Tag: 2021 Wyndham Championship

Chesson Hadley reflects on his emotional rollercoaster to finish No. 125 in FedEx Cup and asks, ‘Was I a good crier? Could I be better?’

The Georgia Tech alum was a rambling, blubbering wreck in his post-round interview conducted by CBS’s Amanda Balionis.

JERSEY CITY, N.J. – It took him 34 years, or as he put it, “all my existence,” but Chesson Hadley finally made a hole-in-one on Sunday, and he couldn’t have picked a better time to do it.

“Everybody always gives me so much crap about it,” he said during his pre-tournament interview ahead of the Northern Trust. “It’s not like I’m not good enough to make a one or wasn’t good enough to make a one. It just wasn’t my time yet, but I did it in a PGA Tour event on the very last round when I most needed something, and I guess not many of them could probably say that. So that was pretty cool.”

Indeed, it was. Hadley aced the par-3 16th at Sedgefield Country Club during the final round of the Wyndham Championship in Greensboro, North Carolina. It sparked a first-nine 29 and nifty 62 and when Justin Rose made bogey at the last, Hadley edged him by 1.2 FedEx Cup points to finish No. 125 in the regular-season FedEx Cup point standings. It meant he kept his card and qualified for the Northern Trust, the first of the three playoff events, which begins Thursday at Liberty National Golf Club in Jersey City, New Jersey.

Northern Trust: Tee times, TV info | Odds | Fantasy

“The whole day was kind of magical from the start, from the hole-in-one to the finish,” Hadley said. “I’m very blessed to be here right now, that’s for sure.”

The Georgia Tech alum was a rambling, blubbering wreck in his post-round interview conducted by CBS’s Amanda Balionis. With his fate still hanging in doubt – he was No. 126 at the time – Hadley choked up and fought back tears as he showed viewers how much he loves his job. Asked about his emotional interview and turning on the water works, Hadley said he didn’t cry when he blew a four-stroke lead earlier in the summer at the Palmetto Classic. That was a bittersweet moment, but the last time he wept at a golf tournament he figured was during junior golf.

“That’s not true. When I earned my card back in ’17, I remember getting emotional in New York after I won, but I tapped in, and then I kind of went off to the side and like – I mean, the round was over, but I knew I’d locked my card up and I was going back there,” he said. “So, I was emotional then.”

The always affable Hadley brought moments of levity to his press conference, especially when he reversed roles and began asking a reporter? “What did you think of my crying?” he asked. “What about the crying specifically? Was I a good crier? Could I be better? How can I get better at it since you’re asking about it? I’m messing with you. I’m totally hijacking you.”

Hadley was driving him home to Raleigh, N.C., when he was informed he had officially secured the last spot in the FedEd Cup playoffs and would be fully exempt for next season. He squealed with glee that he could cancel his travel plans for Boise, Idaho, and the Korn Ferry Tour Finals. To hear Hadley tell it, Kevin Kisner, who survived a six-man playoff, wasn’t the only winner at the Wyndham Championship.

“I felt like I beat Kevin, honestly,” he said. “I felt like I won the golf tournament.”

Hadley celebrated with some good wine he’d been saving for a special occasion and had a couple of days to enjoy a big sigh of relief. Now, it’s back to the grindstone to see if he can extend his off-season another week with an equally strong performance. He’ll need one to bump into the top 70, and advance to play next week at the BMW Championship.

“I’m playing with house money. I’m on credit at the casino, and I can just kind of let it go,” he said. “I think I need to set a new goal to – I probably need to figure out exactly what I need to finish to get inside the top 70, so I need to set a new goal, figure out kind of where I need to finish, and just kind of look at the leaderboards and kind of get motivated and figure out a way to get to that number and obviously try and win the golf tournament.

“I feel like, when my back’s against the wall, I’ve done pretty well…you’ve got to tap into a little bit of a reserve or something that you have in there that you might not necessarily tap into all the time.”

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Who’s in and who’s out of the FedEx Cup Playoffs: Chesson Hadley’s great day is rewarded

Chesson Hadley makes a hole-in-one and fires 62 to lock up the final spot in FedEx Cup Playoffs as three players move in, three fall out.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Chesson Hadley had two plane tickets: One was headed to New York for the start of the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the possibility of a bounty of riches afforded to the top 125 finishers in the regular-season points standings. The other was headed to Boise, Idaho for the start of the Korn Ferry Tour playoffs where Nos. 126-200 would have to battle with 75 KFT players for one of 25 PGA Tour cards.

“Man, I would love not to have to get on that flight,” Hadley said of the trip to Boise.

For proof look no further than his final round at the Wyndham Championship. Hadley made his first career hole-in-one, celebrated in grand style, went out in 29 at Sedgefield Country Club to tie the low nine-hole score of his career, and birdied the last for 62. None of it surprised Brice Garnett, who locked up his card by finishing No. 122 in the standings.

“Guys are told they’re going to get their job taken from them,” he said, “and they do miraculous things out here. Nobody wants to leave out here. It’s the greatest job in the world.”

And yet for all of Hadley’s miraculous efforts, it didn’t look as if it would be enough. He stood at No. 126, the proverbial biggest loser, when he finished.

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When he was asked what the rollercoaster ride was like by CBS Sports reporter Amanda Balionis, Hadley, who blew a lead in the final holes at the Palmetto Championship in July that would have made his precarious position a moot point, broke into tears.

“It’s emotional because I care. I’m not just out here for fun. This is my job and I love it and I care deeply about it and that’s why I’m emotional,” he said, his voice cracking. “I’m about as pretty of a crier as this leap you’re about to see. Hopefully, Amanda can go ahead and bring me back to something positive because this is going downhill quick.”

When Hadley next met with the assembled media, he pulled himself together and called it what it was, “a good day,” but when asked to describe the difference between Nos. 125 and 126, he looked at the questioner as if asked to describe the difference between living and dying, and said, “That’s your question? How different is it? It would kind of suck, right? To have Congaree happen and then have today happen the way it did, that would suck.”

The difference between a great day and one that “sucks” turned out to be just over one FedEx Cup point. Hadley was left in a strange spot, needing someone still on the course to falter, and lamented that for him to succeed he’d likely have to leapfrog his good friend Scott Stallings, who missed the cut. That turned out not to be the case.

Hadley didn’t get any help from Roger Sloan, who started the week one spot ahead of him in the standings. Sloan made two late birdies and went from being in danger of losing full-exempt status next season to in a playoff for his first win. Rory Sabbatini did Hadley no favors by canning an 8-foot par putt that otherwise would have bumped Hadley to the right side of the cutline.

Wyndham Championship
Justin Rose reacts to a par save on the ninth hole during the final round of the Wyndham Championship. Photo by Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports

But Justin Rose, winner of the 2018 FedEx Cup, was feeling charitable. He missed a pair of 6-foot putts at the final two holes. The latter was for bogey and dropped him from No. 119 to No. 126. But it wasn’t over until the final group. Had Branden Grace and Tyler McCumber both bogeyed the last hole, Hadley and Rose would have flipped places. McCumber made a 3-putt bogey but Grace sank a 29-foot birdie putt to jump into the six-man playoff.

And so at the end of the day, Hadley received a call from PGA Tour executive Tom Alter to break the good news. Hadley already was in his car on his way home to Raleigh but he answered and screamed with glee when told that his ticket to the playoffs had been punched. Next stop: New York.

Winner’s Bag: Kevin Kisner, Wyndham Championship

A complete list of the golf equipment Kevin Kisner used to win the PGA Tour’s 2021 Wyndham Championship.

The golf equipment Kevin Kisner used to win the PGA Tour’s 2021 Wyndham Championship:

DRIVER: Callaway Great Big Bertha (8.5 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue 6X shaft

FAIRWAY WOOD: Callaway Epic Speed (15 degrees), with Fujikura Ventus Blue 7X shaft (From $299.99 at callawaygolf.com and carlsgolfland.com)

HYBRID: Callaway Apex Pro (18 degrees), with Aldila Rogue Black 130 X shaft (From $149.99 at carlsgolfland.com and $219.98 at dickssportinggoods.com)

IRONS: Callaway Apex UT (3, 4), with Mitsubishi MMT 125 shafts; Apex Pro (5-9), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 shafts

WEDGES: Titleist Vokey Design SM8 (46, 60 degrees), Callaway JAWS Forged (52 degrees), with Nippon N.S. Pro Modus3 Tour 120 shafts (Titleist Vokey Design SM8 from $159 at titleist.com and  carlsgolfland.com; Callaway JAWS Forged from $199.99 at callawaygolf.com)

PUTTER: Odyssey Exo Seven

BALL: Titleist Pro V1x (From $50 per dozen at titleist.com and carlsgolfland.com)

GRIPS: Golf Pride Tour Velvet (full swing) / SuperStroke Traxion Tour 2.0 (putter)

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Kevin Kisner wins Wyndham Championship in six-way playoff

Kevin Kisner birdies the second playoff hole to win on the PGA Tour for the first time since 2019.

It took six playoff participants and two extra holes to reach an outcome, and in the end it was Kevin Kisner winning the Wyndham Championship, the final regular-season event on the PGA Tour’s 50-event “super season.”

On the second playoff hole, Kisner, the last to hit his approach shot among the six, stuffed a 9-iron to 4 feet on No. 18 at Sedgefield Country Club. He watched as the other five settled for par before stepping up and drilling his birdie putt for the win.

It was Kisner’s third PGA Tour win and first since the 2019 WGC-Dell Technologies Match Play. His last stroke-play victory was at Colonial in 2017. It was also his first playoff victory on Tour after five previous defeats.

Kisner outlasted Si Woo Kim, Adam Scott, Roger Sloan, Kevin Na and Branden Grace in the 12th playoff this season.

Wyndham: Leaderboard | Photo gallery

The win moves Kisner into the top 30 in the FedEx Cup Playoffs standings.

Scott had a chance to win it on the first playoff hole but missed a 4-footer for birdie. All six golfers parred the first extra hole.

Sunday’s final round was moved up a few hours as PGA Tour officials were looking to avoid potential weather delays.

Watch: Chesson Hadley makes an ace, wins 1 million Wyndham Rewards Points for charity and then loses his mind

Chesson Hadley made his first career hole-in-one on the PGA Tour and charity is the big beneficiary.

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Chesson Hadley made his first career hole-in-one on the PGA Tour and charity is the big beneficiary.

Hadley aced the par-3, 160-yard 16th hole at Sedgefield Country Club in the final round of the Wyndham Championship and earned 1 million Wyndham Rewards Points for the charity Blessings in a Backpack, a non-profit organization that feeds school children in the United States that are at rick of going hungry.

Hadley, who started his round on the back nine, hit his patented draw and the ball landed about 10 feet past the hole, caught the slope and rolled at a perfect pace towards the cup. As it creeped towards the cup, Hadley yelled, Go in! Go in!”

It did and then he really lost his mind. He lifted both arms to the sky, leaped in the air, kicked his feet up, pumped his fist, high-fived a competitor’s caddie, hugged his own and screamed, “I did it!”

Yes, he did. Go crazy, Chesson!

Wyndham Championship: Can Russell Henley become first PGA Tour winner this season to go wire-to-wire?

Russell Henley’s goal of winning this season on the PGA Tour is within his grasp despite a scratchy, grind-it-out round on Saturday.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Russell Henley’s goal of winning this season on the PGA Tour is within his grasp despite a scratchy, grind-it-out round on Saturday.

“I’m not always going to shoot 62 or 64,” said Henley, who did just that the first two rounds en route to shooting a 54-hole total of 15-under 195. “I feel thankful to be under par today.”

On another scorching-hot day in the Gate City, Henley canned a 33-foot eagle putt at the par-5 15th to shoot 1-under 69 at Sedgefield Country Club, and maintained his lead after three rounds of the Wyndham Championship.

“I was just a little bit tentative, maybe a little bit nervous,” Henley conceded. “I’ve never had a four-shot lead, so just kind of dealing with all the thoughts that are not wanted in my head and just trying to focus on what I want to do.”

Henley’s lead was trimmed to three by Tyler McCumber, who fired a bogey-free 66.

Russell Henley gestures to the crowd after making an eagle on the fifteenth hole during the third round of the Wyndham Championship golf tournament. (Rob Kinnan-USA TODAY Sports)

Henley, 32, who talked about his phone alert that reminds him he’s a great putter on Thursday, didn’t make nearly as many putts on Saturday, including suffering a 3-putt bogey at the last from 52 feet. He made a 2-putt birdie at the par-5 fifth and a bogey at 11 and his lead was trimmed to as little as one before he drilled the long eagle putt. (He made a total of 73 feet of putts for the day and 33 of those were on one putt.)

“I hit it a little too hard so I was glad it hit the hole,” he said.

Henley’s short game picked up the slack. He rescued pars at Nos. 12 and 13 that set the stage for his eagle heroics. For the week, Henley has successfully scrambled on 12 of 14 attempts. None were better than the one he made at 13 from the downslope near a bunker to the right of the green.

“If I ground my club, I think my ball would have rolled in the bunker, so I couldn’t really put my club down all the way,” he explained. “I had a ton of green to work with and I just judged it with the correct wedge and the right flight and got that up and down. That was a confidence booster under that circumstance.”

Henley said he’s worked hard to improve his short game the past few years, including practicing regularly with former Masters champion Larry Mize, and gaining structure in his practice routine from his putting coach Ramon Bescansa.

“I still don’t feel like I’m the best chipper out here or anything, but I feel a little more comfortable because of the work I’ve put in,” Henley said.

McCumber, 30, is seeking his first PGA Tour title. The son of former Players Championship winner Mark McCumber entered the week having missed six straight cuts but said he’s sticking to “his same recipe.”

“I’ve been playing great,” McCumber said. “Golf doesn’t always give you the results you want. You’ve got to stay in the process and I feel like I’ve been doing that pretty well and getting rewarded for it through the first three rounds this week, so taking that momentum into tomorrow.”

He’ll play in the final group alongside Henley and South Africa’s Branden Grace, who trails Henley by four strokes after shooting 64. Tee times were moved up to the morning with hopes of avoiding inclement weather forecast for later in the day. Overnight rain could also change the complexion of the tournament as Henley tries to become the first wire-to-wire winner this season on Tour. (Sam Burns at the Genesis Invitational, Louis Oosthuizen at the British Open and Harris English last week at the WGC FedEx St. Jude all failed in their attempts.) Twice previously this season, Henley has held or shared the 54-hole lead and both times – at the CJ Cup at Shadow Creek and U.S. Open – he failed to convert.

Lurking within striking distance are some notables familiar with visiting the winner’s circle, including Webb Simpson (-10), Justin Rose (-10), Adam Scott (-10) Kevin Kisner (-11) and Kevin Na (-11). Said Kisner, who climbed to within a stroke of the lead before bogeys at the final two holes: “I’ve got to shoot something silly tomorrow to have a chance.”

Henley’s been around long enough to know someone just might shoot something silly at Sedgefield.

“Guys could shoot 10 under or they could shoot 2 over here,” said Henley, who hasn’t won since the 2017 Shell Houston Open. “I don’t feel like I’m in a position where I can lay off the gas.”

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PGA Tour bubble boys have one more round at Wyndham Championship to keep season alive

Expect there to be plenty of Sunday drama at Sedgefield. Let’s take a closer look at the “Bubble Boys.”

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Bubbles will burst on Sunday.

Only the top 125 will advance to the FedEx Cup Playoffs and the Wyndham Championship is the final chance for players to earn a berth into the first of the three-event playoffs, which begin next week at the Northern Trust. On “Moving Day,” some players took a step closer to securing one of those spots while others dug themselves a deeper hole.

Heading into the final round, three players had climbed inside the top 125 and three who entered the week on the right side of the cutline now are projected to be headed to the Korn Ferry Tour Finals instead.

In: Scott Piercy, Roger Sloan and Rory Sabbatini

Out: Ryan Armour, Patrick Rodgers and Bo Hoag

Expect there to be plenty of Sunday drama. Let’s take a closer look at the “Bubble Boys.”

Projected Nos. 121-130

121.) Richy Werenski, -3

122.) Rory Sabbatini, -11

123.) Dylan Fritelli, MC

124.) Matt Kuchar, -6

125.) Scott Stallings, MC

126.) Justin Rose, -10

127.) Ryan Armour, MC

128.) Patrick Rodgers, MC

129.) Bo Hoag, MC

130.) Cameron Percy, -8

Why is Matthew Wolff smiling? He earned $1 million despite missing the cut at Wyndham Championship

Matthew Wolff achieved a rare feat on Friday at the Wyndham Championship – he missed the cut but still will take home $1 million.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Matthew Wolff achieved a rare feat on Friday at the Wyndham Championship – he missed the cut but still will take home a bigger check than anyone in the field except for the champion on Sunday.

How, you ask? Wolff claimed the season-long Aon Risk Reward Challenge and the corresponding $1 million prize on Friday. The 22-year-old Oklahoma State product took care of business with a birdie at the par-5 15th hole in his second round to reach the contest’s 40-round minimum.

“There’s a lot of money to be made out on Tour, but I’m new out here and every little bit helps,” he said. “Just happy that I got it done. And I knew about it kind of the last couple months, so on the Aon holes I was a little more nervous than I usually am, but played them pretty well and just came out on top.”

The Challenge is based around chosen holes at Tour stops throughout the year and designed to test a player’s strategy on what are considered some of the most challenging holes a player will face week to week. For every participating event, a player’s best two scores on the designated hole counts towards the season-long leaderboard. Wolff had played the designated hole at 10 Risk-Reward events in an average of 1.105 under par.

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“I’m a pretty risky player and I guess it just happened to turn out in my favor on those holes,” he said. “I feel like I have a pretty good game plan every single week, but seems like those holes I just have a better one.”

Wolff’s chaser Louis Oosthuizen withdrew from the tournament on Wednesday, which made it a virtual slam dunk for Wolff to win as long as he completed two rounds – he shot 69-70 to miss the cut – but he said he was happy he finished in style with a birdie.

“If I’m going to win the Challenge, I want to win it because I play the best golf, not because someone gives it to me,” Wolff said. “I feel like I did that and on those holes I happened to play them really well. I think I was averaging like a stroke under par every single week or according to the contest, so I played those holes correctly, just got to play the rest of the holes right.”

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Rickie Fowler’s season comes to a premature end at Wyndham with missed cut, says ‘it sucks’

Rickie Fowler failed to qualify for the FedEx Cup playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – After Rickie Fowler signed for a 2-over 72 at Sedgefield Country Club that officially ended a frustrating season, he agreed to talk the press because that’s what Fowler always does. A PGA Tour media official kicked off the festivities with a soft-ball question, asking, “Can you just give us a comment on just coming up a little bit short of the goal for the season?”

Fowler let those words sink in, smiled a weak smile, and said, “Yeah, I wouldn’t say it was a little bit short, it was a lot of a bit short.”

Fowler played in 24 events, missed nine cuts, including at this week’s Wyndham Championship and recorded just one top-10 finish. He entered the week at No. 130 in the FedEx Cup standings and needing to finish at least 21st or better to advance to the playoffs. Shooting 3-over 143 for 36 holes meant he failed to qualify for the playoffs for the first time in 12 seasons.

“Yeah, it sucks,” he said. “I mean, I know what I’m capable of, I’ve been up there and played against the best in the world and been a top-5, top-10 player in the world for a number of years in my career. I’m not in a position where I’m comfortable or where I want to be.”

But this was not the start of a woe-is-me tirade. Fowler didn’t let us into his head to understand how struggling for the first time is really affecting him. Instead, his mantra was to turn the page and only point forward.

“With the season ending now for me, it’s kind of just added motivation,” he said. “Hey, let’s figure out what we need to go do and let’s go do it.”

To that extent, he planned to spend the next few weeks getting back to work, and said he planned to schedule a call with all the members of his inner circle, such as caddie Joe Skovron, and figure out how to make this unscheduled downtime productive.

“I operate best when I’m kind of told what to do,” Fowler explained, noting his trainer, Derek, has created a workout regimen that pushes him beyond his limits. “If I had to go work out on my own, I probably wouldn’t do as well.”

And there is much work to be done. Fowler hasn’t won since the 2019 Waste Management Phoenix Open and the swing changes he’s made under the watchful eye of John Tillery haven’t achieved the desired results. When Fowler finished T-8 at the PGA Championship and T-11 at the Memorial in consecutive starts, it seemed as if he had turned the corner. But it proved to be a mirage – two cuts and three middling finishes since, none better than T-32.

“I still feel like it’s heading the right way,” Fowler said. “It’s not far off, but there’s a lack of confidence there after not having played well very much over the last two years, so part of it is I just need to get that built back up.”

All of the focus on his full swing has taken time away from practicing his putting. Fowler ranked No. 130 in Strokes Gained: Putting this season, a far cry from 2019 when he ranked 13th or 2017 when he ranked first.

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“That’s been something I’ve been able to rely on throughout my career and growing up is, I’ve always been a really good putter,” Fowler said. “Yeah, over the last couple years I haven’t been able to rely on that.”

Bubba Watson, one of Fowler’s good friends, said the media is making too big of a deal out of Fowler’s slump. He, for one, expects Fowler to bounce back soon.

“Rickie got married, he’s adjusting to marriage, now he’s about to have a kid and he went through a swing change and working out differently, I don’t have any concerns with where he’s at,” Watson said. “Rickie is a talented guy and he’s very successful off the course. So, I’m not worried about Rickie. He’s in a good spot. I’ve seen signs of him getting better. You’ve got to look at what’s going on in their life. There is always something that’s causing somebody mentally not to be here on the course — positive or negative — but in Rickie’s case it’s all positive.”

On the bright side, Fowler is still fully exempt for the 2021-22 season and so he can flip the page and won’t have to wait too long to start fresh. The new season begins on Sept. 16 at the Fortinet Championship in Napa, California.

“It’s a little kick in the butt,” Fowler said of missing the playoffs.Go take care of some good work over the next few weeks and get ready to get back after it.”

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Wyndham Championship: Russell Henley (62) has a phone reminder to tell him ‘I’m a great putter’

First-round leader Russell Henley created a handy reminder on his phone that pops up mid-morning.

GREENSBORO, N.C. – Russell Henley always had been able to putt with the best of them.

In two of his first three years on the PGA Tour he ranked eighth in Strokes Gained: Putting. But even Henley concedes he needs a gentle reminder from time to time and so he created a reminder on his phone that pops up mid-morning and says, “I’m a great putter.”

“I don’t have many reminders, but that’s one of them,” he said.

It worked like a charm on a steamy Thursday morning as Henley made an eagle and six birdies en route to a bogey-free 8-under 62 to grab the first-round lead at the Wyndham Championship when play was suspended at 8:14 p.m. with 21 golfers still on the course.

Henley, 32, was stuck in neutral early, making four pars to start his round, but that’s about when his mind-morning reminder kickstarted his day. He drilled his second shot from 184 yards at the par-5 fifth hole to 5 feet and sank the eagle putt. He followed that up with consecutive birdies, draining a 32-foot putt at the sixth and chipping in at No. 7.

“Just kind of things got going there,” he said.

Wyndham: Photo gallery | Leaderboard | Tee times, TV info

Henley finished on a high note too, carding birdies at three of his final four holes, including ramming in a 20-foot putt at the last, for a career-low opening-round score on the PGA Tour.

“Definitely glad it hit the hole. I lost a little focus there. I think everybody’s about to pass out at this point, it’s so hot,” he said. “Growing up in the south, I guess I should be used to it.”

For the past few seasons, Henley’s ability with his short stick had been in steep decline. His ranking the past three seasons in SG: Putting tell a sad story: No. 162 in 2019, No. 138 in 2020 and No. 85 this season. His confidence was so dented that he turned his daily reminder off of his phone.

“It was making me mad because I wasn’t putting well, but I put it back on recently,” he said. “Maybe I need to keep it there.”

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Henley has been working with putting instructor Ramon Bescansa and using the Perfect Putter training aid. On Thursday, he gained more than two strokes on the field with his putter. He was quick to point out that the 32-foot putt at six and the 20-footer at 18 paled in comparison to the twisting 13-foot birdie he holed at No. 11.

“I saw it perfectly and broke both ways and went in,” Henley said. “That was pretty cool.”

Early in his career, Henley struggled with inconsistency with his ball striking, especially off the tee. But ever since he began working with noted instructor Jim McLean, Henley’s become one of the better ballstrikers, with more fairways translating into hitting better approach shots. (He ranked third last season and fourth this season in Strokes Gained: approach the green.)

The trio of Michael Thompson (No. 128), Ted Potter Jr. (No. 181) and Sung Kang (No. 188) are two strokes back after shooting 64s and desperate for a good finish in order to qualify for the FedEx Cup Playoffs, which begin next week. Asked how he keeps what’s at stake this week out of his mind, Thompson said, “It’s really hard. If I were to say that I’m not thinking about it, I’d be lying.”

Henley neither has the pressure of trying to lock up a playoff berth by finishing in the top 125 nor the fear of being demoted to the Korn Ferry Tour to worry about. The three-time Tour winner, most recently at the 2017 Shell Houston Open, entered the week at No. 46 in the FedEx Cup standings, but he’s still shooting to achieve some season-long goals.

“I want to make Tour Championship,” Henley said of the FedEx Cup finale reserved for the top 30 in the points standings, “and I want to win. I haven’t won in years, so I feel like as well as I’ve been playing, I feel like I’ve underachieved a little bit.”

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