Signature Scroll: Heroics of all kind on display at BMW Championship

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We will get Wyndham and Rory tomorrow, but first…

The stress you don’t see

ST. LOUIS – As Gary Woodland approaches the 10th, the cheers begin again. They are loud and vociferous in their support. Wyndham Clark walks next to him with the lead in hand, but everyone is focused on Woodland.

Countless arms stretch out, hoping for a high-five as the corridor narrows with the tee box just on the other side. Chants of "Rock Chalk" come in bunches. "G-Bo" and "Gar-Bear," too. They are raining down on him. They are part of the more than 30,000 in attendance. You couldn’t find one rooting against him. This is as close as he will ever get to a hometown event, roughly four hours from Topeka, Kansas. You can feel it.

Woodland does his best to acknowledge them, but it’s a delicate balance. He is fighting a never-ending invisible battle. And what he wants to do most – contend in golf tournaments – is also what triggers it most.

It’s a reality and a weight Woodland bears alone.

Woodland’s story is well known. He had a brain tumor removed nearly three years ago, but the effects remain. The tumor was on a part of his brain that controlled fear. With the tumor blocking it, Woodland suffered from debilitating panic, extreme anxiety and an overwhelming and constant fear of death.

The tumor was successfully removed, with the hope that the effects would go away. Except they didn’t, not completely.

Woodland was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, a development he shared at THE PLAYERS Championship this March. He’s had blurry vision on the course and overwhelming anxiety. In an extreme case, he had to go into porta-potties between holes and cry.

I say all that to say it’s a marvel to watch Woodland. He didn’t have his best on Saturday, playing in the final pairing. He shot an even-par 70, now six behind Clark. I’m sure he’s disappointed about that.

That won’t be my lasting memory of following Woodland on Saturday. Instead, it’s this: How could he ever have his best with all this going on? The scenes were ravenous on Saturday, and the pressure to play well, regardless of any physical or mental condition, is immense.

Before almost every putt, I watched Woodland put his hand on his heart to “just to remind myself that I'm alive, and if I can feel my heartbeat, I know I'm breathing.” He said that earlier this week. He’s not being dramatic. That’s actually what he’s doing and actually what he’s thinking.

I watched a security guard walk right next to Woodland from every green to the next tee box, an intentional decision to help him know he’s safe. I watched him take deep breaths when he reaches every tee box. I watched him slowly blink, a small admission that all of this is draining. Then I watched him flag a shot at the seventh and another at the 14th, leading to his lone two birdies of the day. It amazes me.

I know we talk about Woodland’s condition a lot, but I’m leaving this week certain that we don’t talk about it enough. He’s beating 45 players this week, none of whom feel the stress he feels. Woodland is in position to make the TOUR Championship, a milestone that’s too difficult for most in pro golf.

It’s an incredible feat, the most impressive I’ll see in a long time. I’m not even sure a 59 from Clark on Sunday would supplant it.

Playing through

📺 Catch up on Round 3 highlights …

🏆 Wyndham Clark has a massive lead. Can he hold it?

🏌️Alex Fitzpatrick is a top contender for TOUR Rookie of the Year. He dove into the intricacies of his swing with us earlier this week …

Bubble watch

OK, let’s talk bubble! As a reminder, only the top 30 move on after this week. A spot at the TOUR Championship comes with the possibility of winning the FedExCup, along with exemptions into the 2027 major championships.

It’s many of the same names as yesterday, a sign that things are possibly settling into place. Though ask Rickie Fowler, who is projected to drop out, “it’s pretty simple, just go play some good golf tomorrow.”

IN

• Woodland (31st ➡️19th)
• Patrick Cantlay (43rd ➡️22nd)
• Sungjae Im (40th ➡️30th)

OUT

• Kurt Kitayama (28th ➡️31st)
• Fowler (30th ➡️32nd)
• Bud Cauley (29th ➡️33rd)

Let’s also touch on the Presidents Cup. The U.S. Team’s six automatic qualifiers will lock after play wraps at Bellerive, and there is some projected movement.

IN

• Clark (seventh ➡️ third)

OUT

• Ben Griffin (fifth ➡️eighth)

Griffin began the week fifth in the standings, and he’s spent all year in position to earn one of those auto-qualifiers. Yet he has struggled recently, with no top 40s in more than a month. Could that lead to being left off the team entirely? Working against Griffin is that he’s not projected to advance to the TOUR Championship, so Sunday is his last chance to show his form.

Parting shots

• 🏃 What’s it going to take for Clark to hold off the chasers? It starts with not making double bogey on the first hole, like he did Saturday. Clark has proven comfortable in this spot. He’s 3-of-5 in converting 54-hole leads. The last came at this year’s U.S. Open. He held a six-shot lead. He’s also done it against Rory McIlroy, taking him down in the final pairing at the 2023 U.S. Open.
• 📦 McIlroy will have a chance to win, though the bigger takeaway is that his swing is in a better spot. He said there are still holes to fix. That he’s put himself in the final group despite those holes should have his competitors worried for next week. McIlroy has won three FedExCup titles, the most in history.
• 👋 Scottie Scheffler found his ball-striking on Saturday, to be third in approach play, but the putter let him down. He’s 5 under, well outside of contention. We haven’t said that much this season.
• 🟧 Fowler is trying to make the TOUR Championship for just the second time in the last seven years. He’s missed 10 majors in that time, so he knows more than most what it would mean.
• 🇺🇲 Is Cantlay locking down a Presidents Cup spot? He’s showing form at the right time and would jump to 14th in the standings if his runner-up position holds.
• 😬 When you’re in last place, there are usually a few reasons for it. That’s the case for Nico Echavarria, currently at the back of the pack. More than anything, though, it’s his driving that has struggled. He’s lost nearly eight strokes to the field off the tee. He’s hit only four fairways each of the last two days. It’s a bad time for it. Echavarria is right on the bubble of a Presidents Cup pick, and this is his last tournament before picks will be made. He is not projected to make the TOUR Championship.