The First Look: Olympic Games women’s golf competition

JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Jon Rahm is young enough at 26 that the FedExCup has been a big part of the PGA TOUR as long as he has been chasing his dreams, and winning the trophy would mean a lot to him. RELATED: Full leaderboard | FedExCup update: Keith Mitchell makes move after brilliant birdie run But for now, Rahm can only worry about the tournament at hand, and while he has produced a mixture of great shots and great saves to reach 12-under 130, he still has his hands full. “Believe it or not, hit my fair share of bad shots today,” Rahm said. “Much like yesterday, I was able to save a couple of good ones. … Coming into the weekend, I’m definitely going to have to clean a couple of those mistakes up.” Finau had a 64 with a bogey on the final hole as he tries to secure another spot among the 30 who make it to the season-ending Tour Championship, along with boosting his bid to play his way onto another Ryder Cup team. Olympic gold medalist Xander Schauffele tied his personal best on the PGA Tour and the course record at Liberty National with a 62 and was in the group at 10-under 132 along with Justin Thomas (69) and Keith Mitchell (64). Thomas, who shared the 18-hole lead with Rahm, couldn’t figure out which way the ball was going in making four bogeys in eight holes, only to play his last five holes in 5 under — that included an eagle at the par-5 eighth — to stay in the mix. Mitchell did his work at the start of his round by running off six straight birdies, a streak that ended on the 18th hole as he made the turn. He took two shots to get out of a longer bunker and made double bogey on No. 7, only to close with two birdies. More is at stake for Mitchell, who is No. 101 in the FedExCup and needs a high finish to be among the top 70 who advance to next week at the BMW Championship. Jordan Spieth got back in the game with a consecutive eagles — he holed out from the fairway on the par-4 fifth and holed a chip from the edge of the water on the par-5 sixth — and tied the course record himself at 62. That left him four behind, along with Brooks Koepka (64). Spieth started the day worried about making the cut, especially after a bogey on the opening hole. He ended it in a tie for 10th, and figures he led the field in luck with those eagles. “When things starting well, you go on a run, right? You get momentum and the ball finds the cup and when it’s not going well it bounces the wrong way,” he said. “I feel like I’m on the right side of some momentum right now and I just have to keep it going.” For others, their season is over. Adam Scott, who missed a 4-foot putt in a playoff that would have won the Wyndham Championship last week, followed an opening 67 with a 75 to miss the cut by one shot. He was among 28 players outside the top 70 in the FedExCup who missed the cut. For Rahm though he knows that the FedExCup is a trophy he’d like to have by the end of the season. “It’s a trophy that a very select group of people are going to be able to put their name on,” he said. “It’s one of those, kind of like in majors and great events like THE PLAYERS, to where … you have to show up and play good.” For now, Rahm can only do so much, focus on the event at hand and the world’s No. 1 player is doing it well.

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LA QUINTA, Calif. - Tony Finau will always have a soft spot for PGA West. Four years into his mini-tour career, Finau arrived in the Palm Desert for a 2011 National Pro Golf Tour event, aiming to build confidence and self-belief. He won the event, with the $21,000 winner's check serving a multitude of uses. "At the time, that was the most money I had ever made in a week's work," Finau recalled at The American Express this week, contested at PGA West's Pete Dye Stadium and Nicklaus Tournament courses. "I gave a lot of it to my parents. I was able to take care of my Q-School entry fee that year, and just line up some tournaments from that. "You live on a week-to-week, day-to-day basis in the mini-tour life, and that was able to really take care of me for the year." Finau opened The American Express with a 4-under 68 at the Pete Dye Stadium Course - the more demanding of the event's two layouts - positioned inside the top-15 as he chases another title at PGA West. The Utah native made six consecutive birdies around the turn Thursday (holes 7-12 at the Stadium Course), all six birdies coming from inside 10 feet. It matched the second-longest birdie streak of Finau's career, behind seven straight in the second round of The American Express in 2015 (Nicklaus Tournament Course). The father-of-four, now in his seventh TOUR season, has established himself as a frequent contender on TOUR leaderboards. He has finished no worse than No. 53 in the FedExCup in six full seasons, and has accrued 83-top 25 finishes, including a victory at the 2016 Puerto Rico Open. The highly-ranked ball-striker navigates TOUR venues with confidence and ease. Earlier in his career, that swagger was hard to come by. "It took seven years to continue to try and believe in myself, and convince myself that I was good enough to do it," reflected Finau this week. "It wasn't easy times. A lot of struggles, both financially and sometimes emotionally. But at the end of the road, I saw the light at the end of the tunnel, and here I am, entering my seventh year on the PGA TOUR." Finau turned professional in 2007, at age 17, and played a variety of mini-tours before securing his TOUR card via the 2014 Korn Ferry Tour Regular Season - including a victory at the Ellie Mae Classic at TPC Stonebrae, also in California. The 31-year-old finished T14 at last year's The American Express, propelled by a second-round 62. He'll take aim at a second TOUR title this weekend, on comfortable terrain at PGA West. "I've got pretty good vibes out here," Finau said. "Hopefully bring some of those winning vibes later this week."

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