Poston goes wire-to-wire at John Deere Classic

SOUTHAMPTON, Bermuda — Ben Crane took advantage of a rare start on the PGA TOUR with his lowest score in 10 years, a 9-under 62 that gave him a one-shot lead going into the weekend of the Butterfield Bermuda Championship. Crane’s last victory was in 2014 at the FedEx St. Jude Championship, before it was a World Golf Championship or a FedExCup Playoff event. He hasn’t led after any round since the summer of 2017. The 46-year-old Crane flew to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean when he learned he was given a sponsor exemption. And then on Friday, he holed out with a wedge for eagle and tied his career low on the PGA TOUR. He finished before the weather started to turn rough, with a mixture of rain and wind. “Obviously played the best golf I’ve played in a long time and to be in this tournament is super encouraging,” Crane said. “I don’t get in a lot and then to get in and the weather starts getting bad right when I finished. So really cool to shoot 62. That 29 on the back, I didn’t see it coming, but it adds up to 29. Super fun day.” Crane, who was at 14-under 128, played alongside good friend Aaron Baddeley, who had a 64 and was among those one shot out of the lead. Also one shot behind was Austin Smotherman, who was tied until a late three-putt bogey for a 67, Adam Schenk (66), Robby Shelton (66) and Ben Griffin (64). Seamus Power of Ireland, the highest-ranked player in the field, had another 65 and was two shots behind. The tournament has not lacked for unusual stories. Arjun Atwal, who had not played in the three months since his father died, opened with a 63. He had a 71 on Friday and fell six shots off the lead. Schenk was on his way to the airport when he realized he left an importance piece of luggage behind — his clubs — causing him to arrive a day late. He was packed and ready at 5 a.m. when he and his wife went inside to see their dog. “Walked right past the clubs that were packed in the garage,” he said. “Showed up at the airport and opened the trunk and they weren’t there. My wife and I looked at each other and like, ‘Well, I guess we’ve got to go back.’” The Indiana native could not find a flight until Wednesday, but then found one out of Boston on Tuesday and finally made his way to Bermuda, and then into contention. Crane, however, was as big a surprise as any of them. A five-time winner, he hasn’t played a full schedule since 2018 and has played in only 18 tournaments over the last three years. He had a special day on Friday in Bermuda. “So often in golf you get beat up,” Crane said. “I said it to my son who’s 14 and learning to play the game, it’s a really hard game. Today was one of those special days, one of a hundred whatever it is, where it just kind of all comes together.”

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Will Zalatoris shot a bogey-free 65 in the PGA Championship on Friday, leaving him at 9 under for the tournament and giving him a one-shot lead over Mito Pereira heading into the weekend.

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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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