All the reasons why the FedEx Cup means so much this weekend

OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. - Rory McIlroy doesn’t need fans to keep his head in the game at the BMW Championship. Olympia Fields is so tough it won’t allow anything but his full attention on every shot. McIlroy and Patrick Cantlay made their share of mistakes Friday and shrugged them off because that’s bound to happen on the toughest test the PGA TOUR has seen this year. By the end of another steamy afternoon south of Chicago, they were the sole survivors to par. One week after McIlroy admitted to going through the motions without spectators around to provide the cheers, he had a 1-under 69 to share the 36-hole lead with Cantlay. RELATED: Full leaderboard It was plenty tough for Tiger Woods, whose PGA TOUR season appears to be two rounds from being over. He didn’t have enough good shots to atone for his bad ones, and he had to make a 35-foot par putt on his final hole to shoot 75, leaving him nine shots behind. Woods was toward the bottom of the pack at a tournament where he needs to finish around fourth to be among the top 30 who advance to the TOUR Championship. Cantlay holed a 50-foot chip for birdie, and holed out a 50-yard wedge for eagle. He also missed the green on three of the par 3s, the last one leading to a double bogey. He finished with a 6-iron out of the thick rough and made a 40-foot birdie putt on the 18th hole. It added to a 68, matching the best score of the round. They were at 1-under 139, one shot ahead of Hideki Matsuyama and Dustin Johnson, who were going in opposite directions when it was time to sign their scorecards. Matsuyama, the only player to reach 4 under at any point this week, dropped four shots over his last 10 holes for a 73. Johnson finished birdie-birdie for 69. “I think the test is what’s helped me focus and concentrate because if you lose focus out there for one second … just one lapse in concentration can really cost you around here,” McIlroy said. “I think one of the big keys this week is just not making big numbers. If you hit it out of position, get it back in position, make sure that your worse score is bogey and move on. Honestly, bogeys aren’t that bad out here.” He made a mistake on the 14th hole by going long and left, and only a great wedge to a back pin to 5 feet kept him from a big blunder, even though he missed the par putt. He flirted with trouble later in his round on the fifth hole with a wedge from 134 yards that came up 30 yards short, the pin tucked behind a big bunker. He left that in collar short of the green and got up-and-down for bogey. Cantlay doesn’t expect to hole out twice a round with wedges and hopes he can sharpen up his game a little. Still, he loves the idea of having to think and plot his way around the course. “It’s about as stiff of a test as you would want,” Cantlay said. “It’s very, very difficult, and you have to play from the fairway, and you have to play from below the hole, frankly. The greens have so much slope on them that you really need to be putting uphill. And so if you’re in the rough, it gets exponentially harder to do that.” For those playing well — anywhere within a few shots of par in this case — it was an enjoyable challenge. For everyone, regardless of the score, it was a grind. “I don’t know if any rain will matter, really,” Kevin Kisner said after a bogey-bogey finish ruined an otherwise good day and gave him a 70, leaving him three shots behind. “I think even par wins the golf tournament.” Doesn’t 280 always win the U.S. Open? That’s what Arnold Palmer used to say. And this feels like a U.S. Open. Go back to Shinnecock Hills two years ago in the U.S. Open to find the last time someone won at over par (Brooks Koepka). For non-majors, the tour said over par hasn’t won since Bruce Lietzke at the Byron Nelson Classic in 1981. It’s a massive change from last week, when Johnson won by 11 shots at 30-under 254. “Last week was fun, too,” Johnson said. “But this week is more of a grind, that’s for sure. Every single hole out here is difficult. You’ve got to really be focused on every shot that you hit.” Among those two shots behind was Louis Oosthuizen, whose birdie in the dark on the final hole last week at the TPC Boston moved him to No. 70 to qualify for the BMW Championship. “This is the golf course I needed to do what I must do,” he said of moving into the top 30. “Look, this can go really south on you quickly. You can shoot 6, 7 over on this golf course very quickly. But if you really stick to it and play middle of the greens and lag those putts, you can make a lot of pars. And you’re not going to lose spots if you’re making pars.”

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Pack your bags, grab your passport, and make sure you have some sunscreen. Puma Golf is taking you on a journey to some of the most popular stops on the PGA TOUR with its Game That Travels Collection. The series of eight drops features apparel, footwear, and accessories inspired by some of the biggest tournaments and most desirable locales on the schedule. Each ensemble in the collection tells a story through intricate details and bold patterns that capture the attitude of the host site. Puma gave us a peek at the Game That Travels Collection back in December at the Hero World Challenge. With the Bahamas as the setting, the brand outfitted Rickie Fowler, Bryson DeChambeau and Gary Woodland in pieces from its Saltwater series. In creating the signature prints, Puma designers pulled inspiration from the sharks, stingrays and turtles known to inhabit the waters surrounding the islands of the Bahamas. This week, at the Sentry Tournament of Champions, Puma brand ambassadors are debuting the second series of the Game That Travels line with the Island Time Collection. Throughout the tournament, you will see Rickie and Gary sporting signature prints inspired by Maui’s two iconic features—pineapples and palm trees. Fowler has often used the shores of Kapalua Bay to showcase his latest fashion flexes. Back in 2016, he had the social media world buzzing by rocking joggers and high-tops. Two years ago, he teed it up in an untucked Aloha shirt. This year he channeled those island vibes with a matching pineapple print shirt, shorts and bucket hat. When the TOUR heads to Torrey Pines for the Famers Insurance Open, Puma will introduce the Turfs Up Collection. Grab your board and your clubs as the laidback designs were inspired by the unique the surf and golf culture of the California Coast. As the TOUR travels to the east coast, the Game That Travels Collection takes a more refined tone. The second iteration of the X Collection celebrates Rickie’s progressive and elevated style as well as his 10-year partnership with the brand. Look for Fowler to wear tipped polos, skull prints, and PROADAPT kicks with gold chrome outsoles at THE PLAYERS Championship. The Game That Travels Collection will be in full bloom as players make the drive up Magnolia Lane for the Masters in Puma’s TournAMENt Pack. Vibrant green and pink floral prints signal a rebirth of the golf season by paying homage to Augusta National’s notorious White Dogwood, Golden Bell, and Azalea holes in Amen Corner. With two high-stress events in the rearview mirror and two more on the horizon, Puma will take us on a return trip to the Bahamas for a little relaxation with the Sweetness Collection. Inspired by Rickie’s infamous #SB2K trip, Sweetness is the perfect collection for kicking back and relaxing on a low-key golf vacation. Like Hawaii, the Bahamas is known for its abundance of pineapples and this collection will bring a new polo and trucker hat with a pineapple print to the fairways for Spring Break. Following a bit of rest and relaxation, the intensity of the golf season ramps up with two majors in quick succession. As the PGA Championship heads west for the rolling hills and free-spirited culture of San Francisco, Puma will celebrate the city’s famous Haight-Ashbury intersection, which served as the center of the hippie movement in the 1960s. At TPC Harding Park, the brand will tap into the groovy feels of the area by outfitting its players in polos, hats, and NXT Solelace shoes done in colorful tie-dye prints from the Love/Haight Collection. After leaving the funky streets of San Francisco, the golf world will return to Winged Foot for the U.S. Open. The club is known for the blue and white awning covering the terrace in front of the clubhouse and Puma pulled inspiration from that iconic feature for the Pars & Stripes Collection. The patriotic looks will be clean, technical, and rooted in performance—a nod to the highly skilled members of the club. Look for the Puma Golf Game That Travels Collection to be available upon individual releases throughout the year and available at the PGA TOUR Superstore.

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Weekly 18: Rahm’s global game stands out among peers

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