Canadian golfer Taylor says he’s playing with ‘house money’ in FedEx Cup playoffs

The PGA TOUR heads to Baltimore for the first time since 1964 for the penultimate event of the 2020-21 season, the BMW Championship. Jon Rahm, who was in position to start his FedExCup Playoffs run with a win at THE NORTHERN TRUST, looks to defend his BMW Championship title after a dramatic playoff win over Dustin Johnson last season. FIELD NOTES: Top 70 in the FedExCup standings after THE NORTHERN TRUST will tee it up at the BMW Championship… Rahm, the defending champion, stood to move from fifth to first in the FedExCup standings with a win at Liberty National… Dustin Johnson, who lost in a playoff to Rahm but went on to win the FedExCup last year, missed THE NORTHERN TRUST cut by a shot Friday after starting the tournament without a driver… After withdrawing from THE NORTHERN TRUST with an ankle injury, Patrick Reed is expected to return to action at the BMW… Olympic Gold medalist Xander Schauffele, two-time FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy, past FedExCup winners Justin Thomas and Jordan Spieth, plus Player of the Year candidate Collin Morikawa also will be among the headliners in Baltimore. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 FedExCup points. COURSE: Caves Valley Golf Club, par 72, 7,542 yards. Opened in 1991, the Tom Fazio design was recently updated with infrastructure changes over an 18-month timeframe. There’s more length, plus new and/or restored bunkers, and, in places, additional rough. The front and back nines have been switched to allow for better spectator views. The PGA TOUR hasn’t played an event in Baltimore since the 1960s, but Caves Valley is no stranger to big-time golf – the course played host to the U.S. Senior Open, the Constellation Senior PLAYERS Championship, and the first International Crown on the LPGA Tour. STORYLINES: The BMW Championship is the final opportunity to earn a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs finale, the 30-man TOUR Championship at East Lake… Keep an eye on the Monday finish at THE NORTHERN TRUST to see who will survive and advance. In 2020 there were six golfers who moved into the top 70 after THE NORTHERN TRUST and six who moved out… The FedExCup points leader after the first two Playoffs events will begin the TOUR Championship at 10 under par, meaning those at the top will be fighting for position at the BMW Championship. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Keegan Bradley (2018). *At Caves Valley GC (N/A) 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk (2nd round, 2013). *At Caves Valley GC (N/A) LAST TIME: It was a thrilling finish to the second leg of the FedExCup Playoffs in 2020, with Jon Rahm defeating Dustin Johnson in a playoff at the BMW Championship. Johnson, who had won by 11 the previous week, rolled in a double-breaking 43-foot putt on the 72nd hole at Olympia Fields to force a playoff with Rahm at 5-under 276 after the Spaniard fired a 6-under 64 in the final round (the low round of the tournament). Rahm answered right back, however, with a curling 66-foot birdie bomb of his own to seal the win. It was his 11th TOUR title. Rahm’s victory came despite a mental blunder in the third round – he picked up his ball without marking it on the green and was penalized a stroke. Only five golfers finished under par at the 2020 BMW: Joaquin Niemann, Hideki Matsuyama and Tony Finau – after a final-round 65 – were the others besides Rahm and Johnson. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12 p.m.-2 p.m. (Golf Channel), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 10 a.m.-7 p.m. (Featured Groups). Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. (Featured Groups), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Sunday, 8 a.m.-2 p.m. (Featured Groups), 2 p.m.-6 p.m. (Featured Holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 1 p.m.-7 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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ATLANTA - The TOUR Championship's staggered-start format is just a year old, but Justin Thomas has seen both sides of it. He arrived at East Lake last year as the FedExCup leader, holding a two-shot lead when he teed off in the first round. Thomas admits that he was uncomfortable in that opening round. RELATED: Full leaderboard | McIlroy begins fatherhood with 64 at East Lake "I (didn't) know how to react, and nobody really would," Thomas said. "But I feel like I didn’t handle it as well as I should have." Thomas shot 70 in the first round here last year and was just 3 under par for his four rounds at East Lake. He finished third, five shots behind Rory McIlroy. It was a 10-shot swing, as McIlroy started the week five back of Thomas. Thomas didn't specify on what he would do differently if in that position again. He didn't want to help his competition. They'd have to figure it out for themselves. This year, Thomas arrived at East Lake three shots behind Dustin Johnson. Thomas is third in the FedExCup thanks to his TOUR-high three wins this season. Thomas, the 2017 FedExCup champion, is trying to join Tiger Woods and Rory McIlroy as the only two-time winners of the Cup. Thomas shot 66 on Friday to pick up a shot on the lead. He'll start Saturday two shots behind Johnson and Jon Rahm. Two rounds is too small a sample to discern how much of an impact his starting position had on his score, but there's no question Thomas performed better this year. He made birdie on three of his first four holes. "I feel like I’m in a good frame of mind," he said. "I’m in a good place mentally right now, where I would like to feel like I would handle the golf course the same no matter what I was at. I did a good job of just staying in my game today, my focus, and just trying to make birdies when I gave myself a chance." Thomas hit his irons so well that he felt his round could have been a 61 or 62. He lost -1.15 strokes on the greens but that doesn't include the 44-footer he made from the fringe on the 14th hole. That stroke gained 1.18 strokes on the field. Thomas hit 14 of 18 greens Friday. He was fourth in Strokes Gained: Approach-the-Green and second in proximity to the hole. His approach shots finished an average of 25 feet from the hole. Thomas leads the TOUR in Strokes Gained: Approach this season but is 114th in Strokes Gained: Putting. "When you give yourself that many chances you’re not going to make all of them," he said. "There’s a couple that if I would have had the speed up a little more I would have made, but a couple of them I just misread from short distance. "At the end of the day it would be nice to make all those, but it’s just not realistic. To go around here with not a great putting today and shoot 4-under is pretty good, I think."

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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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