Woods shoots 2-under 70 despite rhythm being off

Reigning FedExCup champion Patrick Cantlay leads the field in Detroit as the PGA TOUR inches closer to crowning the champion of this season’s FedExCup. FIELD NOTES: Cantlay, who’s ranked fourth in the world, is the highest-ranked player teeing it up at the Rocket Mortgage Classic… Rookie of the Year frontrunner Cameron Young, who’s 13th in the FedExCup, returns to action after his runner-up at The Open… Young, Will Zalatoris, and Sahith Theegala are all up-and-coming stars in the field who have been knocking on the door as they seek their first PGA TOUR victory… Other notables heading to Detroit include Tony Finau, Max Homa, Kevin Kisner, and Harris English… Rickie Fowler will be teeing it up and needs a good finish to lock up a spot in the FedExCup Playoffs. He entered the 3M Open, where he made the cut, ranked 129th in the FedExCup standings… Among the sponsor exemptions are Wesley Bryan and Geoff Ogilvy, the former U.S. Open champ who recently made his first TOUR start since 2018… Haskins Award winner Chris Gotterup, this year’s collegiate player of the year, makes his seventh TOUR start since turning pro, which includes a T4 at the John Deere Classic… Cole Hammer tees it up on TOUR for the second time since turning pro, and amateur Michael Thorbjornsen is back on TOUR for the first time since finishing fourth at the Travelers Championship. All three of the young stars are also in the field via sponsor exemptions… Stephan Jaeger, No.125 on the FedExCup standings entering the 3M Open, is teeing it up in Detroit and looking for a solid finish to cement his Playoffs position… Eleven major champions are in the field. FEDEXCUP: Winner receives 500 FedExCup points. COURSE: Detroit Golf Club (North course), par 72, 7,370 yards (yardage subject to change). This club, which is more than a century old, was updated for the TOUR’s initial arrival in 2019. The back nine has proven to be drama-filled. Cam Davis made an eagle and a birdie on his final two holes to get into a playoff with Joaquin Niemann and Troy Merritt last year, which Davis went on to win. STORYLINES: The Rocket Mortgage Classic is the penultimate event of the Regular Season. Georgia product Greyson Sigg is on the outside looking in at No. 126 in the FedExCup standings entering the 3M Open, six points back of Stephen Jaeger. TOUR winners Jason Day and Nick Taylor are amongst the guys on the bubble along with Kramer Hickok at No. 124 and Puerto Rico Open winner Ryan Brehm at No. 121. The TOUR will head to the Wyndham Championship for the season finale next week… Cameron Young appears to be due for a win. He has four second-place results this season and is looking for a big breakthrough this week in Detroit. Two of the three winners at the Rocket Mortgage were first-time TOUR champions… Both of those winners, Nate Lashley and Cam Davis, are back in action in Detroit. 72-HOLE RECORD: 263, Nate Lashley (2019) 18-HOLE RECORD: 63, Nate Lashley (2019, first round), J.T. Poston (2019, second round), Davis Thompson (2021, first round) LAST TIME: Cam Davis won for the first time on the PGA TOUR and he did it in dramatic fashion – defeating Troy Merritt on the fifth hole of a playoff. Davis shot a final-round 67 and finished at 18 under for the week alongside Merritt and Joaquin Niemann. Niemann – who had a chance to win in regulation but couldn’t get his final-hole birdie to fall – dropped out of the playoff after making bogey on the first extra hole. Davis couldn’t convert any potential tournament-winning putts (he had opportunities on each of the playoff holes) but won the championship after Merritt bogeyed the fifth extra hole. Davis sprinted to the finish Sunday in Detroit, holing a 50-foot eagle from the sand on the 17th hole Sunday and adding a birdie on the par-4 18th. The week prior to the five-hole playoff at the Rocket Mortgage the TOUR had an eight-hole playoff at the Travelers Championship. Hank Lebioda and Alex Noren, who shot an 8-under 64 Sunday for the round of the day, finished tied for fourth. HOW TO FOLLOW (All times ET) Television: Thursday-Friday, 3 p.m.-6 p.m. ET (Golf Channel). Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-3 p.m. (Golf Channel), 3 p.m.-6 p.m. (CBS). Radio: Thursday-Friday, 12 p.m.–6 p.m. ET. Saturday-Sunday, 1 p.m.-6 p.m. (PGA TOUR Radio on SiriusXM and PGATOUR.com/liveaudio) For outside of the U.S., click here for GOLFTV powered by the PGA TOUR PGA TOUR LIVE PGA TOUR Live is available exclusively on ESPN+ • Main Feed: primary tournament-coverage featuring the best action from across the course • Marquee Group: new “marquee group” showcasing every shot from each player in the group • Featured Groups: traditional PGA TOUR LIVE coverage of two concurrent featured groups • Featured Holes: a combination of par-3s and iconic or pivotal holes

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LAS VEGAS — Adam Schenk let the wind do the work for a driver onto the par-4 15th green, the start of three birdies over his last four holes Saturday that led to a 5-under 66 and a one-shot lead over Matthew Wolff in the Shriners Children’s Open. RELATED: Leaderboard | Inside the Field: THE CJ CUP @ SUMMIT The wind also helped him rip another drive on the 18th that set up a gap wedge for his final birdie, giving the 29-year-old from Indiana another shot at his first PGA TOUR victory. It doesn’t get any easier from here. Right behind was Wolff, one of the more dynamic young players who is comfortable with where he is and how he’s playing. Wolff hit a pitching wedge on the 514-yard 16th hole and made eagle from 18 feet that led to a 65. Schenk was at 18-under 195, the second time he has held a 54-hole lead. The other was at the Barracuda Championship in August, when he had the equivalent of an even-par 71 on the final day of modified Stableford and finished fourth. Six players were separated by three shots going into the final round at TPC Summerlin, a group that includes Sam Burns. Coming off a victory last week in Mississippi, Burns had his game in control and took the lead with a birdie on the 11th hole. He was tied coming up on the back-to-back scoring holes at Summerlin — the reachable 15th, and the par-5 16th with the front pin tucked behind a pond. Burns hit a pedestrian pitch and missed his birdie chance on the 15th, and he came up short and into the water on the 16th, leading to a bogey. He had to settle for a 68, and only a few words when he finished. He was two back. Andrew Putnam (66) and Chad Ramey (69) also were two shots behind, while Sungjae Im spent too much time mixing birdies and bogeys for a 70 to finish three back. Schenk recorded his 10th consecutive round in the 60s at the TPC Summerlin, and this started out as one of the tougher days. Rain on Friday was shooed aside by wind that stuck around, and it was blustery enough early in the round to become a problem. Schenk had two bogeys on his opening five holes and was in danger of falling behind, except that he knew the course — even a windy Summerlin — would offer chances. He seized them at the end of the front nine, running off three straight birdies, including a 6-iron to 5 feet on the 213-yard eighth hole. Wolff loves it here, too. He has never shot worse than 69 in his 11 rounds in Las Vegas, dating to his rookie season. Wolff lost in a three-man playoff at the Shriners last year, and he had a hunch he was in for a good week. He loves the course, yes, but he also could feel his game was getting more athletic, more powerful, and he was in a good position to score. It just took him a little time on Saturday to prove it. He didn’t make birdie until the par-5 ninth hole, and then he made up for the slow start with the scoring holes on the back nine. He hit 3-wood off the tee and 7-iron from 251 with the wind at his back on the par-5 13th, setting up a tough up-and-down from behind the green. He drove the 15th green with a 3-wood and crushed his drive on the 16th so far that he had a stock pitching wedge for his second. The former Oklahoma State star looked confident as ever, a big change from earlier this year when he stepped away from golf to clear his head, to keep from letting scores dictate what makes him happy. He has family with him this week from California, and he has another shot to win in Las Vegas. The low round belonged to Lanto Griffin, who figured after a 72 on Thursday this would be a short week. He followed with a 64 on Friday before the wind arrived, and he handled the wind beautifully Saturday with another 64 that left him five shots behind.

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