Varner eagles final hole to take win over Watson

Phil Mickelson said the fog has cleared, and now he’s starting to shine at just the right time. Mickelson’s play has quickly gone in the right direction after he recently received medical treatment that he said improved his mental clarity. His improved focus could lead to his ninth TOUR Championship appearance in the 11 seasons of the FedExCup. Mickelson shot a 69 on Saturday at Conway Farms Golf Club and sits T15 at the BMW Championship. He’s currently projected to move up three spots in the FedExCup standings, to No. 33. ShotLink says that he sits one shot outside a TOUR Championship berth, needing a T12 or better to crack the top 30 in the FedExCup standings. He sounded confident on Saturday about his chances. “I know I have to probably shoot 4 or 5 under par. Like I said, I’m playing well enough to do that with ease. I let a lot of shots slide today,â€� Mickelson said. “I’m driving the ball well, playing well. I’m going to go out tomorrow and shoot a good number. It will be plenty.â€� Mickelson sits at 9-under 204 (66-69-69), and is just two shots outside fifth place. He is fifth in greens hit (40 of 54) this week and ninth in Strokes Gained: Putting (+0.957 per round). After receiving treatment, Mickelson finished T6 in the previous FedExCup Playoffs event, the Dell Technologies Championship. It was his first top-10 since June and his best finish in a stroke-play event since he finished runner-up to Henrik Stenson at last year’s Open Championship. He has the opportunity to post consecutive top-10s in stroke-play events for the first time since June 2013. If he does that, he’ll be headed to East Lake, where he’ll have a chance to win his first FedExCup. He is a two-time winner at East Lake, claiming the TOUR Championship in both 2000 and 2009. Advancing to East Lake also would give him another opportunity to prepare for the Presidents Cup, which will be played Sept. 28-Oct. 1 at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey. Mickelson was recently named one of Steve Stricker’s two Captain’s Picks, keeping alive his streak of appearances in that event. Mickelson has played in every Presidents Cup since the tournament began in 1994. He has a 23-16-2 record in his 12 appearances. “I’d like to stay sharp heading into the Presidents Cup. I’d like to compete,â€� Mickelson said. “I’m also playing well enough to get in contention and win again and I want to get in that (TOUR Championship) field because I think that if I do, I think I’ll have a really good shot at it.â€� MOVING IN, MOVING OUT TOP 5 WATCH The Top 5 players entering the TOUR Championship will control their own destiny at East Lake. Here’s a look at how the current Top 5 fared Friday at the BMW. 1. Jordan Spieth (71). Spieth shot a first-round 65 but was only 1 under par on the next 36 holes. He’s still projected to hold onto the top spot in the FedExCup standings. 2. Justin Thomas (71). Like Spieth, Thomas shot a solid first round (67), but could only manage to shoot 70-71 in the following two rounds. He’s still projected to maintain the No. 2 spot in the FedExCup standings. 3. Dustin Johnson (69). The BMW’s defending champion is T55 this week, but is still projected to hold on to the third spot in the FedExCup standings. 4. Hideki Matsuyama (70). His FedExCup Playoffs struggles continue. Matsuyama was No. 1 at the start of the postseason, but is now projected to drop to seventh in the standings. He is T49 this week. 5. Jon Rahm (65). Rahm’s 65 matched the low round of the day and moved him into fifth place. He’s seeking his third consecutive top-five finish in his first Playoffs, and still is projected to begin East Lake at No. 5 in the FedExCup. FEDEXCUP NOTES Sergio Garcia’s season was highlighted by a victory at a course co-founded by famed amateur Bobby Jones. Garcia, the reigning Masters champion, is trying to earn a tee time at another course closely associated closely with Jones, East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta. Garcia is projected to move inside the top 30 of the FedExCup standings, but he’ll start Sunday with only a slim cushion. Garcia is T15 at the BMW Championship. He likely needs to finish T19 at Conway Farms Golf Club to qualify for his first TOUR Championship since 2014. Last season marked the first time that two rookies qualified for the TOUR Championship. We could see a repeat of that feat this year. Both Patrick Cantlay and Mackenzie Hughes are projected to qualify for East Lake after Saturday’s play. Hughes, winner of The RSM Classic, is T15 at the BMW Championship and projected to jump from 31st to 24th in the FedExCup standings. Cantlay, who’s finished in the top 15 in the first two events of this year’s FedExCup Playoffs, is in fifth place at the BMW Championship. Cantlay, who’s making just his 12th start of the season, started the season on a medical extension from his rookie season of 2013-14. Stewart Cink is scheduled to receive the Payne Stewart Award next week at East Lake Golf Club. Cink, who lives in the Atlanta area, may be at East Lake as a competitor, too. He’ll need a low round to do it, though. Cink was inside the top 30 of the projected FedExCup standings for much of Saturday, but bogeys on the final two holes dropped him to No. 46. He’s T12 at the BMW Championship and three shots outside the top 30. ShotLink projects that he will need a fourth-place finish to qualify for his first TOUR Championship since 2009, the year he won The Open Championship.

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Leaderboard: What’s happening at The Open

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Martin Laird looks to continue his love-affair with TPC Summerlin as he defends his title at the Shriners Children’s Open. A handful of Ryder Cuppers from the victorious U.S. side will also make their return to the PGA TOUR for the first of two consecutive events in Las Vegas. THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT will be conducted the following week. FIELD NOTES: Eleven of the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking are scheduled to compete, led by No. 8 Louis Oosthuizen… Brooks Koepka and Ryder Cup teammates Harris English and Scottie Scheffler also will play at TPC Summerlin, while two former Ryder Cuppers, Rickie Fowler and Patrick Reed, will make their return to action. Each will be making their first start of the season… Masters winners Danny Willet and Hideki Matsuyama are competing in Las Vegas… In all, nine major champions are set to play TPC Summerlin… A few members of Team Europe are returning to action on TOUR, as well, including Ian Poulter and Viktor Hovland and vice captain Graeme McDowell… Will Zalatoris, recently named the PGA TOUR’s Rookie of the Year, will look to build off his T5 in Las Vegas a year ago… Martin Laird returns to defend his Shriners victory from 2020 (captured after a dramatic playoff). Laird finished 75th in the FedExCup standings last season… Sponsor exemptions this year include Harry Hall, Kevin Yu, United States Air Force captain Kyle Westmoreland, and three-time European Tour winner Rasmus Hojgaard, who is just 20 years old. Yu finished fourth in this year’s PGA TOUR University rankings and parlayed that status into two top-10s in eight Korn Ferry Tour starts, including a runner-up. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: TPC Summerlin, par 71, 7,255 yards. For nearly 20 years TPC Summerlin has hosted the PGA TOUR’s Shriners Children Open. Bobby Weed designed the course – which is carved through rugged desert terrain – alongside Fuzzy Zoeller as the player consultant. It boasts raw landscape features, lush bentgrass greens, numerous water features, and meanders through canyons and arroyos. STORYLINES: Funny enough, the winning score the last two years has been 23 under, with both the 2019 and 2020 editions of the tournament going into playoffs… Twelve golfers with ties to the Las Vegas area, including two-time Shriners winner Kevin Na, will look to take advantage of the familiar setting… The first couple of events on the PGA TOUR schedule are perfect opportunities for rookies to test their mettle against some of the best in the world and also earn valuable FedExCup points… This year’s Shriners marks the 25th anniversary of Tiger Woods earning his first PGA TOUR win at TPC Summerlin. He defeated Davis Love III in a playoff to win in just his fifth start as a pro. 72-HOLE RECORD: 260, Ryan Moore (2012), Webb Simpson (2013). 18-HOLE RECORD: 59, Chip Beck (3rd round, 1991 at Sunrise GC). TPC Summerlin record: 60, J.J. Henry (1st round, 2013), Rod Pampling (1st round, 2016) LAST TIME: In the field on a sponsor’s exemption, Martin Laird broke a seven-year PGA TOUR victory drought at the Shriners Children’s Open. If you recall: Laird was on the tee box when Jonathan Byrd ended the 2010 tournament with a walk-off ace in a sudden-death playoff. This time around Laird, on the second playoff hole, drained a 23-foot birdie putt to defeat Austin Cook and Matthew Wolff. This was Laird’s fourth career TOUR title. His final round included a shot-of-the-year candidate eagle hole out on No. 9 (he popped one in from a plugged lie in the bunker). This was the Scotsman’s second win at TPC Summerlin. He also won here in 2009. Abraham Ancer finished fourth, while Peter Malnati, James Hahn, and Will Zalatoris rounded out the top five. Fifty-four-hole leader Patrick Cantlay finished T8 alongside Bryson DeChambeau, amongst others. HOW TO FOLLOW Television: Thursday-Sunday, 5 p.m.-8 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m. (Featured Groups). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 2 p.m.-8 p.m. Saturday-Sunday, 3 p.m.-8 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio).

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