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Tiger Woods was coy about his pre-Open plans after competing in the JP McManus Pro-Am on Monday and Tuesday. After shooting 77-74 in the charity exhibition, Woods told reporters that he had a plan to play some links but would not elaborate on where. “I don’t want to tell you because I don’t want everyone coming down and watching us,” Woods said Tuesday at Adare Manor. A round of golf with Woods and Rory McIlroy can never stay secret for long, however, and on Thursday we learned that a round at Ballybunion was part of the itinerary after photos and videos of the pair of two-time FedExCup champs emerged on social media. Trips to Ireland have been part of Woods’ Open prep since he turned pro. Early in his career, he would play golf and go flyfishing in Ireland with Mark O’Meara and other veterans. On Woods’ first Ireland trip in 1999, Payne Stewart made a hole-in-one at Ballybunion during a round with Woods and O’Meara. “I’ve always loved coming to Ireland,” Woods said Tuesday. “We’ve had some great times.” Those rounds, of course, were also important preparation for the unique challenge that links presents. “I’ve come here on several occasions to not only get over the time zone but get used to links golf,” Woods said. “It is a different kind of game. I mean, it’s played on the ground and it’s totally different. Yardages are generally thrown out the window.” The Open will be Woods’ first start since withdrawing from the third round of the PGA Championship. He admitted that he skipped the U.S. Open to ensure he could participate in this Open, which is the 150th edition of golf’s oldest major and being played at the Home of Golf. Videos from his round at Ballybunion showed him riding in a cart, a rarity on the links of the British Isles. “The plan was to play the U.S. Open but physically I was not able to do that,” Woods said Tuesday. “I had some issues with my leg and it would have put this tournament in jeopardy. “This is a pretty historic Open that we are going to be playing. I’m lucky enough to be part of the past champions that have won there. … I don’t know when they are ever going to go back while I’m still able to play at a high level and I want to be able to give it at least one more run.” Two of Woods’ three wins in The Open have come at the Old Course. He won by eight shots in 2000 during the Tiger Slam and returned five years later for a five-shot win.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Given another opportunity to win, Marc Leishman didn’t give anyone much of a chance in the BMW Championship. Staked to a five-shot lead, Leishman made back-to-back birdies late in the final round Sunday to put away the final challenge, then closed with a birdie for a four-under 67 to set the tournament record and win by five over Justin Rose and Rickie Fowler. It was Leishman’s second victory this year, and it sends him to East Lake as the No. 4 seed in the FedEx Cup, giving him a clear shot at the $10 million prize. Leishman finished at 23-under 261, breaking the 72-hole tournament record that Tiger Woods set at Cog Hill in 2007. The timing could not have been better for the 33-year-old Australian. In his last event two weeks ago, he lost a two-shot lead on the back nine at the TPC Boston and said that loss stung more than most. “I had a few scars from a few weeks ago,” Leishman said. “I was just really, really determined to not let that happen again. Got it done.” And it was never really close. Rose is the only player who got within two shots of the lead, only for Leishman to answer with a 30-foot birdie putt on the 15th hole and a 10-footer for birdie on the 16th. Rose closed with a 65. Fowler made a late run when he was too far back, and he needed one more birdie on the 18th to grab the No. 5 seed for the FedExCup finale next week at the TOUR Championship. He ripped driver off the fairway and over the stream to the back rough. It was a bold play that preceded a pair of meager efforts — a chip that came up 25 feet short, and a birdie putt that didn’t to the hole. He closed with a 67. Jon Rahm birdied four of his last five holes for a 67 and will be the No. 5 seed. Jordan Spieth shot 65 to tie for seventh and kept the No. 1 seed, followed by Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Leishman and Rahm. The points are reset to give all 30 players at East Lake a mathematical chance, but the top five seeds only have to win the TOUR Championship to capture the FedExCup. As usual, the only drama at Conway Farms was who made it to East Lake, and a pair of PGA TOUR rookies delivered. Xander Schauffele, who won The Greenbrier Classic in July, opened with 10 pars and two bogeys and was not even in the picture until the San Diego native played his final six holes in six-under par, including a 30-foot eagle when he drove the green on the par-4 15th. Patrick Cantlay fell out of the top 30 when he took bogey on the 16th hole. Needing a birdie to get into the TOUR Championship, he hit a hybrid onto the green to 50 feet, left his eagle attempt some 10 feet short and calmly holed the putt to get in. Cantlay returned to golf after a three-year break from a back injury that nearly ended his career, and the death of his close friend and caddie, Chris Roth, who was hit by car as they walked to dinner. The former UCLA star made it to the TOUR Championship despite playing only 11 events this year. Being in the top 30 gets him into the Masters, U.S. Open and British Open next year. Masters champion Sergio Garcia injected more drama than necessary. He figured he needed a par on the final hole to get into the top 30 when a bogey would have worked. His second shot was on the rocks in the stream, and after taking close to 30 minutes on a drop, he smacked it over the green into the grandstand, got more relief, and then got up-and-down for his par. Phil Mickelson wasn’t so fortunate. He made three bogeys on the front nine and tried to get back in the game with an eagle on the reachable par-4 15th. Needing an eagle on the 18th hole to make it to East Lake, Mickelson’s 140-foot pitch-and-run hit the hole and popped out. After the 30-minute wait on Garcia. Leishman earlier this year won the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill. The third victory of his tour career was by far the biggest, and went far beyond the strong field, the $1,575,000 paycheck or his standing in the FedExCup. Leishman pegged this event as a chance to spread awareness for sepsis and toxic shock syndrome, which nearly killed his wife two years ago. He asked the players to wear ribbons on their caps this week to celebration Sepsis Awareness Month. And then he went wire-to-wire, walking off the 18th green to see his wife, Audrey, and their three young children.

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