Carlos Ortiz in prime position for home win at World Wide Technology Championship

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – There are many paths to the FedExCup Playoffs. With a regular season that began in October and featured more than 40 events, playerss accumulated the necessary FedExCup points in myriad ways. It took 376 points to qualify for this year’s FedExCup Playoffs, which start with this week’s THE NORTHERN TRUST at Liberty National in New Jersey. FEDEXCUP: Scenarios | How the new format works | One-liners on the 125 | Experts’ roundtable Some players secured their Playoffs spot with a strong start to the fall season. Others made a late dash across the line. There were displays of remarkable consistency, and examples of players who earned the bulk of their points with one high finish. Here’s a closer look at how players qualified for the FedExCup Playoffs. MOST POINTS PER START Let’s start by looking at average points earned per start. It’s no surprise that the top players in the standings are atop this list. Prize distribution is always top-heavy, and it’s no different with FedExCup points. A win is worth 500 points at most events, while a 10th-place finish is worth 75. For reference, a third-place finish in most events is worth 190 points. A fourth-place finish is worth 135. Each player’s FedExCup ranking is listed next to their name. Every player in the above list is in the top 10 of the FedExCup except for Collin Morikawa, who’s catapulted to 49th in the FedExCup in just seven pro starts. He has a win and two other top-5 finishes and has yet to miss a cut. His worst finish is T36. Rory McIlroy has a tour-leading 12 top-10s in just 16 starts this season, including two wins. Brooks Koepka is the only player with three wins this season. He won the CJ CUP @ NINE BRIDGES in the fall, then added a major (PGA Championship) and World Golf Championship (FedEx St. Jude Invitational). He also has three runners-up this season. He’s finished first or second in one-third of his starts. POINTS EARNED IN ONE START Pro golf can be a tough way to make a living. It’s not as easy as the top players make it look, but the beautiful thing about the game is that a career can change in a week. That’s what the players on this list exemplify. These are the players who earned the highest percentage of their points in a single start. Matthew Wolff’s presence on this list is a bit misleading. He’s only played six events as a pro. He won in his third start, at the 3M Open, to join Tiger Woods and Ben Crenshaw as the only players to win an NCAA Championship and PGA TOUR title in the same season. Max Homa and Adam Long both had two top-10s this season. One of them was a win. Dylan Frittelli’s win at the John Deere Classic was his only top-10 this season. He was 154th in the FedExCup before his victory. Patrick Rodgers was runner-up at the RSM Classic after shooting 61-62 in the final two rounds. He set the PGA TOUR record for low score over the final 36 holes of a tournament. POINTS EARNED IN THREE BIGGEST WEEKS The old saying goes that a player earns the bulk of his money (or FedExCup points) in just three weeks of work. It’s true. Of the 125 qualifiers for this year’s playoffs, 88 earned more than half their points in just three starts. The players on the below list earned the highest percentage of their points in their three biggest weeks. Wolff and Morikawa are on this list, of course, because of their brief pro careers. Phil Mickelson had his two best finishes of the season in California. He finished second at the Desert Classic after opening the tournament with a 60. He added to his Hall of Fame resume with a win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am, as well. Those are his only top-10s this season. Shane Lowry’s win at The Open Championship was preceded by a runner-up finish at the RBC Canadian Open and third-place finish at the RBC Heritage. PERCENTAGE EARNED IN THE FALL The PGA TOUR season started 10 months ago, and the points accrued last October count the same as those earned last month. The fall tournaments were crucial for several players. Here’s a look at the players who earned the highest percentage of their points in the eight tournaments played in October and November. Cameron Champ’s play was the story of the fall. He had two other top-10s in addition to his win at the Sanderson Farms Championship. He was sixth in the FedExCup standings after the fall. Kevin Tway was the early FedExCup leader after winning the season-opening Safeway Open. PERCENTAGE EARNED BY MARCH 1 The PGA TOUR travels from the West Coast to Florida in March. It also marks the start of the Season of Championships, with THE PLAYERS taking place in the idle of the month. Here’s a look at who’d earned the highest and lowest percentage of their points when the TOUR headed to the Sunshine State. First, the players who did the bulk of their work before arriving in Florida: Phil Mickelson has had just one top-30 finish since his win at the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. J.B. Holmes was in contention at The Open, but he only has one top-25 in a stroke play event since winning the Genesis Open. Now a look at the players who earned the lowest percentage of their points by March 1: Collin Morikawa and Matthew Wolff were still attending college classes in March, so they would top the list with 0%, but I left them off since they hadn’t even started their pro careers by then. Shane Lowry won a major and had two other top-3 finishes after the Masters. His only made cut before March was a T62 at the World Golf Championships-Mexico Championship (which doesn’t have a cut). He missed the cut in four of his first six starts this season, including a 78-73 performance at the Masters. He finished third the next week at the RBC Heritage. Rory Sabbatini, who finished fourth in the inaugural FedExCup, is seeking his first trip to East Lake sine 2007. He has six top-10s in his last 11 starts, including a T6 at last week’s Wyndham Championship. Jordan Spieth earned more than half his FedExCup points with three consecutive top-10s in May and June. He didn’t have his first top-25 of the season until the WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. POINTS EARNED AFTER THE U.S. OPEN The summer months are crunch time for players are trying to keep their card. Several players delivered in the clutch. Here’s a look at the players who earned the highest percentage of their points after the U.S. Open. Every player on this list was ranked outside the top 125 after the U.S. Open, but used a strong finishing kick to qualify for the FedExCup Playoffs: Wolff, Morikawa, Frittelli and Nate Lashley all won after the U.S. Open, of course. Russell Henley was looking at losing his card until an incredible final round at the John Deere Classic. He shot 61 to finish second to make a large leap from 165th in the FedExCup standings. Joaquin Niemann was outside the top 125 until back-to-back T5s at the Travelers Championship and Rocket Mortgage Classic. Like Henley, Andrew Landry used a high finish at the John Deere Classic to catapult inside the top 125. He was 171st in the FedExCup until finishing third at the Deere and T19 at the Wyndham.

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Round 3 of the Travelers Championship tees off on Saturday at TPC River Highlands. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 3 leaderboard Round 3 tee times HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday 6:45 a.m.-6 p.m. ET (featured groups), Saturday-Sunday 8 a.m.-3 p.m. ET (featured groups). Saturday-Sunday 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (featured holes). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.-6 p.m. Saturday-Sunday 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio). FEATURED GROUPS Jon Rahm, Jim Furyk, Russell Henley Saturday: 7:15 a.m. ET Xander Schauffele, Brendan Steele, Rory McIlroy Saturday: 9:04 a.m. ET Phil Mickelson, Will Gordon, Mackenzie Hughes Saturday: 9:15 a.m. ET MUST READS Less is more for Mickelson against McIlroy, DeChambeau at Travelers Gordon making the most of opportunity at Travelers Morikawa’s made cut streak ends at 22 Why DJ has two hybrids in his bag at Travelers Win probabilities: Travelers Championship Mickelson begins golf life after 50 Chase Koepka receives spot in 2021 Travelers Championship Pepperdine’s Theegala rides a wave of momentum onto PGA TOUR Travelers has history of giving future stars big breaks CALL OF THE DAY

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Marc Leishman has a short memory when it comes to golf, which only helped him at the BMW Championship. He forgot all about that 62 in the opening round. He was nearly just as good Friday with a 7-under 64 to open a three-shot lead over Jason Day and Rickie Fowler going into the weekend at Conway Farms. “I really took that as a challenge today, to not take it for granted that you’re just going to make birdies,” Leishman said. “You still have to earn every birdie. I think when you do get ahead of yourself, that’s when bad stuff can happen.” There was plenty of good stuff from the guys chasing him in the third FedExCup Playoff event. Day, who has gone 16 months since his last victory, chipped in from behind the 14th green for his second eagle of the week, and then added a third eagle with one swing. He made a hole-in-one on the 17th hole with a 7-iron that turned into a payoff for multiple parties. It carried Day to a 65, putting him in the last group on the weekend with Leishman. BMW awarded $100,000 to the Evans Scholars Foundation, and then Day decided to give the car he won to the Evans Scholars, which will yield another full, four-year scholarship for another student. Fowler also chipped in for eagle on the reachable par-4 15th hole on his way to a 64. “The ultimate goal is to win this week,” Day said. “That’s the thing I’ve been trying to do this whole season — at least win once, and try to build on that.” Leishman was at 16-under 126, two short of the 36-hole record Day set at Conway Farms two years ago on his way to a wire-to-wire, six-shot victory. Leishman has some experience with that, but it was long ago and the memory is vague, naturally. He recalls opening with a 70 at the Toyota Southern Classic on the Von Nida Tour in Australia and winning big. He already has 18 birdies in 36 holes at Conway Farms, where the scoring average was a shade under 69 through two rounds. It hasn’t been easy for everyone, particularly defending champion Dustin Johnson. The world’s No. 1 player can’t seem to buy a putt, and even when he started to make a little progress, he finished bogey-bogey by taking two chips to get on the 17th green and hitting into the water on the 18th. Patrick Cantlay extended his remarkable run this season with a 65, leaving him alone in fourth place but six shots behind. Cantlay returned after three years away to cope with a severe back injury and the death of his close friend and caddie, Chris Roth, who was hit by a car as they were walking to dinner. Cantlay is playing his 11th tournament this year, yet he is No. 41 in the FedExCup and could get into the TOUR Championship if he finishes in the top 30 after this week. Phil Mickelson is trying to work his way into the top 30, and while he sputtered with two birdies, two bogeys and too many pars, he drilled an approach to 5 feet on the par-5 14th for an eagle. He shot 69 and was at 7-under 135, in a tie for 12th. Jordan Spieth, No. 1 in the FedExCup Playoffs after successive runner-up finishes in the Playoff events, only managed a 70 and joined Mickelson in the group at 135. Leishman is hitting his stride at just the right time. Two weeks ago at the TPC Boston, he took a two-shot lead into the back nine only to get passed by Justin Thomas and Spieth by shooting 40 on the back nine to finish third behind Thomas. After a week at home in Virginia, with the clubs never leaving the garage, he picked up where he left off. It’s easy to overlook Leishman because the Australian has only two PGA TOUR victories, including the Arnold Palmer Invitational earlier this year. He’s OK with that, and laughs at hearing fans whisper as he walks by, “Who’s that bloke?” That was his phrase, though apparently he’s heard it Down Under, too. As for that short memory, he does have some specific recall of tournaments long ago. One of them was eight years ago in the Chicago area. It was his rookie season on the PGA TOUR. He made an eagle on the 18th hole at the TPC Boston just to advance to the third round at No. 67. Then, he was paired with Tiger Woods in the final round at Cog Hill. “I remember being really, really nervous on the first tee, which I’m generally not a nervous person, but that was a new thing for me,” he said. He also remembers having an eagle putt on the ninth hole, with Woods well to the right off the tee and then stuck behind a tree. Woods hit a 9-iron out of trouble and ended up making birdie, and he went on to win by eight shots. But that was a big day for Leishman. He tied for second and advanced to the TOUR Championship for the first time, leading to his first appearance in the Masters. That’s no longer an issue. Leishman now is No. 7 in the FedExCup and simply trying to win to get into the top five heading to the TOUR Championship.

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