Day: September 17, 2017

Change proving a good move for Day so farChange proving a good move for Day so far

Change proving a good move for Day so far

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Leishman on top at Conway FarmsLeishman on top at Conway Farms

LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Notes and observations from Saturday’s third round of the BMW Championship, where in tougher conditions Marc Leishman birdied the 18th hole to shoot 68 and extend his lead to five shots over Jason Day (70) and Rickie Fowler (70). For more coverage from Conway Farms Golf Club, click here for the Daily Wrap-up. CONWAY FARMS BITES BACK No one would ever confuse Conway Farms for Bethpage Black. After all, this is where Jim Furyk fired a 59 at the 2013 BMW, and where Marc Leishman shot a 62 in the first round. But the course is not without its defenses, and they were up Saturday. “It was a lot tougher today,â€� said Phil Mickelson, who birdied three of his first six holes only to eventually settle for a 2-under 69. “The pins were in tough spots and the greens got a lot firmer.â€� That was a common refrain, as players made 164 bogeys on the day, compared to 147 on Friday and 131 on Thursday. Rickie Fowler eagled the first hole, but alas could only find one more birdie and two bogeys the rest of the way. “I didn’t make anything,â€� he said of his putting. Patrick Cantlay double-bogeyed the par-3 11th after hitting his tee shot in the water, but at least he had company. The 169-yard hole yielded no birdies and 19 bogeys or worse on the day, the first time all season in which a par-3 has shut out the entire field. Jason Day crushed his tee shot 366 yards on 18, but pulled his second shot into a buried lie in the greenside bunker. He hacked his ball out and settled for his 15th par of the day. “The greens started to get a little firmer,â€� Day said. “The fairways started to get a little firmer.â€� Leishman hung tough despite bogeys at the fourth and seventh holes, sprinkling in five birdies. “The course changed quite a lot today compared to the first two days,â€� said Leishman, who shot a back-nine 40 to finish a disappointing third at the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston two weeks ago. “Firmed up a lot and the greens sped up, so that [good play] was good to see and nice to keep making birdies like I have been all week.â€� RAHM MAKES PUSH TO STAY IN TOP 5 FedExCup No. 5 Jon Rahm could do no wrong earlier this season, registering seven top-10s in a span of 10 starts, highlighted by his win at the Farmers Insurance Open. He hit a sudden dip in form, a summer swoon that saw him miss cuts and/or fail to contend in the majors, and now he’s back again, playing some of his best golf of the year from tee to green. The 22-year-old from Spain racked up seven birdies against just one bogey and signed for a 65, tied with Lucas Glover (-10, T12) for best of the day. At 11-under, Rahm is eight off the lead. “I’ve been really close timing-wise, really close to hitting really good shots,â€� Rahm said. “My swing hasn’t been a hundred percent, maybe 90 percent. This week it’s close to a hundred percent. I’m visualizing the shots, hitting them a lot closer to the way I see it.

“Hit more than two perfect shots a round, you’re having a really good ball-striking day. I’m fortunate to say there’s been least two of them each round. Hopefully I can keep it going.â€� Rahm is coming off a T4 at the Dell Technologies Championship and a T3 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. With Jordan Spieth falling down the leaderboard, Rahm could wind up being the most consistent performer over the first three legs of the FedExCup Playoffs. “My ball-striking was probably close to the best it’s ever been right now,â€� he said, “so hopefully I can keep going and make a few more putts.â€� CALL OF THE DAY BRADLEY FEELING LIKE OLD SELF Keegan Bradley was the PGA TOUR Rookie of the Year back in 2011, when he won the HP Byron Nelson Championship and the PGA Championship. He would play in a Presidents Cup (2013) and two Ryder Cups (2012, 2014), forming an electric tandem with Phil Mickelson. Today, Bradley, 31, is lingering at 48th in the FedExCup standings. He and his wife, Jillian, are anticipating the birth of their first child, due Nov. 18, as Keegan works to find his old form. “Everyone thinks I stink now,â€� Bradley said after shooting an opening-round 65 at the BMW. Scores of 72-68 in the second and third rounds have him at 8-under (T20), and he’s projected to finish outside the top 30 (47th) in the FedExCup. He’ll likely need to shoot something around 66 on Sunday to play his way into the season-ending TOUR Championship at East Lake. What happened to Bradley? Everything. The USGA and R&A outlawed anchored putting. He retooled his full swing, so he was working on new mechanics both on and off the greens. He changed caddies and slipped to 60th in the FedExCup in 2015, and 103rd last season. Relegated to watching Presidents Cups and Ryder Cups on TV, he missed the Masters this year as veterans like Ernie Els and Phil Mickelson sent encouraging messages to buoy his spirits. Through it all, Bradley kept on working as the golf world moved on. Now in his 10th year as a pro, he has been encouraged by five top-10 finishes this season. He’ll need a sixth on Sunday. “If it’s not this year, hopefully it will be next year,â€� he said. “But I feel a lot more like the person I was out on the course, now more than ever.â€� ODDS AND ENDS Leishman is 14-under so far on the par-4s, which is on pace to set a new record for a winner in the FedExCup Playoffs. (Jason Day went 15-under in winning THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2015.) Leishman is also excelling on and around the greens, second in the field this week in strokes gained: around the green (+1.477). He was 31st in that category entering the week. … The largest margin of victory in a FedExCup Playoffs event is eight strokes, which Tiger Woods accomplished twice (2007 TOUR Championship, 2009 BMW Championship). Jason Day won THE NORTHERN TRUST in 2015 by six shots. Leishman currently leads the BMW by five. … Justin Rose was one of the few to keep a bogey off his card on the way to a 66 (12-under, solo fourth). The Olympic gold medalist from England said he noticed a slight uptick in the wind on Saturday. “Lot of tricky club-making decisions out there,â€� he said. … The field’s stroke average for the third round was 69.420, the highest it’s been all week. The second-round stroke average was 69.072, while the first-round average was 68.855. SHOT OF THE DAY

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Round 3 highlights of BMW ChampionshipRound 3 highlights of BMW Championship

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FedExCup update: Phil Mickelson nears top 30FedExCup update: Phil Mickelson nears top 30

Phil Mickelson said the fog has cleared, and now he’s starting to shine at just the right time. Mickelson’s play has quickly gone in the right direction after he recently received medical treatment that he said improved his mental clarity. His improved focus could lead to his ninth TOUR Championship appearance in the 11 seasons of the FedExCup. Mickelson shot a 69 on Saturday at Conway Farms Golf Club and sits T15 at the BMW Championship. He’s currently projected to move up three spots in the FedExCup standings, to No. 33. ShotLink says that he sits one shot outside a TOUR Championship berth, needing a T12 or better to crack the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. He sounded confident on Saturday about his chances. “I know I have to probably shoot 4 or 5 under par. Like I said, I’m playing well enough to do that with ease. I let a lot of shots slide today,â€� Mickelson said. “I’m driving the ball well, playing well. I’m going to go out tomorrow and shoot a good number. It will be plenty.â€� Mickelson sits at 9-under 204 (66-69-69), and is just two shots outside fifth place. He is fifth in greens hit (40 of 54) this week and ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting (+0.957 per round). After receiving treatment, Mickelson finished T6 in the previous FedExCup Playoffs event, the Dell Technologies Championship. It was his first top-10 since June and his best finish in a stroke-play event since he finished runner-up to Henrik Stenson at last year’s Open Championship. He has the opportunity to post consecutive top-10s in stroke-play events for the first time since June 2013. If he does that, he’ll be headed to East Lake, where he’ll have a chance to win his first FedExCup. He is a two-time winner at East Lake, claiming the TOUR Championship in both 2000 and 2009. Advancing to East Lake also would give him another opportunity to prepare for the Presidents Cup, which will be played Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. Mickelson was recently named one of Steve Stricker’s two Captain’s Picks, keeping alive his streak of appearances in that event. Mickelson has played in every Presidents Cup since the tournament began in 1994. He has a 23-16-2 record in his 12 appearances. “I’d like to stay sharp heading into the Presidents Cup. I’d like to compete,â€� Mickelson said. “I’m also playing well enough to get in contention and win again and I want to get in that (TOUR Championship) field because I think that if I do, I think I’ll have a really good shot at it.â€� MOVING IN, MOVING OUT TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current Top 5 fared Friday at the BMW. 1. Jordan Spieth (71). Spieth shot a first-round 65 but was only 1 under par on the next 36 holes. He’s still projected to hold onto the top spot in the FedExCup standings. 2. Justin Thomas (71). Like Spieth, Thomas shot a solid first round (67), but could only manage to shoot 70-71 in the following two rounds. He’s still projected to maintain the No. 2 spot in the FedExCup standings. 3. Dustin Johnson (69). The BMW’s defending champion is T55 this week, but is still projected to hold on to the third spot in the FedExCup standings. 4. Hideki Matsuyama (70). His FedExCup Playoffs struggles continue. Matsuyama was No. 1 at the start of the postseason, but is now projected to drop to seventh in the standings. He is T49 this week. 5. Jon Rahm (65). Rahm’s 65 matched the low round of the day and moved him into fifth place. He’s seeking his third consecutive top-five finish in his first Playoffs, and still is projected to begin East Lake at No. 5 in the FedExCup. FEDEXCUP NOTES Sergio Garcia’s season was highlighted by a victory at a course co-founded by famed amateur Bobby Jones. Garcia, the reigning Masters champion, is trying to earn a tee time at another course closely associated closely with Jones, East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Garcia is projected to move inside the top 30 of the FedExCup standings, but he’ll start Sunday with only a slim cushion. Garcia is T15 at the BMW Championship. He likely needs to finish T19 at Conway Farms Golf Club to qualify for his first TOUR Championship since 2014. Last season marked the first time that two rookies qualified for the TOUR Championship. We could see a repeat of that feat this year. Both Patrick Cantlay and Mackenzie Hughes are projected to qualify for East Lake after Saturday’s play. Hughes, winner of The RSM Classic, is T15 at the BMW Championship and projected to jump from 31st to 24th in the FedExCup standings. Cantlay, who’s finished in the top 15 in the first two events of this year’s FedExCup Playoffs, is in fifth place at the BMW Championship. Cantlay, who’s making just his 12th start of the season, started the season on a medical extension from his rookie season of 2013-14. Stewart Cink is scheduled to receive the Payne Stewart Award next week at East Lake Golf Club. Cink, who lives in the Atlanta area, may be at East Lake as a competitor, too. He’ll need a low round to do it, though. Cink was inside the top 30 of the projected FedExCup standings for much of Saturday, but bogeys on the final two holes dropped him to No. 46. He’s T12 at the BMW Championship and three shots outside the top 30. ShotLink projects that he will need a fourth-place finish to qualify for his first TOUR Championship since 2009, the year he won The Open Championship.

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Leishman cruising at BMW ChampionshipLeishman cruising at BMW Championship

Leishman cruising at BMW Championship

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