Tony Finau catches a big break, wins Ryder Cup debut

Jon Rahm comes from behind with a 66-64 weekend, then makes a crazy, trans-continental putt to beat Dustin Johnson in a playoff and win the BMW Championship at vexing Olympia Fields. It's the second victory in six weeks for Rahm, who overcame a bizarre Rules gaffe in the third round. He vaulted to second in the FedExCup heading into this week's TOUR Championship to decide it all, and after his recent victory at the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide becomes the one to watch on really hard golf courses. Welcome to the Monday Finish. THREE KEYS TO SUCCESS 1. He made a great bogey. Rahm's biggest hiccup of the weekend was when he picked up his ball before marking it on the fifth hole of his third round Saturday, incurring a one-stroke penalty. It was a rare brain-cramp, but he made his 6-footer for bogey and didn't look back. "I don’t know if I would have won had it not happened," he said. "It kind of made me mad at myself, and I just went on with my focus after that and was able to play amazing golf and stayed aggressive. ... I can tell you after that two-putt, making that 6-footer for bogey, I was like, OK, that’s it, no playing around, go. That’s kind of what mentally did it for me." In the past, Rahm might have blown his top at making such a mental error. Not this time. For more on Rahm's win, click here. 2. He didn't let the course win. No one told Olympia Fields this wasn't the 2003 U.S. Open. Only five players - Rahm (64), Dustin Johnson (67), Joaquin Niemann (67, T3), Hideki Matsuyama (69, T3) and Tony Finau (65, solo fourth) - finished the tournament under par. Jason Day, who had been on a hot streak, finished 14 over, while countryman Marc Leishman finished 30 over. Rahm, though, likes it hard; six weeks earlier, he had tamed a similarly difficult but windier Muirfield Village course to win the Memorial Tournament presented by Nationwide. "The way I played today was so solid," Rahm said. "I only missed two fairways in 18 holes, hitting mostly drivers. Only missed actually one green in 19 holes that I played today, gave myself plenty of chances, never really stressed for pars. "This round was about as well as I think it could have gone," he added. "Probably overall as a weekend, I think this one might have been a little bit better (than the Memorial)." 3. He waited for his A game. After a 5-over 75 in the first round Rahm was eight behind first-round leader Hideki Matsuyama, and he was still seven behind 36-hole leaders Patrick Cantlay and Rory McIlroy after a second-round 71. It wasn't until Rahm's third-round 66, which got him back to 2 over, that he looked like he might have a shot at winning. "Thursday I really struggled off the tee, never got comfortable really with any part of my game," he said. "Friday I was playing pretty similar. Let’s just say for people that don’t know, Thursday and Friday played significantly more difficult than the weekend did. I mean, those greens were really firm, fast and the wind was blowing a lot harder than it did the last two days ... "It is true," he added, "after Friday I went to the range and figured some things out, just got comfortable. I knew it wasn’t too far away, slowly got better each day, figured it out, came out on Saturday and played really good golf and just kept it going today." OBSERVATIONS Johnson keeps sense of humor Two crazy putts took center stage in deciding the BMW. The first one kept Dustin Johnson in it for potential back-to-back victories, and the second denied him in the playoff. DJ's final stroke of regulation was zany enough - a downhill, double-breaking, do-or-die birdie putt of 43 feet that clanked the pin and dropped. It was the shot of the tournament for only about a half hour, because then came an even crazier shot - Rahm's 66-footer, also downhill and also double-breaking, in the playoff, ending things after one extra hole. "Yeah, I mean, I was just laughing kind of," Johnson said. "I was kind of laughing at my putt, too, because it was one of those where you - you’re not really thinking you’re going to make it. But gave it a good roll, and obviously I did make it." Johnson gave a wry smile at seeing Rahm make an even longer putt from a similar line. "My hope was to get myself somewhat of a doable uphill putt," Rahm said, "somewhere hopefully within three feet, but that was extremely difficult, so three to six feet. I was just kind of hoping to give myself that type of a chance." He obviously did a lot better than that. Niemann breaks mini-slump Rahm wasn't the only one who had a great weekend at Olympia Fields. Joaquin Niemann, whose first TOUR win came at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier nearly a year ago, shot 68-67 to finish T3. The result moved him from 31st to 18th in the FedExCup, getting him into the TOUR Championship for the first time in the second season in which he was eligible. Mackenzie Hughes (71, T10) was the other player to move into the top 30, while Adam Long (by just three FedExCup points) and Streelman fell out of the top 30. Niemann's play was a surprise, to put it mildly. The 21-year-old missed the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST, finished T42 at the Wyndham Championship, and missed the cut at the PGA Championship. He had struggled even going back to June, when the TOUR returned. But his performance at Olympia Fields, especially Sunday, when he shot a front-nine 31, served as a reminder of how good he is when he's on, and what a bright future he has. "Yeah, it’s awesome to get one of those weeks that you play good," Niemann said. "I haven’t been playing great the last couple weeks, so this gave me a lot of confidence what is coming next for East Lake. I just feel great. I’m happy to be in this situation right now." QUOTEBOARD "I still can't believe what just happened." - Jon Rahm "The goal was to be No. 1 going into East Lake, and I am still No. 1." - Dustin Johnson "I played awesome the front nine. I was 4 under. I was right there." - Joaquin Niemann FEDEXCUP STANDINGS The No.1 seed in the FedExCup standings will start the TOUR Championship at 10-under par and with a two-shot lead before the season-ending tournament starts Friday. Although Jon Rahm won the BMW Championship, Dustin Johnson secured the top seed with his runner-up finish. He will start this week's TOUR Championship, which begins Friday, with a two-stroke lead over Rahm and a three-stroke lead over No. 3 seed Justin Thomas. Here's how the rest of the top 10 shake out. 1. Dustin Johnson -10 2. Jon Rahm -8 3. Justin Thomas -7 4. Webb Simpson -6 5. Collin Morikawa -5 6. Daniel Berger -4 7. Harris English -4 8. Bryson DeChambeau -4 9. Sungjae Im -4 10. Hideki Matsuyama -4 SOCIAL SNAPSHOT

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Here are all the ways to watch the Genesis Scottish Open this week on ESPN+.

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Tiger Woods hasn’t announced his intentions to play again in 2022, but the odds that we will see him again seem to be increasing. Woods was seen hitting balls recently at Pebble Beach, where he hosted the inaugural TGR Junior Invitational and the 11th Tiger Woods Invitational. Woods got in some golf, as well. A video posted Tuesday by his TGR Live Events showed him hitting balls during a clinic Monday. He was also seen playing the Peter Hay Course at Pebble Beach, a nine-hole par-3 layout that Woods led the renovation on. Woods’ former college teammate, Notah Begay, recently told SiriusXM that he’s “fairly certain” Woods will tee it up again with his son Charlie at the PNC Championship in December. Team Woods finished second to John Daly and his son, John Daly II, last year after making 11 consecutive birdies in the Sunday scramble format. Charlie recently impressed with a 68 of his own in a junior event, as well. Begay also said Tiger “might surprise everybody” and play in a fall event. The field for his Hero World Challenge was recently announced and three spots for tournament exemptions remain open. The Hero World Challenge is scheduled for Dec. 1-4 in The Bahamas, with the PNC Championship two weeks later. The PNC allows players to compete in carts and Begay said last week from his PGA TOUR Champions debut that “we may see a late-minute introduction of a cart rule” at the Hero, which Woods hosts. Riding in a cart would greatly lessen the impact on his surgically-repaired right leg, which remains the greatest hindrance to Woods’ ability to play competitive golf. “I know that if you just look at the metrics that are related to his golf swing in terms of clubhead speed, ball speed, his ability to execute golf shots, it’s still all there,” Begay said. “Now, walking 72 holes in a competitive environment, that’s the big question mark. But if he finds a way, and if anybody will, it will be him, to be able to deal with the 72-hole walk, the golf’s not the question to me, the heart’s not the question, it’s just a matter of physically can he endure that much stress on the leg.” Woods has not competed since his emotional appearance at The Open in July, where he potentially competed at St. Andrews for the final time. Woods missed the cut with rounds of 78-75, but the scores were overshadowed by the emotional ovation as he walked down the Old Course’s 18th fairway. Woods began the year by making an unbelievable return to competitive golf at the Masters Tournament, little more than a year after his car accident in Southern California. He surprised by opening with a 1-under 71 at Augusta National but the toll of playing competitive golf quickly became apparent. Woods faded with a pair of 78s on the weekend and did not return to competition until the following month’s PGA Championship, where he again made the cut but had to withdraw after the third round. Woods skipped the U.S. Open to ensure his body would be ready for St. Andrews. The only other tournament he competed in outside the three majors was the unofficial J.P. McManus Pro-Am, a 36-hole event in Ireland the week before The Open. Woods left St. Andrews saying, “I have nothing, nothing planned. Zero. Maybe something next year. I don’t know. But nothing in the near future. This is it. I was just hoping to play this one event this year.” Golf Channel commentator Brandel Chamblee praised the swings that Woods made this week, saying Woods “looked great.” Woods is currently tied with Sam Snead atop the PGA TOUR’s all-time wins list with 82 victories, and Begay said he hasn’t dismissed the idea of Tiger attaining win No. 83, though he admitted that it’s “an uphill battle.” “But he’s never backed down from any challenges,” Begay said.

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