Tiger recalls Bush’s speedy play, impact on golf

NORTON, Mass. - For 66 holes you could have been forgiven for paying very little attention to Robby Shelton at THE NORTHERN TRUST. He was a modest 7-under par and in a different time zone from the leader, Dustin Johnson. Then, "a switch went off" and the inexplicable side of golf poured forth in all its glory. To brush it aside by saying he played his final six holes at TPC Boston in 6-under doesn't quite do it justice. Not when it came so shockingly and so unexpectedly and created a most favorable change in Shelton's schedule. As birthday gifts go (the onetime University of Alabama star will turn 25 Tuesday), the one he gave himself is a trip to Olympia Fields for next week's BMW Championship. RELATED: Final leaderboard | FedExCup Playoffs: Projected standings "You know, that's been my goal the whole year, to make it to the BMW," said Shelton, whose blistering 63 - 271 finish got him into a share of 13th in his first-ever FedExCup Playoff. More importantly, it enabled Shelton, who started the week 81st in the FedExCup standings, to break into the Top 70 (he's No. 62) and get a spot in next week's field. He likely will never forget the sequence of shots that got him there. Par-4 13: His ball sitting on the fringe with a piece of mud on it, Shelton could only strike the 44-foot putt and hope. "Just got kind of lucky," he said. "The ball found the center of the cup." Par-4 14: Shelton hit two brilliant shots into the 516-yard best, then drained a 13-foot putt. It was one of two birdies at the hole in Round 3. Par-4 15: It officially got glorious when his 132-yard approach hit 5 feet beyond the hole and spun back into the cup for an eagle. "I mean, it was dead center in the cup. So, pretty cool." Par-3 16: Missing the green right, Shelton wedged it to 7 ½ feet and made the clutch save. Par-4 17: From 14 feet, he made yet another crucial putt, this one for birdie. "First three days, nothing went in," he said, shaking his head. "It was just very slow. Finally, it happened." Par-5 18: His second shot from 238 yards found the green and Shelton deftly two-putted from 28 feet for his seventh birdie of the round, one that he would come to treasure for it earned him a visit to a place that is special to him. Olympia Fields is where Shelton, in 2013, won his first collegiate tournament, the Olympia Fields / Fighting Illini Invitational. The emotions piled up and while in the aftermath of his finish he sat a whopping nine strokes being Dustin Johnson, who had not yet teed off, "It kind of felt like I was winning the golf tournament for a minute there," he said. He didn't, of course, but he did win that tournament within a tournament that players challenge themselves with. "My caddie and I knew we had to get to probably Top 20, at least, to have a chance," said Shelton, who got the update after signing his card and offered a massive exhale. "I can breathe," he laughed. Coming from way back: No one came from a deeper hole to fight his way into the BMW Championship than Russell Henley, who went from No. 101 to 61. When play resumed after the three-month break, was 127th in the FedExCup standings and promptly fell even lower when he missed the cut at the RBC Heritage and went for a T-32 at the Travelers Championship. He fought into the playoffs with a T-7 at the Workday Charity Open and T-9 last week at the Wyndham Championship, the grinded even more furiously at TPC Boston. "Like I've said so many times," said Henley, "it's good golf out here; you are working hard to shave off a stroke or half-a-stroke every day. It's such a grind." Closing 68 - 269 for his third top 10 since the return to golf, Henley concedes he felt like "walking in" when he doubled the par-5 second and bogeyed the par-4 fourth. That's how much volatility is in play. But he calmed down, played the next 14 holes in a bogey-free 6-under, and punched his ticket to the next round. After the lights went out: Five players who were outside the Top 70 earned their way into next week's BMW Championship, but no one did it more dramatically than Louis Oosthuizen. When torrential rain fell, the South African was in the fairway at 18, knowing he needed birdie to get the 70th and final spot. At 7:15 p.m., he returned, waited a few minutes for Daniel Berger and Harry Higgs to finish on the green, then rifled a 3-iron 235 yards and found the green. How did he do that in the dark? "The way I was playing today, it was the best way to play," he laughed. Four-over on his round through 13 holes, Oosthuizen figured his season was done. But he birdied the par-3 16th, saw during the 1 hour 15 minute rain delay that he would make it with birdie, so he asked for the chance to hit a few balls on the range. His putt from 33 feet left him a 4-footer to seal his trip to the BMW as the 70th seed and Oosthuizen converted. Others who moved in: The other four players who started outside the Top 70 but moved in were Shelton; Alex Noren (68 -269, T8), acquitted himself nicely to move from 78th to 47th; Harry Higgs (71 - 270, T-11), who went from 72nd to 48th; and No. 66 Jason Kokrak (65 - 271, T13), who quietly earned his way into the BMW for a third straight year. The were in, now they're out: With five guys moving in, these five started inside the Top 70, but fell out - Doc Redman, Denny McCarthy, Phil Mickelson, Henrik Norlander, and Xinjun Zhang. Notables on the outside looking in: They made the cut at THE NORTHERN TRUST, so there was still hope. But, first, they needed explosive weekends. Unfortunately, it didn't work out for Ian Poulter (73-69), Rickie Fowler (71-69), Tommy Fleetwood (71-70) as they combined to shoot just 3 under when everyone around them was piling up birdies. For Fowler, the disjointed season was his worst in his 11-year career. He'll miss the BMW Championship for the first time and whereas he'd never been worse than 43rd in final FEC standings, presently he's 94th.

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Golfweek, citing multiple sources, reported that LIV Golf is nearing a deal to buy airtime on Fox Sports, one that would see its events air on FS1. The deal is still being finalized, according to the report.

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Lanto Griffin’s goal of starting his own charitable foundation didn’t just suddenly click on after posting his first PGA TOUR win last month at the Houston Open. Griffin actually thought about it four years ago when he won a SwingThought Tour event in South Carolina, having entered the tournament late after barely missing out on Monday qualifying for the Wyndham Championship on the PGA TOUR. After winning the first prize of $20,000, Griffin spoke to a couple of people about how to create the foundation. Unfortunately, his pocketbook could not yet match his eagerness. “Looking back,� Griffin said, “I didn’t have any of the resources to do it.� But now he’s on the verge of having plenty of resources. Griffin enters this week’s The RSM Classic as the leader in the Birdies Fore Love standings, a competition held during the fall portion of the TOUR’s schedule that rewards players who make the most birdies or better by making donations to the players’ charities. The player with the most birdies or better at each weekly event receives $50,000 for his charity, and so Griffin already has that in the bank by virtue of his field-leading 24 birdies or better in Houston. There is also a fall competition, with the top three players making the most birdies during the 11-event early portion of the 2019-20 schedule receiving charitable payouts. First place after the conclusion of The RSM Classic is $300,000, with $150,000 for second and $50,000 for third. Griffin enters Sea Island with 127 birdies or better this fall, eight more than his closest pursuers (Maverick McNealy, Scottie Scheffler and Xinjun Zhang, each with 119). If Griffin maintains the lead after Sunday, he’ll have at least $350,000 to start his foundation. “That would be a dream for me,� said Griffin, who adjusted his playing schedule to add starts at the Bermuda Championship, last week’s Mayakoba Golf Classic and the RSM Classic just so he could maximize his opportunities to win the Birdies Fore Love top prize. “Having that capital to disperse to different areas that need it, that means a lot to me.� Griffin already knows the two causes he wants his foundation to focus on – helping financially challenged youth to play sports (“Doesn’t have to be golf,� Griffin said) and helping families that are battling terminal illnesses. Griffin saw first-hand how challenging that can be, as his mother had to go back to work after his dad passed away instead of being able to stay at home and raise the four children. “Cancer research is important to me, too, but you have to donate a lot of money for that to do anything,� Griffin said. “So I feel like if I can help some families immediately when they’re in the time of crisis – obviously there’s plenty of instances like that.� With Griffin starting this week with a hefty lead, the most intriguing competition could come down to the second- and third-place finishers. All three players currently tied for second are in the field, as are four of the next five players in the standings. Click here for full standings, weekly winners and more information on the Birdies Fore Love competition.

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