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MEDINAH, Ill. – From a FedExCup perspective, Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau are good to go for East Lake. Both started this week inside the top 20 in points, with the scenarios in their favor for the TOUR Championship. Thus, they can concentrate on winning the BMW Championship this weekend and improving their Playoffs positions under the new Starting Strokes format. Given their current spots on the Medinah leaderboard – 11 under and tied for second, one stroke behind 36-hole leader Hideki Matsuyama – the opportunity is within reach. But there’s also another element to their story – the Presidents Cup. The eight guaranteed spots for both the U.S. and International teams will be decided after the final round at the BMW, and the fates for both Cantlay and Finau remain unclear. Related: Leaderboard | Projected FedExCup standings | Hot putter helps Matsuyama set course record Cantlay started the week as the bubble boy, eighth in U.S. points. Finau is 10th. But after two terrific days at Medinah, each has moved up in the projections, with Cantlay projected fifth and Finau eighth. Meanwhile, Bryson DeChambeau – one of Finau’s playing partners for the first two days this week – has dropped from seventh to ninth. DeChambeau shot his second consecutive 71 on Friday and is tied for 49th in the 69-man field. For Finau, the chance to make his second consecutive American team will be a motivating factor this weekend. He did not make last year’s Ryder Cup team on merit but received the last captain’s pick from Jim Furyk. He’d rather not have to sweat out a pick from Tiger Woods this fall. “I was trying to make the team on the Ryder Cup. When I didn’t, I was trying to impress the captain and play well enough to do that,â€� Finau said. “So what I remember from last year is I put my head down and just played and tried to win every tournament I played in the Playoffs, and that seemed to work out pretty well last year.â€� Indeed, Finau was runner-up at THE NORTHERN TRUST, then T-4 at the Dell Technologies Championship and T-8 at the BMW Championship last year at Aronimink. That put him in the TOUR Championship, where he finished T-15. Finau started THE NORTHERN TRUST last week with an opening 65 but cooled off to finish T-30. Looks like the hot hand is back. He opened with a 67 that included an eagle at the 14th hole and followed that with a bogey-free 66. “Got to put the pedal to the metal,â€� he said. Cantlay, meanwhile, followed his opening 66 with a 67. He’s suffered just one bogey through the first two rounds, thanks to some clutch putting. On Friday, he rolled in a two 8-foot par putts in his final four holes to prevent a good round from slipping away. “Just a lot of good momentum going into the weekend,â€� he said. “I feel good with all the parts of my game.â€� Cantlay is seeking his first U.S. team appearance since playing in the Palmer Cup and Walker Cup in 2011. He was among those considered for the final Ryder Cup spot last year that went to Finau. Given how well Finau handled the intense pressure at Paris – he won two of his three matches, including his Singles match against Tommy Fleetwood – it’s hard to argue with Furyk’s decision, even in a week in which most things did not go right for the Americans. Although a disappointing loss for the U.S., the taste of team competition has made Finau hungry for more. “After having that experience, you don’t want to miss any teams,â€� Finau said. I don’t want to miss the Presidents Cup this year. I don’t want to miss the Ryder Cup next year. So on and so forth.â€� But he won’t let his focus stray from the immediate task at hand. Neither will Cantlay, who will deliberately avoid having his focus diffused by all the various elements in play this weekend. On Saturday, Cantlay is in the final twosome with Matsuyama, a potential Presidents Cup opponent. And Finau is in the twosome just ahead with Justin Thomas, a potential Presidents Cup teammate. “I do think it’s really important not to be caught up in any of that, especially for me,â€� Cantlay said. “I’m just going to go out and do my best to play this golf course well.â€� He’s done that for the first 36 holes. So has Finau. As a result, the next 36 holes at Medinah should be extremely interesting – and potentially fruitful — for both players.

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LOS ANGELES — The wind stopped Sam Burns right when he was about to get started with a five-shot lead Saturday at The Genesis Invitational. Darkness stopped him right after two straight bogeys narrowed his lead to two. RELATED: Leaderboard | High winds suspend play at Riviera Thus ended a wild afternoon at Riviera, where the wind was raging so strong that it blew Keegan Bradley’s putt off the green at No. 10 and nearly blew Max Homa’s shot into the hole at the par-5 first. A four-hour delay didn’t make Riviera any easier. Burns, the 24-year-old from Louisiana, went 31 consecutive holes without a bogey and kept Dustin Johnson, Jordan Spieth and everyone else at a distance. When the streak ended on No. 8, it was the start of three inevitable bogeys over six holes. “It’s a hard course with no wind,” Burns said. He was at 10-under par through 13 holes, two shots ahead of Matt Fitzpatrick, who had a most bizarre round by going 10 consecutive holes without a par — six birdies, four bogeys. Johnson, Homa and Wyndham Clark were at 7 under, with Patrick Cantlay another shot behind. The third round was set to be completed Sunday morning ahead of the final 18 holes. Tiger Woods showed up right about the time play was halted. Woods is the tournament host who is not playing as he recovers from a fifth back surgery. The wind was blowing golf balls on the green, and then the PGA TOUR said a piece of communications equipment toppled near the 14th tee and they brought everyone in. Not much changed with the wind when they resumed. Everyone was dropping shots and hanging on for dear life. Johnson had three bogeys against three birdies and was only three shots behind. The greens were so firm, the wind whipping so hard, that even from 99 yards away on the 13th hole he landed the ball some 50 feet short and hoped it rolled out enough to give him a chance. Spieth opened with two birdies, including a 40-footer on the third hole. But he hit two fairway bunkers on the seventh and eighth holes that led to bogey, missed a 3-footer on the 12th and his chip on the 15th was a little firm, and with the wind and slope it rolled out some 40 feet. He dropped six shots behind. For so much of the day, Burns looked impervious to it all. He opened with a steady dose of pars, including one amazing escape on the par-3 sixth, where his tee shot was close to a boundary fence. He played it into the rough and onto the back of the green, and the ball rolled down to 3 feet. But he missed an 18-foot par putt on No. 8, ending his streak of bogey-free holes. Burns missed a short birdie on the ninth, hit a superb bunker shot for a tap-in birdie on the 10th and stretched his lead back to five shots. It all changed so quickly. He three-putted from 50 feet on the 12th. And then his wedge on the 13th was far enough left that it caught a ridge and rolled down a bank into the rough. He chipped to 6 feet and missed the par putt. That’s when play was stopped. Fitzpatrick made a 20-foot birdie putt on the 16th hole to reach 8 under, and suddenly was two shots behind. Fitzpatrick was at 3 under for the day through 17 holes, the low score of the round so far. Only 12 other players were under par for their rounds, none better than 2 under The average score when play was suspended was 73.3.

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MELBOURNE, Australia – At the end of it, Marc Leishman said he was ready to run through a wall. He reckoned it might be as good as he’d ever felt on a golf course. International Team Captain Ernie Els arrived at the green soon after it ended, and after embracing the big Australian, started yelling, “Where’s Abe? Where is he! Get him here!â€� He was referring to Abraham Ancer, and the diminutive Mexican popped out amongst the huge throng of International Team players, caddies, staff, better halves and media where Els engulfed him in a bear hug that resembled more of a headlock thanks to the height difference. RELATED: Sunday Singles will bring drama | Day 3 match recaps | Day 4 match previews | Guide to Sunday singles Els was grinning from ear to ear after the duo had turned around an American tidal wave – fighting back from 5 down through 10 holes to secure a vital tie against Justin Thomas and Rickie Fowler in the afternoon Foursomes session. After starting the session with a commanding four-point lead, it appeared the Internationals would give it all away until the heroics ensured they would start Sunday singles with some form of edge. In the end it would be two points (10-8) after Byeong Hun An and Joaquin Niemann also came back for a late tie. But it was the Leishman/Ancer miracle that had the crowd, and the Internationals, juiced. For a few reasons. First, the aforementioned critical lead heading to Sunday. The International Team hasn’t led at this point since 2003. Second – it dealt a blow to Thomas, the U.S. spearhead, who was 3-0 leading into the session and had earned the ire of a few of his combatants thanks to his impressive performances and out and out killer instinct. Thomas had drained an incredible putt on the 18th green Friday to flip a match into a win and celebrated in dramatic fashion with his captain and partner Tiger Woods. It added a target on his back the Internationals wanted to take down, knowing he had been the star player. Come Saturday morning Thomas, now paired with Fowler in Four-Ball, added some fuel to the fire by calling out Haotong Li for playing out of turn. Li had blocked his tee shot on the par-5 second hole into dense trees and didn’t realize he’d have to wait to just punch out. But as match play rules allow, should you play out of turn your opponent has the option to make you replay the shot. Fowler had seemingly indicated it was no big deal, but Thomas insisted on the replay – as is his absolute right. When Li returned the ball back to its original spot he was unable to replicate his earlier punch out, in fact taking three shots to escape. It was a shrewd move on the Americans part that paid off as they won the hole when Leishman couldn’t match their birdie. Later in the match, the Americans refused to concede Li an 1-foot, 9-inch putt on the 10th green, which he promptly made. However, a hole later when Thomas was required to make a 3-foot, 3-inch putt, he gestured to his opponents by laying his putter down on the ground, suggesting it should have been conceded. After the U.S. side closed out a 3-and-2 win to see Thomas remain undefeated, the want to win against him grew even further. So when Leishman was given Ancer as a partner for the afternoon Foursomes, who was also 3-0 at the time, and they drew the Thomas/Fowler combo, expectations were high. Until the match got underway. After the first seven holes, the U.S. side was 5 up and had a chance to be even further ahead. They’d maintained that lead through 10 holes before Leishman pulled one back by converting from 5 feet on the 11th. Ancer did the same from just inside 10 feet on the 12th. Now they were down three holes down with six to play. “I spoke to Ernie going down 12, and he was just saying, get as far as you can. Take it as for as you can,â€� Leishman said. “I’m like, ‘Hang on. Let’s not talk about losing this yet. We’re going to fight this out.’â€� And fight they did. But by the time they reached the 15th green they were still three down. Ancer had 20 feet just to take it another hole. He drilled it home. “I just believed. We kept believing. We told ourselves that we were going to keep going at it and we were going to fight until the end. We were not just going to give up,â€� Ancer said. On the 16th green once again it appeared over when Leishman was staring at a 17-foot par putt and Fowler had just over 6 feet. The crowd erupted when Leishman made his putt and did again when Fowler missed. Two down, two to play. “The crowd were part of it. Me and Abe were talking when we were 5 down, “Let’s keep fighting and see what happens.” That’s a good thing; neither of us say die,â€� Leishman said. “It would have been easy to I guess lay down today and take it easy, but we’re not like that. We’re fighters.â€� The Americans could feel it slipping away but couldn’t halt the wave. “They made some great putts, and we unfortunately weren’t able to convert a couple of the chances that we had,â€� Fowler would later say. On the 17th, Thomas had a par putt from 9 feet to win the match. Once again it failed to drop and now the freefall was in full affect as the enormous crowd swarmed. One down, one to play. “It was pretty amazing. Walking to that 18th tee there felt like the Tour de France, everyone screaming, it was awesome,â€� Leishman said. “We did it for the crowd. Walking to that 18th tee, that’s something I’ll remember forever, just people basically screaming and high-fiving and we were still 1-down. I felt like we were about 4-up.â€� Ancer stepped up on the 18th and smashed his driver into the fairway. Thomas pulled his into the trees and the scene erupted again. Fowler could do nothing but pitch out and Leishman smelled blood in the water. From 152 yards out, he stiffed his approach to 6 feet and delirium ensued up around the green. “To do it under pressure and in front of the Aussie crowd was unbelievable,â€� Ancer would say of his partner. When Thomas put their third on the back of the green some 54 feet away and Fowler couldn’t hole the par putt, the hats came off and the epic comeback was complete. The pair was mobbed by their team. “It felt like a lot more than a half-point,â€� Leishman said. “That’s probably as good as I’ve felt on a golf course, and I only halved the match. It’s going to be a big momentum gainer for the Internationals.â€� Thomas stood stunned after it was over, standing there trying to figure out what buzz saw they ran into. “Speechless. It’s unacceptable for us to get a half a point,â€� he said. “They made a couple long putts there on 15 and 16 to keep it going. We had our chances, and I mean, flat honest, just didn’t execute. I’m just disappointed in myself for burning that for us on 18. We’ve got to put it behind us and go get a point tomorrow.â€� Leishman also made sure to bring his focus back to the long term goal – winning the Presidents Cup for the first time since 1998. “We’ve all won up here; we’ve won tournaments, but we don’t get chances to play with a teammate very often,â€� he added. “To be successful with a teammate would be pretty cool. We had a taste of that today, but I think if we can play well and do our jobs tomorrow, what we felt today is going to probably be pushed aside for what we may feel tomorrow.â€� Adam Scott, the veteran leader on the course for the team, confirmed the result was huge for the Internationals as they sleep on their first lead heading to Sunday in 16 years. “It was a big last hour for us today. Certainly feel like it showed our intentions as a team. There’s a lot of heart sitting here next to me,â€� Scott said. “That was huge for us, and also Ben and Joaquin Niemann digging deep and finding a halve. It goes a long, long way, the half-points. The score line is really good for us, considering what it was looking like with a couple hours to go. “We’re in the middle of a fight and we’re all going to be up for it.â€� Clearly.

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