Corey Conners will use RSM Birdies Fore Love winnings to help children

ATLANTA – There was a fear before the TOUR Championship debuted its new format that the FedExCup leader could run away with the tournament and create a weekend devoid of drama. That wasn’t the case Thursday at East Lake Golf Club, though. The two-shot advantage that Justin Thomas held when he stepped on the first tee was gone by the 13th tee. After struggling to find fairways and hitting an iron into the water, Thomas finds himself in a three-way tie for the lead with 54 holes remaining. The leading trio features some of the TOUR’s most successful players over the past two years. They’ve combined to win a FedExCup (Thomas), Rookie of the Year (Xander Schauffele) and two Player of the Year awards (Brooks Koepka, Thomas). Koepka also is the hands-down favorite to win this year’s Player of the Year trophy. RELATED: Tee times | How new format works | JT switched driver shafts after last week’s win The leaders sit at 10 under par, one shot ahead of 2016 FedExCup champion Rory McIlroy. Patrick Cantlay and Georgia Tech alum Matt Kuchar are another shot back. Cantlay started the day in second place, while McIlroy and Kuchar both shot 66. Entering Thursday, there were just five players within five shots of the lead. There are now 12. Schauffele made the biggest move. His 64 was the low round of the day by two strokes. Schauffele won at East Lake two years ago to clinch the Rookie of the Year award, then finished seventh the following year. He’s been under par in eight of his nine rounds at East Lake. The exception was an even-par 70. “For how important and how top-notch this tournament is, it’s a very surprisingly relaxed week. You don’t see a bunch of guys grinding on the range in 90 degrees,â€� Schauffele said. “I just think I’m comfortable, and it sort of feeds into my sort of California vibe surprisingly, just because it’s so laid back.â€� Schauffele won twice this year, at the World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions and Sentry Tournament of Champions. He’s shown a propensity for performing well at the game’s biggest events – he had two top-3s in majors this year – and now is trying to win his first FedExCup. Thomas won the season-long title when Schauffele was victorious at the TOUR Championship. Thomas won eight times in the preceding two seasons, but last week’s win at the BMW Championship was the first win of his injury-interrupted 2019 season. He left Medinah discontent with his driver, and that feeling continued Thursday. He hit less than half his fairways during his first-round 70. “It was very, very close out there, but I definitely — that being said, that’s golf, and I just needed to hit the fairways,â€� Thomas said. His most penal shot was with an iron, though. He hit his tee shot into the water at the 150-yard, par-3 15th. Only three players missed that green Thursday, and he was the only player to hit it in the water. Thomas preceded his first round last week with what he coined the “worst warm-up I’ve ever had.â€� Koepka is hoping he can win this week after a frustrating range session. Like Thomas two years ago, Brooks Koepka is trying to wrap up a Player of the Year campaign with a victory in the FedExCup. Koepka already has three wins this season, including a major (PGA Championship) and World Golf Championship (FedEx St. Jude Invitational). Koepka was “freaking out a little bitâ€� while trying to find his game on the range Tuesday. “I never felt that uncomfortable over the putter or just hitting the ball,â€� Koepka said. He described it as “full panic modeâ€� after he made the turn Thursday and hit his tee shot well right of the fairway. “I felt like the train was off the tracks there on 9 and 10,â€� he said. “I hit that ball on 10, 75 yards right. It started 70 right and cut 5, so that wasn’t very good.â€� He regrouped to birdie three of the final four holes, though. He’ll join his Presidents Cup teammate, Schauffele, in the final group. “It’s funny about this game. When it’s going really well, you’re never thinking. And then all of a sudden, everything kind of abandons you, and you’re trying to figure out, what’s the answer? What’s the answer? How do I right the ship? How do I figure it out? And you start looking at ten different things, and odds are it’s one simple thing,â€� Koepka said. The task ahead is straightforward, as well. Now that one round is in the books, there’s no more talk about starting positions or strokes. Fifty-four holes remain and the leaderboard is all that matters.

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The city of Chicago and the Western Golf Association once again play host to the BMW Championship, the penultimate stop in the 2018-’19 PGA TOUR season. Results will go a long way toward determining who makes the all-important top-30 TOUR Championship at East Lake. Several players in the BMW field, such as reigning FedExCup champion Justin Rose and 2016 champion Rory McIlroy, last played the course at the 2012 Ryder Cup, a victory for Europe. A year ago, Rose lost a playoff at the BMW, but his 2-P2-T4 in his last three starts was good enough to win the FedExCup. He is trying to become the first to successfully defend his FedExCup title. FIELD NOTES: Tiger Woods, who withdrew from THE NORTHERN TRUST with a strained oblique, won the PGA Championship at Medinah in 1999 and 2006. He said on Twitter that he is still hopeful that he can play the BMW. … Ian Poulter, who was 60th in the FedExCup going into last week, went 4-0-0 for Europe as they came back from 10-6 deficit at the 2012 Ryder Cup at Medinah.Justin Rose made putts of 12, 35 and 12 feet on the last three holes, respectively, to beat Phil Mickelson in singles. … Keegan Bradley, the defending BMW champion, partnered with Mickelson and went 3-1-0. … Bradley’s only loss came in singles to Rory McIlroy, who was almost late for their tee time and required a police escort. … Paul Casey is set to return after sitting out the first Playoffs event to see his family after a four-week stretch on the road. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 points. STORYLINES: This is the last chance to crack the 30-man FedExCup Playoffs finale, and the results at Medinah could also determine who goes into the revamped TOUR Championship at 10 under par and with a two-shot lead over his closest pursuer before the tournament starts. … Players had just one week, as opposed to two, to work their way into the top 70 in the FedExCup to qualify for the BMW. … Jordan Spieth, the 2015 FedExCup champion who has gone over two years without a victory, was projected to move from 69th to third in the FedExCup as he went into the weekend atop THE NORTHERN TRUST leaderboard. … Proceeds from the BMW will help fund Evans Scholarships for caddies; since ’07, the BMW Championship has raised more than $30 million for college scholarships for caddies of modest means. COURSE: A Rees Jones redesign of a Tom Bendelow original, Medinah No. 3 is a 7,657-yard, par 72. This will mark the fourth time the WGA’s professional golf event will be held at Medinah No. 3, but the first since 1966. Founded in the 1920s by a group of Shriners, the club boasts three courses, all designed by Bendelow. The massive 120,000-square foot clubhouse designed by Richard Schmid is a unique architectural blend with Byzantine, Oriental and Louis XIV influences. Medinah is one of the Chicago area’s best known venues for championship golf. Course No. 3 has the Ryder Cup (2012), three U.S. Opens (1949, 1975, and 1990), two PGA Championships (1999, 2006), three Western Opens (1946, 1962 and 1966), and other events in the pre-PGA Tour era. Players who have won at Medinah include “Lighthorse” Harry Cooper, Gene Sarazen, Byron Nelson, Billy Casper, Gary Player, Hale Irwin and Tiger Woods. For those visiting the Chicago area, must-play courses include Prairie Landing Golf Club, Ravisloe Golf Club, and Cog Hill Golf & Country Club. Make your reservations through TeeOff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Marc Leishman (2017). 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Jim Furyk (2nd round, 2013). LAST YEAR: After faltering on the weekend at THE NORTHERN TRUST, Keegan Bradley bounced back at the BMW, winning for the first time in over five years at Aronimink Golf Club in Newtown Square, Pennsylvania. Bradley, who had used a belly-putter to win three times in his first two seasons, including the PGA Championship and a World Golf Championship event, had seen his career flatline as anchored putting was outlawed starting Jan. 1, 2016. He lost his full swing, as well, but pieced it together under coach Darren May and held off Justin Rose in a sudden-death playoff to advance to the TOUR Championship for the first time since 2013. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 3-7 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 12-3 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (NBC). Sunday, 12-2 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (NBC) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:45 a.m.-7 p.m. (featured groups). Saturday, 8:15 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Sunday, 8:15 a.m.-2 p.m. (featured groups), 2-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:15 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 12:30 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, 1-7 p.m. ET; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com).

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