Players support Senden’s son with Rubik Cube patch

Rose closes in on Race to Dubai title

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BLAINE, Minn. – Tony Finau had a simple solution to combat the inevitable jet lag of crossing seven time zones from The Open at St. Andrews to this week’s 3M Open. RELATED: Three takeaways from Finau’s unique putter setup “I tell people this all the time,” explained Finau after opening rounds of 67-68 at TPC Twin Cities, firmly in contention into the weekend in Minnesota. “A lot of people sleep. Coffee is a huge thing. But when you have five kids in your face, as soon as you see them, jet lag’s all gone. “Maybe that’s a huge reason why I’m not feeling a lot of jet lag. I’ve got my family here and it’s been a lot of fun.” After carding a final-round 66 at the Old Course at St. Andrews, Finau has carried the momentum into the third-to-last event of the PGA TOUR regular season. Standing No. 30 on the FedExCup, the 32-year-old is well positioned into the Playoffs. He’s also chasing a spot on the United States Presidents Cup team. Finau currently holds the No. 11 spot on the standings; a win at the 3M Open would project him to No. 7. After the 3M Open, four events remain to cement a spot inside the top-six for automatic inclusion on the United States roster at Quail Hollow Club in September; the cutoff occurs after the BMW Championship. Six Captain’s selections will be added afterward. Finau has represented the United States in the past three international competitions – 2018 Ryder Cup, 2019 Presidents Cup and 2021 Ryder Cup. He was a Captain’s selection all three times and has compiled a record of 3-4-3. “It means everything, everything to your career,” said Finau of the significance of competing in international team competitions. “The best experiences I’ve had in this game have been at those team events … what it does is it keeps you hungry for more, that’s all it does. “That’s definitely a motivating factor, but I would say every week you tee it up, you have a goal in mind, and for me this week it’s to put myself in contention to win on Sunday and I’ve done a good job of that for two rounds.” He has indeed, thrilling the legions of fans that turned out Thursday and Friday to watch Finau in his pairing alongside Jason Day and Davis Riley. Finau made bogey on his first hole Thursday at TPC Twin Cities but has kept a clean card since, adding eight birdies to move onto the front page of the leaderboard. The two-time PGA TOUR winner hasn’t earned a TOUR title in Minnesota, but he has been close. He finished T3 in 2020, three strokes back of Michael Thompson, and carries fond memories of a week with longtime friend and swing coach Boyd Summerhays on the bag. “He forgot to put sunscreen on his legs,” Finau laughed regarding Summerhays. “His legs were red the last couple of rounds, and he was quite embarrassed. That was quite funny, and that was the last time he’s ever caddied for me.” Finau doesn’t want to leave his Presidents Cup fate in the hands of Captain Davis Love III; he’s motivated to make the team on merit. But he knows that thinking outcome over process does little good. “It’s almost impossible to make those teams if you’re looking that far ahead,” he said. So he’ll get away from golf between rounds at TPC Twin Cities. Accompanied by his wife and five kids in Minnesota, their Friday afternoon plans involved time around the water. Fitting for the Land of 10,000 Lakes. “We got an Airbnb right on (hole) No. 10,” Finau said. “We’ll be fishing on that lake later this evening.”

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OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Dustin Johnson is 21 shots worse to par than he was a week ago and still looks to be the player to beat. Johnson and Hideki Matsuyama survived another demanding day at Olympia Fields, both scratching out a 1-under 69 that felt better than it looked to share the lead Saturday at the BMW Championship. Everyone else was over par going into the final round. Sunday is one last chance for some players to be among the top 30 who advance to the FedExCup finale, and one last round for others — like Tiger Woods — to prepare for the U.S. Open on a course that plays every bit as tough. Patrick Cantlay only hit five fairways and didn’t make a birdie as he tumbled out of a tie for the lead with a round with a 75 that left him five shots behind and might cost him a spot in the TOUR Championship. RELATED: Full leaderboard | Rahm cards 66 despite Rules gaffe Rory McIlroy had to play left-handed to escape the base of a tree in starting the back nine with a bogey, and he finished with a shot he thought was going to be long, came up 70 feet short and led to a three-putt bogey for a 73. He still was only three shots back assuming he plays. Jon Rahm matched the low round of the day at 66 that could have easily been one shot better if not for a blunder that even he couldn’t believe. He forgot to set a marker down on the green before picking up his golf ball on No. 5, freezing in his tracks when he realized what happened. “I was thinking of somebody else or something else … and yeah, I just picked up the ball without marking it, simple as that,” Rahm said after a round that left him only three behind. “I can’t really give you an explanation. It’s one of those things that happen in golf. Never thought it would in my professional career, but here we are.” The BMW Championship remains up for grabs, and if Sunday holds to form, it will be more about holding on than pulling away. Eleven players were separated by three shots. Johnson and Matsuyama were at 1-under 209. A week ago at THE NORTHERN TRUST on a rain-softened course with little wind, Johnson was at 22-under par through three rounds and had a five-shot lead. That felt easy. This does not. Johnson had a three-shot swing go against him on the opening hole when he went rough to rough to bunker and made bogey, while Matsuyama holed a bunker shot for eagle. Matsuyama quickly built a three-shot lead with a birdie on No. 4. He made only one birdie the rest of the way. Joaquin Niemann had a 68 and was part of the group at 1-over 211 that included Adam Scott (70) and Mackenzie Hughes (69). Another shot back were the likes of Rahm, Bubba Watson, Brendon Todd and Kevin Kisner, who had 16 pars, one birdie and bogey for his round of 70. Rounds like that go a long way at Olympia Fields, the former U.S. Open course playing like one with its thick rough and rock-hard greens and enough wind to make the fairways look tighter than they are. Woods, meanwhile, had a reasonable start to his round and wasn’t losing much ground until he lost a tee shot into the water right of the 17th fairway and then smothered a fairway metal to the left. He walked across a cart path smacking the club off the concrete and twice looked like he wanted to break it. He missed a short putt for triple bogey and shot 72. Woods has yet to break par this week. One more round like that and it will be the first time in 10 years — the Bridgestone Invitational at Firestone — that he had all four rounds over par. He needed something around fourth to advance to the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2018. Matsuyama is trying to end three years without a victory. Johnson is trying to win for the second time in seven days, along with positioning himself to be the top seed at the TOUR Championship, which would allow him to start the tournament with a two-shot lead under the staggered start. For players like Niemann, Hughes and Scott, they are simply trying to get to East Lake in Atlanta. All of them are one round away on a golf course where small mistakes can lead to bogeys or worse on just about every hole.

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