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OLYMPIA FIELDS, Ill. (AP) — Even with so few people around, Jon Rahm could hear from the other side of the Olympia Fields clubhouse that Dustin Johnson had made a 45-foot birdie on the final hole to force a playoff Sunday in the BMW Championship. Resilient as ever, Rahm went out and made some magic of his own. RELATED: FedExCup standings | Leaderboard | What’s in Rahm’s bag? From one end of the 18th green to the other, Rahm’s putt from just over 65 feet rolled down the ridge and into the cup, setting off a roar so loud it nearly made up for not having spectators. “I knew how good DJ has been playing. I was expecting nothing else,” Rahm said. “I was fully confident it was going to come into a playoff and hoping to win it. Never did I think I would make another 50-, 60-footer, a couple of breaks in there, to end up winning it.” Johnson remained No. 1 in the FedExCup standings while Rahm moved up to No. 2 as the TOUR Championship begins this week. Rahm’s big birdie putt on the first extra hole spared him thoughts of his blunder in the third round, when he picked up his ball on the fifth green without marking it, leading to a one-shot penalty and his only bogey of the weekend. He tore through the back nine Sunday on his way to a 6-under 64, the lowest round of the week, to finish at 4-under 276. Johnson, a 54-hole leader for his third straight tournament and coming off an 11-shot victory last week at the TPC Boston, birdied three of his opening four holes to open a three-shot lead, dropped a pair of shots around the turn and then delivered in the clutch with his 45-foot birdie putt on the last hole for a 67. Joaquin Niemann, the 21-year-old from Chile, also made a spirited run with a 67 and was in the lead until a bogey on the 14th and no birdies the rest of the way. He tied for third with Hideki Matsuyama, who had a 69. Tony Finau closed with a 65 to finish three behind. They were the only five players under par at Olympia Fields. Rahm won for the second time this year on the PGA TOUR, and the 11th time in his career worldwide. Mackenzie Hughes had reason to celebrate, too. He was on the verge of playing his way into the top 30 who advance to East Lake when he took a sloppy bogey on the 17th. Needing a par on the 18th, he put his approach into the front bunker, splashed out to 5 feet and raised both arms when it dropped. Niemann also moved into the top 30, though he was chasing victory all day. Adam Long and Kevin Streelman were bumped out, and Long suffered the worst of those fates. He was projected 30th in the FedExCup until Corey Conners three-putted from 5 feet for double bogey on the final hole. That allowed Billy Horschel to move up enough spots on the leaderboard to move to the 30th and final spot by three points over Long. The top 30 are assured spots in at least three majors next year, along with the Sentry Tournament of Champions at Kapalua to start the year. The winners-only event is taking the top 30 in the FedExCup from having lost three months of the season to the COVID-19 pandemic. Tiger Woods missed all the action. He made double bogey on his 17th hole for a 71, making this the first time he was over par in all four rounds of a tournament since the Bridgestone Invitational in 2010. Woods failed to reach the TOUR Championship for the second straight year. He now gets two weeks off before the U.S. Open at Winged Foot, and Olympia Fields proved to be a good test for that.

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ATLANTA – After torching Medinah en route to a 3-stroke victory at the 2019 BMW Championship, and heading into the TOUR Championship with a 2-stroke lead, Justin Thomas switched driver shafts. Thomas had been using a Mitsubishi Diamana BF 60TX shaft in his Titleist drivers since 2017, the year he won the PGA Championship at Quail Hollow. Even when he switched into a new TS3 driver (9.5 degrees) in 2018, it was still equipped with that same shaft. After winning the 2019 BMW Championship, however, Thomas was spotted by PGATOUR.COM on Wednesday at the TOUR Championship testing a new Mitsubishi Diamana ZF 60TX shaft in his driver. Thomas played a 9-hole practice on Wednesday using the new ZF shaft, then afterwards took off to the range to test the ZF against his old BF shaft. Apparently, he liked what he saw from the new ZF shaft, since Thomas put the shaft in play on Thursday. According to Mitsubishi, the company that makes both his old driver shaft and his new one, the ZF-series shafts “build on the success� of the BF-series shafts. The ZF shafts use a combination of MR-70 carbon fiber and Boron fiber to create a shaft that’s stronger in the tip and butt sections but softer in the middle of the shaft. This creates “better energy transfer and acceleration,� according to Mitsubishi. “Diamana ZF-series takes the signature ‘smooth’ bend profile that makes our BF-series the shaft of choice for so many players and pushes it in just the right places,� said Mark Gunther, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for Mitsubishi, in a press release. “The result is a profile that makes ZF a little more explosive and easier to accelerate.� While Thomas has opted for the 60TX version of the ZF, like he did with his BF-series shafts, the new ZF will be available to the public in options ranging from 40 grams up to 80 grams in various flexes. They hit retail on September 13 selling for $400. Related: Full equipment Q&A with Justin Thomas

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Round 1 of the Wells Fargo Championship gets underway Thursday. Here’s everything you need to know to follow the action. Round 1 tee times Round 1 leaderboard HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel), Saturday-Sunday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS) PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7 a.m.-6 p.m. (featured groups), Saturday-Sunday, 8:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). International subscribers (via GOLF.tv): Thursday-Friday, 11:15 to 22:00 GMT. Saturday-Sunday, 13:00 to 22:00. RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com) NOTABLE TEE TIMES Patrick Reed, Hideki Matsuyama, Paul Casey: 7:30 a.m. ET  Phil Mickelson, Jason Day, Harold Varner III: 7:40 a.m. ET  Rory McIlroy, Tony Finau, Sergio Garcia: 12:50 p.m. ET  MUST READS Rose looks to rebound at Wells Fargo Championship The ones that got away Power Rankings Expert Picks The First Look  

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