Watch live: U.S. still rolling at Presidents Cup

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W. Va. – Joseph Bramlett saw 15 different spine surgeons. The first 14 told him that an operation to fix the annular tear to his L5-L6 disc would likely end his budding golf career. The 15th was willing to do exploratory surgery but Bramlett’s girlfriend Samantha Boozer put her foot down and said no. “She’s helped me out of some desperate moments,â€� Bramlett said with a smile. Those moments appear to be behind the 6-foot-4 Californian, though. After being sidelined for the better part of four-and-a-half years, Bramlett finally rehabilitated his back and rebuilt his swing, and now, after two seasons on the Korn Ferry Tour, he has his PGA TOUR card again. RELATED: Tee times | Chappell’s ‘surreal’ return after back surgery Bramlett will tee off Sunday at A Military Tribute at The Greenbrier with a chance to win, too, after a third-round 65 that tied for the day’s low, propelling him to 11 under and four strokes off the lead held by Joaquin Niemann. He called it a “solidâ€� day. “I wouldn’t say I did anything out of the ordinary,â€� said Bramlett, who made four birdies and a 50-footer for eagle at the 12th hole while dropping just one shot to par. “… Kept the mistakes to a minimum.â€� The personable Bramlett played at Stanford, graduating in 2010 with a degree in communications, and promptly made it through Q-school to get his TOUR card for the following season. After finishing 196th in the FedExCup, though, he found himself on what is now known as the Korn Ferry Tour in 2012. Bramlett narrowly missed regaining his TOUR card that year, falling from 24th to 28th on the money list, three below the cutoff, in the final event of the year. Then midway through the 2013 season, his back flared up while he was preparing a Korn Ferry Tour event in Utah. That was in July. Bramlett didn’t play again until January of 2016 and lasted just three events. He missed all of 2017 before being able to return full-time in February of 2018. “I just trying to warm up on the driving range and my back went out and fell over and couldn’t move for a while,â€� Bramlett said matter-of-factly. Annular tears like the 31-year-old had usually take about 18 months to heal. But Bramlett’s recovery was complicated by poor posture, tight hips and several flaws in his swing, so every time he started to practice, he’d soon find himself flat on his back again. “I used to have really poor footwork,â€� Bramlett explained. “I was the guy that jumped off the ground and was on his toes at impact, and my hips were rotated way too fast and I was in a lot of side bend. I was just cranking the low right side of my back.â€� About three years into the process, Bramlett found John Scott Rattan, a teaching pro at Congressional Country Club in Washington, D.C., and physical therapist Cody Fowler, and things began to change. Together he and Rattan rebuilt his swing from the ground up. “It was just a ticking time bomb,â€� Bramlett said. “I didn’t realize that I was putting myself at risk like I was at the time.â€� The rehab, which was “tedious,â€� he said, worked in concert with the swing changes. Bramlett did foot exercises and worked on his hip mobility, trying to become more fluid. He’d work for 15 minutes, rest for 45 and start again. Over and over. “When I first started I had almost zero internal rotation on both my hips,â€� he said. “It wasn’t a structural issue. I just didn’t know how to use them, go through the motion. … My nervous system had kind of shut me down and I was rigid and locked. So, yeah, just had to break that stuff down.â€� Bramlett said he could understand what Kevin Chappell, who shot a 59 on Friday at the Old White TPC, has gone through. The Greenbrier is Chappell’s first event since having back surgery in November and while Bramlett’s layoff was much longer, the emotions and effort both had to endure are similar. “I feel bad for him because no matter what amount of time it takes it feels like a lifetime,â€� Bramlett said. “I think it was great to see what he did. I thought it spoke to his confidence to be able to come out having not competed and get in that position and just believe in yourself the whole way through. “That was something I fought last year. I started getting really nervous towards the end of tournaments because I hadn’t been in that position for a long time. I had to really work through that.â€� Bramlett says he tells his friends that he doesn’t cry happy tears. At the same time, though, he admits to getting misty-eyed when he finally teed up in his first Korn Ferry Tour event after all the rehab was done. He got a little emotional when he hit the road on Sunday and headed to The Greenbrier, too. “It’s been my dream since kindergarten to play out here,â€� Bramlett said. “I’ve had a one-track mind. This is what I’ve always wanted to do. From when I first started playing golf I fell in love with the game and PGA TOUR. That was my dream my whole life.”

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The 12th edition of the FedExCup postseason begins, as points leader Dustin Johnson and No. 2 Justin Thomas top the marquee for Ridgewood Country Club’s fourth turn in hosting the FedExCup Playoffs opener. Brooks Koepka, now just the fifth man to sweep the U.S. Open and PGA Championship in the same year, tees up for the first time since his triumph at Bellerive. THE NORTHERN TRUST also marks the end of Tiger Woods’ postseason drought, back after a five-year absence. FIELD NOTES: Justin Rose and Bubba Watson, also multiple winners this season, are among nine players set to extend perfect records of teeing it up in every postseason. That doesn’t include Brandt Snedeker, who has qualified for all 12 but sat out last year’s FedExCup Playoffs with a sternum injury. … The Ridgewood lineup presently shows 122 players. Rickie Fowler will rest his partially torn oblique an extra week; Rory McIlroy is opting to sharpen his game with an eye on the Ryder Cup. Patrick Rodgers (undisclosed) is the other who will sit out. … No.121 Bud Cauley, out since May to recuperate from an auto accident, will give it a go if he stays in the top 125. … Spring winners Aaron Wise (AT&T Byron Nelson) and Satoshi Kodaira (RBC Heritage) head a list of eight rookies expected to grace the 2018 playoff lineup. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 2,000 points. STORYLINES: Johnson and Thomas, both triple winners this season, are separated by just 83 points atop the FedExCup points chart. A gap of 622 points follows down to Koepka in third. … Johnson owns four FedExCup playoff victories, sharing the all-time lead with McIlroy, and is the only player to win in each of the past two postseasons. … Koepka hopes his summer sizzle will get him out to a faster start in the FedExCup Playoffs. He has yet to crack the top 40 in three starts at THE NORTHERN TRUST. … Thomas begins his Cup defense on a run of three top-10s in his past four starts, including victory in the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. He had just one finish lower than sixth in last year’s FedExCup Playoffs. … Woods makes his first postseason start since the 2013 TOUR Championship, where he tied for 22nd among 30 players. … At the back of the points list, the goal is cracking the top 100 for another playoff round at the Dell Technologies Championship. Last year three men moved in from outside the top 100; the average is 5.8. COURSE: Ridgewood Country Club (Composite), 7,385 yards, par 71. One of the oldest clubs in the United States, Ridgewood dates back to 1890 and has occupied its current site since 1929. A.W. Tillinghast laid out the New Jersey club’s 27 holes, with three separate nine-hole loops running away from the clubhouse. THE NORTHERN TRUST’s course enlists the best of all three loops, including the 291-yard dogleg 12th that holds distinction as one of golf’s first drivable par-4s. Ridgewood welcomed the Ryder Cup’s fifth edition in 1935, a 9-3 United States victory in what was Walter Hagen’s final Cup as a player. The club also hosted the 1974 U.S. Amateur, 1990 U.S. Senior Open and 2001 Senior PGA Championship before joining THE NORTHERN TRUST rota in 2008. For those visiting the area, must-play courses include Pelham Bay GC (Bronx, N.Y.), The Golf Club at Mansion Ridge (Monroe, N.Y.) and Galloping Hill GC (Kenilworth, N.J.). Book your reservations via www.teeoff.com. 72-HOLE RECORD: 261, Bob Gilder (1982 at Westchester CC), Jason Day (2015 at Plainfield CC). Ridgewood CC record: Hunter Mahan (270). 18-HOLE RECORD: 61, Brandt Snedeker (3rd round, 2011 at Plainfield CC). Ridgewood CC record: 62, Hunter Mahan (1st round, 2008). LAST YEAR: Johnson outlasted Jordan Spieth in a back-nine duel that went overtime, forcing extra holes by coaxing home an 18-foot par and delivering the clinching blow with a 341-yard drive to set up a playoff birdie. Johnson went his final 29 holes without a bogey, erasing a five-shot deficit to Spieth early in the final round before the duel began. They matched pars at Nos. 17 and 18, though Johnson had to lay up at the 18th after slicing his drive into the rough. Going back to No.18, Johnson’s booming drive left him just a lob wedge to 4 feet. The birdie sealed Johnson’s first win since being knocked out of the Masters by a slip-and-fall mishap in Augusta. HOW TO FOLLOW TELEVISION: Thursday-Friday, 2-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday, 1-2:45 p.m. (GC), 3-6 p.m. (CBS). Sunday, noon-1:45 p.m. (GC), 2-6 p.m. (CBS). PGA TOUR LIVE: Thursday-Friday, 7:30 a.m.-3 p.m. (featured groups), 3-6 p.m. (featured holes). Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (featured holes). RADIO: Thursday-Friday, noon-6 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday, 1-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com)

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