36 holes ahead of them.

“It’s the easiest one to win because there’s only 30 guys,” said Kevin Kisner, who shot another 68 and was three behind. “But then I look up there and everyone is 6 under, and it doesn’t look so easy.”

Thomas made birdies with a wedge in his hand, failed to save par from a bunker on the fifth hole, and then turned a mediocre round into a solid one with that 5-iron into the 18th for birdie.

He already can state his case as the best player on the PGA Tour this year, with five victories and his first major at the PGA Championship. Thomas outlasted Spieth and Marc Leishman to win at the TPC Boston three weeks ago, and now he’s tied for the lead going into the weekend at East Lake.

Much like Spieth in 2015 when he ended his best season with the FedEx Cup, Thomas would love to have the perfect ending.

“I want to win any week,” he said, “but it definitely would be a nice cap.”

Casey and Simpson are enduring long droughts. Casey last won at the KLM Open in 2014, while Simpson last won four years ago in Las Vegas. Both overcame a few stumbles on the back nine to share the lead.

Casey seems to have done everything but win the last three years, with six top-5 finishes in the last eight FedEx Cup playoff events.

“It would cap off a very good season, make a very good season a great season,” he said. “Yeah, it would be a lot of satisfaction in that. Hopefully, ask me again on Sunday and I can give you the full explanation. Right now, I’m too busy just trying to focus on trying to string together four great rounds of golf. It’s amazing how this golf course just bunches and you can’t seem to get away.

“Guys are right there, sort of biting at your heels,” he said. “So it’s going to be a tough one.”

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Florida – The PGA TOUR today released the full 2017-18 Season schedule of 49 FedExCup tournaments, representing an increase of two events with the previously announced additions of THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES at Jeju Island, Korea, and the elevation of the Web.com Tour’s Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship in the Dominican Republic. Total prize money for the season will be a record of more than $363 million.

THE CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES, Korea’s first official PGA TOUR event, debuts October 16-22 at The Club at Nine Bridges as one of eight tournaments in the 2017 portion of the schedule, which was released in August.

The Corales Puntacana Resort & Club Championship, which was held for two years on the Web.com Tour, will debut on the PGA TOUR March 19-25, 2018, the same week as the World Golf Championship-Dell Technologies Match Play. The Tom Fazio-designed Corales course will continue to serve as the tournament course.

The Puerto Rico Open, in turn, moves from Match Play week to February 26-March 4, coinciding with the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship. With the addition of the two new international tournaments, the schedule includes nine tournaments in eight countries outside the United States.

Other significant changes relate to venues. The AT&T Byron Nelson (May 14-20) moves to the new Trinity Forest Golf Club in Irving, Texas, while two FedExCup Playoffs events change courses: THE NORTHERN TRUST (August 20-26) returns to The Ridgewood Country Club in New Jersey and the BMW Championship (September 3-9) visits historic Aronimink Golf Club near Philadelphia for the first time, marking only the second time in the tournament’s 115 years of play that it will be held in Pennsylvania (1959 being the other).

Additionally, the U.S. Open (June 11-17) returns to Shinnecock Hills Golf Club in Southampton, New York, for the first time since 2004; The Open Championship (July 16-22) rotates to Carnoustie Golf Links in Scotland and the PGA Championship (August 6-12) will be held at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis for only the second time (first being in 1992).

One final change sees the open week during the 2018 FedExCup Playoffs shifting by one week. The first three events will be held consecutively – THE NORTHERN TRUST, the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston (August 27-September 3) and BMW Championship. Then comes the open week, followed by the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta (September 17-23).

As previously announced by Golf Canada and RBC, the RBC Canadian Open, Canada’s National Open Championship, takes place July 23-29, 2018 at Glen Abbey Golf Club.

In a 2016-17 season that saw five top 10 finishes and his first career PGA TOUR victory, Adam Hadwin is set to make his first TOUR Championship appearance. His five top 10 finishes include Valspar Championship (1), CareerBuilder Challenge (2), WGC-Bridgestone Invitational (T5), Arnold Palmer Invitational presented by Mastercard (6) and OHL Classic at Mayakoba (T10).

Hadwin entered the 72nd hole at the Valspar Championship tied for the lead with Patrick Cantlay, but two-putted for par for his first career PGA TOUR win. He became the 15th different Canadian to win on the PGA TOUR and only the second player in TOUR history to win on the Mackenzie Tour – PGA TOUR Canada, Web.com Tour and PGA TOUR, joining Mackenzie Hughes.

The Abbotsford, B.C., native is ranked No. 21 in the FedExCup rankings, and will need the following scenarios to occur in order to capture the FedEx Cup:

• Win the TOUR Championship
  • And…
  • Jordan Spieth (#1) finishes 13th* or worse
  • Justin Thomas (#2) finishes 5th* or worse
  • Dustin Johnson (#3) finishes in a 3-way tie for 3rd or worse
  • Marc Leishman (#4) finishes 3rd* or worse
  • Jon Rahm (#5) finishes in a 3-way tie for 2nd or worse
  • Rory McIlroy (#6) finishes T2 or worse
  • *Tie for FedExCup

The TOUR Championship is the last of four events of the FedExCup Playoffs and the finale to the PGA TOUR season for the 11th consecutive season since the FedExCup Playoffs were introduced in 2007. The top five in the FedExCup standings entering the TOUR Championship will have the most control and will win the FedExCup with a victory at East Lake GC.

Click here for the winning scenarios of the Top-3o playing in the TOUR Championship.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – The clutch shots down the stretch in the BMW Championship belonged to everyone except the winner.

Marc Leishman didn’t really need them.

Staked to a five-shot lead, and determined to not let another FedEx Cup playoff event get away from him. Leishman never gave anyone much of a chance Sunday at Conway Farms. And when Justin Rose made a late run and closed within two shots, Leishman made back-to-back birdies to put away the final challenge, and then added one more for a 4-under 67 to set the tournament scoring record.

Leishman went wire-to-wire for the first time on the PGA Tour. The Australian moved up to No. 4 in the FedEx Cup, giving him a clear shot at the $10 million bonus next week. He moved into the top 15 in the world.

But this mainly was about redemption for losing a two-shot lead on the back nine at the TPC Boston two weeks ago.

“When the pressure got put on that back nine by Rosie, I reacted with birdies,” Leishman said. “Didn’t get too worried. Just tried to keep doing my own thing and give myself chances. … Backing up what happened (in Boston) was probably the most satisfying thing for me. I was just really determined to not let that happen again.”

Leishman finished at 23-under 261, breaking the 72-hole tournament record that Tiger Woods set at Cog Hill in 2007.

Rose ran out of hope when he made bogey on the par-3 17th and closed with a 65. Rickie Fowler ran off three straight birdies only after he was too far back and shot 67. They finished five shots behind.

Fowler needed a birdie on the par-5 18th to grab the No. 5 seed for the FedEx Cup finale next week at the Tour Championship. He ripped driver off the fairway and over the stream to the back rough. It was a bold play that preceded a pair of meagre efforts – a chip that came up 25 feet short, and a birdie putt that didn’t to the hole.

Jon Rahm birdied four of his last five holes for a 67 and will be the No. 5 seed.

Jordan Spieth shot 65 to tie for seventh and kept the No. 1 seed, followed by Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Leishman and Rahm. The points are reset to give all 30 players at East Lake a mathematical chance, but the top five seeds only have to win the Tour Championship to capture the FedEx Cup.

Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot up the leaderboard after shooting a 65 to finish as the low Canadian at 7 under. Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., struggled to a 3-over 74 and was 6 under for the event.

As usual, the only drama at Conway Farms was who made it to East Lake, and a pair of PGA Tour rookies delivered.

Xander Schauffele, who won The Greenbrier Classic in July, opened with 10 pars and two bogeys and was not even in the picture until the San Diego native played his final six holes in 6-under par, including a 30-foot eagle when he drove the green on the par-4 15th.

“A dream year for me,” Schauffele said. “Pretty much every goal I came up with and I’ve got to start creating some new ones.”

Patrick Cantlay fell out of the top 30 when he took bogey on the 16th hole. Needing a birdie to get into the Tour Championship, he hit a hybrid onto the green to 50 feet, left his eagle attempt some 10 feet short and calmly holed the putt to get in.

Cantlay returned to golf after a three-year break from a back injury that nearly ended his career, and the death of his close friend and caddie, Chris Roth, who was hit by car as they walked to dinner. The former UCLA star made it to the Tour Championship despite playing only 11 events this year. Being in the top 30 gets him into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open next year.

Tony Finau wasn’t sure what he needed, but he knew a bogey wasn’t going to help and he was nestled in the rough behind the green after his third shot. Finau, No. 39 in the standings, chipped in for birdie and a 64 and moved into the top 30.

“To see it go in was … man, the feeling that I have is pretty fantastic,” Finau said.

Masters champion Sergio Garcia injected more drama than necessary. He figured he needed a par on the final hole to get into the top 30 when a bogey would have worked. His second shot was on the rocks in the stream, and after taking close to 30 minutes on a drop, he smacked it over the green into the grandstand, got more relief, and then got up-and-down for his par.

Phil Mickelson wasn’t so fortunate. He made three bogeys on the front nine and tried to get back in the game with an eagle on the reachable par-4 15th. Needing an eagle on the 18th hole to make it to East Lake, Mickelson’s 140-foot pitch-and-run hit the hole and popped out. After the 30-minute wait on Garcia.

Leishman won the Arnold Palmer Invitational in March at Bay Hill. The third victory of his tour career was by far the biggest, and went far beyond the strong field, the $1,575,000 paycheque or his standing in the FedEx Cup.

Leishman pegged this event as a chance to spread awareness for sepsis and toxic shock syndrome, which nearly killed his wife two years ago. He asked the players to wear ribbons on their caps this week to celebration Sepsis Awareness Month. And then he went wire-to-wire, walking off the 18th green to see his wife, Audrey, and their three young children.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – As much as Marc Leishman has been through, especially off the golf course, it takes a lot to get to get under his skin. He tells his wife that even after a particularly bad round, give him 10 minutes and he’ll be fine.

His last tournament, when Leishman lost a two-shot lead on the back nine at the TPC Boston, was an exception.

“That one probably took a day,” he said. “It stung a bit.”

Saturday at the BMW Championship brought Leishman on the verge of redemption.

Leishman got up-and-down from a tough lie behind the 18th green for one last birdie that gave him a 3-under 68 and extended his lead to five shots over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the final round at Conway Farms.

Leishman, who was at 19-under 194, gets another chance to win a FedEx Cup playoff event and grab one of the top five seeds at the Tour Championship next week. The top seeds have a clear path to claim the $10 million bonus.

And this opportunity is much better than two weeks ago.

Leishman shared the 54-hole lead at the Dell Technologies Championship TPC Boston with Justin Thomas, who surged past Leishman and held off Jordan Spieth. This time, no one could make a run at him on a warm day with a steady wind that made conditions faster and more difficult.

Fowler rolled in a 25-foot eagle putt from just short of the green on the opening hole, and made only one birdie the rest of the way. He missed putts from the 6-foot range on consecutive holes on the back nine, one of them for birdie, and couldn’t make birdie with an iron in his hand for his second shot on the par-5 18th.

Day pulled within two shots with a birdie at the turn, but played the back nine with eight pars and a bogey. He also had an iron for his second shot on the 18th, but it plugged into the side of the bunker.

Fowler and Day each shot 70.

“Leish is playing spectacular,” Day said. “He’s going to be very difficult to beat tomorrow. I’ve got to come and play really good golf because he’s not making any mistakes. He’s hitting it in the right spots, hitting in on the greens and holing putts. That’s a good formula for success.”

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is the low Canadian at 9 under after a 69. Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, B.C., is 1 under.

The excitement figured to come from the race to East Lake.

The top 30 in the FedEx Cup advance to next week’s Tour Championship, where all have a mathematical chance at the $10 million bonus and are assured spots in every major except the PGA Championship next year.

Phil Mickelson, finally finding his form late in the year, has a chance to make it to the Tour Championship. He had a 69 – his seventh straight round in the 60s – but failed to take advantage of the easiest par 4 at Conway Farms – the reachable 15th – and took bogey on both par 3s.

“I’m playing well enough to get in contention and win again,” said Mickelson, whose last trophy came from the British Open in 2013. “And I want to get in that field because I think if I do, I think I’ll have a really good shot at it.”

Going into Sunday, Masters champion Sergio Garcia and a pair of PGA Tour rookies, Mackenzie Hughes and Patrick Cantlay, were projected to get into the top 30.

Still in the mix is Stewart Cink, who next week during the Tour Championship receives the Payne Stewart Award. Cink at one point was projected inside the top 30 until closing with a pair of bogeys. Just like everyone else, there’s one more day.

The race for the BMW Championship title has fewer possibilities.

Justin Rose had a 66 and was alone in fourth, though he was seven shots behind. Jon Rahm of Spain had a 65 and joined the large group at 11-under 202 that included Cantlay, Matt Kuchar and Charley Hoffman.

It would cap off a big week for Leishman in other ways.

His wife, Audrey, nearly died two years ago from toxic shock syndrome. She eventually recovered, and this year gave birth to a daughter, Eva, their third child. To recognizes Sepsis Awareness Month, Leishman arranged for players to wear ribbons on their caps.

“That’s what took Audrey ill to being with, and we’re just trying to get an awareness out there,” he said.

He created the “Begin Again Foundation” to help families that have gone through tough times with sepsis and toxic shock syndrome, and already have helped 700 families. Leishman is sure to get plenty of attention with a wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Championship.

Now he just has to finish.

“After what happened at the Dell I got extra determination to finish this one off and my game is in a better spot,” he said.LAKE FOREST, Ill. – As much as Marc Leishman has been through, especially off the golf course, it takes a lot to get to get under his skin. He tells his wife that even after a particularly bad round, give him 10 minutes and he’ll be fine.

His last tournament, when Leishman lost a two-shot lead on the back nine at the TPC Boston, was an exception.

“That one probably took a day,” he said. “It stung a bit.”

Saturday at the BMW Championship brought Leishman on the verge of redemption.

Leishman got up-and-down from a tough lie behind the 18th green for one last birdie that gave him a 3-under 68 and extended his lead to five shots over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the final round at Conway Farms.

Leishman, who was at 19-under 194, gets another chance to win a FedEx Cup playoff event and grab one of the top five seeds at the Tour Championship next week. The top seeds have a clear path to claim the $10 million bonus.

And this opportunity is much better than two weeks ago.

Leishman shared the 54-hole lead at the Dell Technologies Championship TPC Boston with Justin Thomas, who surged past Leishman and held off Jordan Spieth. This time, no one could make a run at him on a warm day with a steady wind that made conditions faster and more difficult.

Fowler rolled in a 25-foot eagle putt from just short of the green on the opening hole, and made only one birdie the rest of the way. He missed putts from the 6-foot range on consecutive holes on the back nine, one of them for birdie, and couldn’t make birdie with an iron in his hand for his second shot on the par-5 18th.

Day pulled within two shots with a birdie at the turn, but played the back nine with eight pars and a bogey. He also had an iron for his second shot on the 18th, but it plugged into the side of the bunker.

Fowler and Day each shot 70.

“Leish is playing spectacular,” Day said. “He’s going to be very difficult to beat tomorrow. I’ve got to come and play really good golf because he’s not making any mistakes. He’s hitting it in the right spots, hitting in on the greens and holing putts. That’s a good formula for success.”

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is the low Canadian at 9 under after a 69. Adam Hadwin (70) of Abbotsford, B.C., is 1 under.

The excitement figured to come from the race to East Lake.

The top 30 in the FedEx Cup advance to next week’s Tour Championship, where all have a mathematical chance at the $10 million bonus and are assured spots in every major except the PGA Championship next year.

Phil Mickelson, finally finding his form late in the year, has a chance to make it to the Tour Championship. He had a 69 – his seventh straight round in the 60s – but failed to take advantage of the easiest par 4 at Conway Farms – the reachable 15th – and took bogey on both par 3s.

“I’m playing well enough to get in contention and win again,” said Mickelson, whose last trophy came from the British Open in 2013. “And I want to get in that field because I think if I do, I think I’ll have a really good shot at it.”

Going into Sunday, Masters champion Sergio Garcia and a pair of PGA Tour rookies, Mackenzie Hughes and Patrick Cantlay, were projected to get into the top 30.

Still in the mix is Stewart Cink, who next week during the Tour Championship receives the Payne Stewart Award. Cink at one point was projected inside the top 30 until closing with a pair of bogeys. Just like everyone else, there’s one more day.

The race for the BMW Championship title has fewer possibilities.

Justin Rose had a 66 and was alone in fourth, though he was seven shots behind. Jon Rahm of Spain had a 65 and joined the large group at 11-under 202 that included Cantlay, Matt Kuchar and Charley Hoffman.

It would cap off a big week for Leishman in other ways.

His wife, Audrey, nearly died two years ago from toxic shock syndrome. She eventually recovered, and this year gave birth to a daughter, Eva, their third child. To recognizes Sepsis Awareness Month, Leishman arranged for players to wear ribbons on their caps.

“That’s what took Audrey ill to being with, and we’re just trying to get an awareness out there,” he said.

He created the “Begin Again Foundation” to help families that have gone through tough times with sepsis and toxic shock syndrome, and already have helped 700 families. Leishman is sure to get plenty of attention with a wire-to-wire victory at the BMW Championship.

Now he just has to finish.

“After what happened at the Dell I got extra determination to finish this one off and my game is in a better spot,” he said.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Marc Leishman has a short memory when it comes to golf, which only helped him at the BMW Championship.

He forgot all about that 62 in the opening round.

He was nearly just as good Friday with a 7-under 64 to open a three-shot lead over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the weekend at Conway Farms.

“I really took that as a challenge today, to not take it for granted that you’re just going to make birdies,” Leishman said. “You still have to earn every birdie. I think when you do get ahead of yourself, that’s when bad stuff can happen.”

There was plenty of good stuff from the guys chasing him in the third FedEx Cup playoff event.

Day, who has gone 16 months since his last victory, chipped in from behind the 14th green for his second eagle of the week, and then added a third eagle with one swing. He made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole with a 7-iron that turned into a payoff for multiple parties.

It carried day to a 65, putting him in the last group on the weekend with Leishman. BMW awarded $100,000 to the Evans Scholars Foundation, and then Day decided to give the car he won to the Evans Scholars, which will yield another full, four-year scholarship for another student.

Fowler also chipped in for eagle on the reachable par-4 15th hole on his way to a 64.

“The ultimate goal is to win this week,” Day said. “That’s the thing I’ve been trying to do this whole season – at least win once, and try to build on that.”

Leishman was at 16-under 126, two short of the 36-hole record Day set at Conway Farms two years ago on his way to a wire-to-wire, six-shot victory. Leishman has some experience with that, but it was long ago and the memory is vague, naturally. He recalls opening with a 70 at the Toyota Southern Classic on the Von Nida Tour in Australia and winning big.

He already has 18 birdies in 36 holes at Conway Farms, where the scoring average was a shade under 69 through two rounds.

It hasn’t been easy for everyone, particularly defending champion Dustin Johnson. The world’s No. 1 player can’ seem to buy a putt, and even when he started to make a little progress, he finished bogey-bogey by taking two chips to get on the 17th green and hitting into the water on the 18th.

Patrick Cantlay extended his remarkable run this season with a 65, leaving him alone in fourth place but six shots behind. Cantlay returned after three years away to cope with a severe back injury and the death of his close friend and caddie, Chris Roth, who was hit by a car as they were walking to dinner.

Cantlay is playing his 11th tournament this year, yet he is No. 41 in the FedEx Cup and could get into the Tour Championship if he finishes in the top 30 after this week. Phil Mickelson is trying to work his way into the top 30, and while he sputtered with two birdies, two bogeys and too many pars, he drilled an approach to 5 feet on the par-5 14th for an eagle. He shot 69 and was at 7-under 135, in a tie for 12th.

Jordan Spieth, No. 1 in the FedEx Cup after successive runner-up finishes in the playoff events, only managed a 70 and joined Mickelson in the group at 135.

Mackenzie Hughes of Dundas, Ont., is tied for 12th at 7 under after shooting a 68. Adam Hadwin of Abbotsford, B.C., shot his second-straight 71 and is even for the event.

Leishman is hitting his stride at just the right time. Two weeks ago at the TPC Boston, he took a two-shot lead into the back nine only to get passed by Justin Thomas and Spieth by shooting 40 on the back nine to finish third behind Thomas.

After a week at home in Virginia, with the clubs never leaving the garage, he picked up where he left off.

It’s easy to overlook Leishman because the Australian has only two PGA Tour victories, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year. He’s OK with that, and laughs at hearing fans whisper as he walks by, “Who’s that bloke?” That was his phrase, though apparently he’s heard it Down Under, too.

As for that short memory, he does have some specific recall of tournaments long ago.

One of them was eight years ago in the Chicago area. It was his rookie season on the PGA Tour. He made an eagle on the 18th hole at the TPC Boston just to advance to the third round at No. 67. Then, he was paired with Tiger Woods in the final round at Cog Hill.

“I remember being really, really nervous on the first tee, which I’m generally not a nervous person, but that was a new thing for me,” he said.

He also remembers having an eagle putt on the ninth hole, with Woods well to the right off the tee and then stuck behind a tree. Woods hit a 9-iron out of trouble and ended up making birdie, and he went on to win by eight shots.

But that was a big day for Leishman. He tied for second and advanced to the Tour Championship for the first time, leading to his first appearance in the Masters. That’s no longer an issue. Leishman now is No. 7 in the FedEx Cup and simply trying to win to get into the top five heading to the Tour Championship.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Jason Day says his longtime coach will no longer be his caddie.

In a surprising move, Day says he has parted ways with Colin Swatton, but that he wants to keep him as his coach. Day was 12 when he went to a golf academy in Australia where Swatton coached. Day credits Swatton with taking him to the top of the game.

Day is having a tough year, however. He has fallen to No. 9 in the world and needs a good week at the BMW Championship just to reach the FedEx Cup finale next week.

He is using a friend from Australia at Conway Farms and next week at East Lake if he qualifies. Day is using a former player to caddie for him at the Presidents Cup.