Winner’s Bag: Justin Thomas, THE PLAYERS Championship

The player gets the green jacket. The caddie gets the flagstick and flag on 18. See what Ted Scott did with it when he got home.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Patrick Cantlay started this season amid great uncertainty. He’s finishing it with a flourish. “I played really well, took advantage of the short holes,â€� he said after firing a second-round 65 to get to 10 under par and in solo fourth, six off the lead. “There’s a lot of driveable par-4s and some getable par-5s. You’ve got to get your scoring there.â€� Cantlay made seven birdies against just one bogey, and although he came into this week at 41st in the FedExCup, he is now projected to move up to 21st. The improvement is even more eye-opening when you consider where he was at the start of this season. The former UCLA Bruin and No. 1-ranked amateur in 2011, Cantlay saw the start of his pro career complicated by back problems and the death of a friend, Chris Roth, who died in Cantlay’s arms after being hit by a car in 2016. In March, Cantlay came into the Valspar Championship playing on a major-medical extension; he had 10 starts in which to earn 389 FedExCup points or $624,746. His solo second-place finish at Innisbrook’s Copperhead Course was worth $680,400, making him fully exempt for the remainder of this season. He kept going from there. Despite still getting used to the travel required on TOUR, Cantlay finished T3 at the RBC Heritage, and T10 at THE NORTHERN TRUST. Now he’s right where many expected he would be when he ruled the amateur ranks. “Not really,â€� Cantlay said, when asked if he was surprised by his performance at Conway Farms and his solid play all season. “I prepare and practice in order to put myself in position to win tournaments, and I feel like I’m able to do that. My prep has been good. My body is feeling really good, which is nice for a change, and looking forward to just keep doing what I’m doing.â€� BUBBLE WATCH Here are the players who are projected to move inside and outside the top 30 that will advance to the final leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, the TOUR Championship.If I look back to when I was sitting on the couch at home, yeah, come a long way. Cantlay started this season on a major-medical extension after struggling with chronic back pain. He shot 65, and in solo fourth is projected to move up to No. 21. 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 (70). It wasn’t a great day for the “super groupâ€� of the FedExCup top three, but Spieth limited the damage with 15 pars. Projected first. 2. Justin Thomas (70). Still absent his A game after win at the Dell Technologies Championship two weeks ago, but not completely out of it at 11 back. Projected second. 3. Dustin Johnson (72). A far cry from the guy who won THE NORTHERN TRUST to open the Playoffs, a suddenly wayward D.J. is tied for 61st place. Projected third. 4. Hideki Matsuyama (68). FedExCup slump may be breaking with solid second round that saw him birdie five of his last 13 holes. Projected sixth. 5. Jon Rahm (68). He isn’t far off, but too many mistakes, especially on the front nine, have “Rahmboâ€� falling out of the Top 5. Projected seventh. FEDEXCUP NOTES Francesco Molinari of Italy, who missed the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST and finished well back (T61) at the Dell Technologies Championship at TPC Boston, chalked up his six-birdie, no-bogey 65 Friday in part to a trip to his home in London last week. “I think I was probably more mentally tired,â€� said Molinari, who at 9-under is tied for fifth place with Stewart Cink (66), seven back, and is projected to go from 42nd to 27th in the FedExCup. “It’s been a long season traveling back and forth from Europe. So, yeah, I felt refreshed. … I had been away since the week before (the World Golf Championships-Bridgestone Invitational, Aug. 3-6). It was too long. Needed a few days in my own bed.â€�

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