Very few players in Illinois PGA tournaments walk their rounds. Kyle Bauer, the 11-year head pro at the Glen View club, is one who does. He doesn’t think it puts him at a competitive disadvantage, and Thursday he proved it.

Bauer captured the 65th playing of the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship at Kemper Lakes in Kildeer and his win came on a day when all the players had an unusually difficult physical test. Weather hampered the four-day event throughout, which meant the last three rounds all were played on Thursday. None of the eight players still alive on the final day had ever played three matches in one day.

“At my club I’ve never played in a golf cart,’’ said Bauer, “so I’m used to walking. I’m not sure if anybody else walks, but it’s not that big a deal. I’m used to it, but I’m sure I’ll be tired tomorrow.’’

Walking what turned out to be 45 holes in a 10-hour span wasn’t the only factor when the title was on the line. Bauer went up against long-hitting Medinah teaching pro Travis Johns, the tourney’s 2010 champion and a two-time IPGA Player of the year. Bauer played from behind on every par-4 and par-5 hole as Johns was generally 50 yards further off the tee.

Again, no insurmountable problem as Bauer worked his way to a 4 and 3 victory.

“I usually hit my drives in the fairway,’’ Bauer said. “The golf course was playing extremely long (because of the soggy conditions), and my mindset was to not give any holes away.’’

Johns won the first two holes with conceded birdie putts and Bauer needed to sink a five-foot par-saver to halve No. 3.

“At that point I was hoping to not lose 10 an 8,’’ he said. Then Johns gave him a boost, hitting his tee shot out of bounds left on the par-5 fourth.

“I struggled all week off that tee,’’ said Johns, who hit two balls in the water right at No. 4 in his earlier matches. He felt shaky putting was more responsible for his loss in the title match, though. Bauer wasn’t so sure.

He won No. 4 with only a bogey and then took No. 5 when Johns three-putted to get the match to all square.

“That settled me down. I was 2-under the rest of the day,’’ said Bauer. “That’s what this tournament is all about –not giving away holes.’’

Bauer took the lead for good with a 15-foot birdie putt on the eighth hole. He made Johns dormie with with a 15-foot birdie putt on No. 14 and closed him out with a par on the next hole after Johns found his third shot on the par-5 buried in a green-side bunker.

Despite the busy week in the first major tournament of the Chicago season Bauer may not be done yet. He’s in Monday’s local qualifying round for the U.S. Open at Exmoor in Highland Park.

PALM HARBOR, Florida – The Copperhead, one of the most popular courses on the PGA Tour, is taking on all golfers again – and this is a big, big deal.

Copperhead, a Larry Packard design that opened in 1972, has hosted a professional golf tournament for the past 25 years. It was big news when a restoration of Packard’s original design was announced after Jordan Spieth won last year’s Valspar Championship in a playoff.

The restoration took about six months., during which the course was closed. The members of Innisbrook Resort got a slight head start on playing the course ahead of Tuesday’s formal re-opening hosted by owner Sheila Johnson and featuring PGA Tour player George McNeill and Gary Koch, the PGA Tour veteran and NBC golf analyst.

Also joining in the ceremonial press conference was Prem Devadas, president of Salamander Hotels & Resorts; Bobby Barnes, Innisbrook’s director of golf; and Steve Wenzloff, vice president of design services and player liason for the PGA Tour.

Roger Packard, son of Larry and a golf course architect of note as well, was also on hand. His father was an Innisbrook resident until his death last year at age 101. The work done on his premier course was not a renovation, Johnson stressing that it “respects and protects the vision of Larry Packard and his signature design.’’

Koch, a Florida native who has played Copperhead over an estimated 40 years and also done some work in golf architecture, called it the “grand dame of Florida golf courses….This is an exciting day for a lot of people.’’

“It’s a glorious, glorious day,’’ said Johnson, who brought the resort in 2007. Johnson, who has deep roots in the Chicago area and is a University of Illinois alum, founded Salamander in 2005 and the company’s portfolio includes two other Florida golf destinations — Reunion Resort, in Orlando, and Hammock Beach, in Palm Coast — plus the equestrian-inspired Salamander Resort & Spa in Middleburg, Va.; and the soon-to-open Henderson Beach Resort in Destin, FL.

Innisbrook, with four courses all designed by Packard, is special given Johnson’s executive committee role with the U.S. Golf Assn.

“The Copperhead is the jewel in the crown of Innisbrook,’’ she said. “The resort has undergone a renaissance. We’ve touched every inch of this property. This project is the latest of numerous improvements Salamander has made to Innisbrook to cement its reputation as one of America’s top golf destinations.’’

She also stressed the importance of the course’s new irrigation system, which now includes 500 new sprinkler heads and will save 11 million goals of water per year – enough to fill 1,100 Olympic-sized swimming pools. She said that’s in keeping with the USGA’s efforts to cope with the closing of 130 courses in recent years.

“The USGA is on a mission,’’ said Johnson. “We’re on a mission to keep golf courses open.’’

McNeill, runner-up in the PGA Tour stop at Copperhead in 2008, called the course “magnificent’’ and “one of the toughest we play all year.’’

In the restoration all the tee boxes were rebuilt and laser leveled, and some were expanded to account for the addition of 15 new forward tees. The putting and chipping practices areas were also enhanced but the course’s maximum yardage remains at 7,340 yards for the tour pros who will return in March.

The Ladies PGA confirmed a new site for next year’s UL International Crown on Tuesday. It’ll be played July 21-24 at Merit Club in Libertyville.

Merit Club hasn’t been the site of a significant competition since it hosted the U.S. Women’s Open in 2000, a major event that was won by Australian Karrie Webb.

“Everyone at the Merit Club is excited for this opportunity,’’ said general manager Don Pieper in a statement released by the LPGA. “We can’t wait to showcase the world’s best golfers.’’

The club, founded by Bert Getz, was only eight years old when it landed the prestigious U.S. Women’s Open. Chicago architect Bob Lohman and Ed Oldfield Sr., Merit Club’s first head professional, worked together on the original course design and Oldfield’s involvement was a big reason the club landed that event so early in his history.

Oldfield, who had a long career at Glen View Club before going to the Merit Club, was the swing instructor for many LPGA players, most notably Betsy King. He parted ways with the Merit Club shortly after Webb won her title but the club’s reputation as a quality venue continued even without the return of a big-time tournament. Among its most notable members was former Bulls’ great Michael Jordan.

This year Jim Billiter, one of Merit Club’s assistant professionals, made a major impact on the Chicago tournament scene with victories in both the Illinois PGA Match Play Championship at Kemper Lakes and the Illinois PGA Championship at Medinah’s No. 1 course.

Merit Club has only eight months to get ready for one of the LPGA’s biggest events. The International Crown brings together the top four players from eight qualifying countries for a team competition that was first held in 2014 at Cave’s Valley in the Washington D.C. area. Spain won that event.

The second staging of the biennial competition was to be on the same dates that Merit Club will host, but at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove. Disagreements between the LPGA and Jerry Rich, the owner of Rich Harvest and a long-time supporter of women’s golf, led to the two parties mutually agreeing to part company earlier this month. Neither the LPGA nor Rich has discussed the specific reasons for the split.

Rich had been a leader in the creation of the Crown and had hoped to regularly host it at Rich Harvest. The Sugar Grove layout hosted a most successful Solheim Cup battle between the U.S. and Europe in 2009, which led to the creation of the International Crown. When that event was announced at the PGA Merchandise Show in Florida in January, 2012, Rich Harvest was immediately named the second host site, and Rich and his staff had been working diligently to prepare for it.

Eventually the LPGA decided to take the third International Crown event to Korea in 2018 and – after the break with Rich – opted to keep it in the Chicago area for 2016. Several other clubs were under consideration before the LPGA decided on Merit Club. It could mean the return of Webb to the course where she won her title 16 years earlier. She played for Australia in the first International Crown and figures to be playing for the Aussies again in July.

“We were flattered by the many suitors with championship resumes who came forward,’’ said LPGA commissioner Mike Whan in the organization’s announcement. “Merit Club has a wonderful history and prestige, and will offer a spectacular backdrop to see which country will take home the Crown.’’

Next July’s team event, which will start with two pro-ams before the team battle begins, triggers a three-year run of big-time women’s golf in the Chicago area. The PGA of America has announced that its KPMG Women’s PGA Championship will be played at Olympia Fields in 2017 and Kemper Lakes in 2018.

The biggest event on Chicago’s golf calendar for 2016 is off. At least the UL International Crown won’t be held as planned at Rich Harvest Farms in Sugar Grove.

According to a surprise announcement by the Ladies Professional Golf Assn., the LPGA and Rich Harvest Farms owner Jerry Rich “mutually agreed’’ that the event won’t go on as scheduled next July 21-24. Rich could not be reached for comment and no reason was given for the decision.

The LPGA announcement said the Florida-based organized organization is in the process of “finalizing a new venue’’ for the 2016 Crown.

Rich played a major role in the creation of the unique global team competition, the first finals of which were played at Cave’s Valley near Baltimore in 2014. The event, which involves top players from the top five women’s golf nations, is to be held every two years and the 2018 staging will be played in Korea.

Whether it will return to Rich Harvest after that is uncertain. According to the LPGA “both parties remain open to future LPGA opportunities at Rich Harvest Farms.’’

Rich Harvest hosted the 2009 Solheim Cup matches, pitting the women’s teams from the U.S. and Europe. It was a rousing success, and Rich initiated discussions about a different style team event with LPGA commissioner Mike Whan immediately afterwards.

When the Crown was unveiled both the Cave’s Valley site for 2014 and Rich Harvest were announced as host venues. Rich has called the Crown “my legacy.’’

Rich Harvest has been Chicago’s most active tournament course thanks to Rich’s involvement. This season the private venue hosted both the Palmer Cup matches, between college stars from the U.S. and Europe, and the Western Amateur championship.

Ivanhoe Club will host the Rust-Oleum Championship — a full field event on the PGA Tour’s satellite circuit – from June 6-12 in 2016. The event was played at Lakewood Country Club’s West course in suburban Cleveland the last two years.

Shane Bertsch was the champion of last year’s Rust-Oleum Championship, which offered a $600,000 prize fund and paid $108,000 to the champion. Next year’s event will have the full 156-player field and be contested over 72 holes. The prize fund hasn’t been announced.

The Web.com Tour has been a developmental circuit for the PGA Tour since its founding in 1990. It was initially called the Ben Hogan Tour and later was known via its Nike, Buy.com and Nationwide sponsorships.

The circuit had an annual stop in the Chicago area from 2002 to 2008, the tournament being known as the LaSalle Bank Open from 2002 to 2007 and the Bank of America Open in 2008.

Kemper Lakes, in Kildeer, hosted the first of those tournaments with Marco Dawson winning the title in 2002. Then the event moved to The Glen Club, in Glenview. The champions there were Andre Stolz, Brendan Jones, Chris Couch, Jason Dufner, John Riegger and Kris Blanks. Dufner went on to win a major title, the PGA Championship in 2013.

Ivanhoe was a logical new location for the Rust-Oleum Championship since its chief executive officer, Tom Reed, is a member of the club. Rust-Oleum took over sponsorship of the tournament last year after it was played as the Cleveland Open in 2014.

The Web.com Tour had a long history in Cleveland. The circuit’s Greater Cleveland Open ran from 1990-2001 and the Legend Financial Group Classic was played there from 2005-07.

During its run in Cleveland the tourney was notable for two developments. In 2007 it was the site of Jason Day’s first professional victory when the Australian was just 18 years old. Day blossomed this year, when he won the PGA Championship in August and last month’s BMW Championship at Conway Farms in Lake Forest — a victory that catapulted him to No. 1 in the World Golf Rankings.

The 2014 event in Cleveland also was notable, in that it produced the longest playoff in Web.com Tour history – 11 holes — before Steven Aker won the title.

As has been the case in all four rounds of the BMW Championship, Sunday was Jason Day’s day. He led the $8.25 million championship wire to wire, but his victory – Day’s fourth in his last six starts – had more meaning.

Not only did Day stay atop the FedEx Cup Playoff standings, he also took over the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings. Day went into the third tournament in the four-event series ranked No. 3 behind Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth. Now Day is the third Australian to be ranked No. 1, following Greg Norman and Adam Scott.

The 19th player to achieve the coveted No. 1 ranking, Day opened the BMW Championship with a 61-63 start at Conway Farms in Lake Forest and nursed the lead through the weekend rounds in 69-69.

“This is all quite shocking,’’ said Day after achieving his `life-long dream.’ “Yesterday and today were the toughest rounds of my life, and the last two days were very emotional. It was hard to sleep at night.’’

Starting the final round with a six-stroke lead, Day took a conservative approach and that helped Daniel Berger, a 22-year old PGA Tour rookie, get within four shots with five holes left. That really didn’t create much suspense, but Day ended whatever there might have been with a 10-foot birdie putt from the fringe of the No. 16 green.

“This whole summer has been a whirlwind,’’ said Day. “It’s surreal right now, just to think about it. There was that belief in there somewhere that all the hard work was for a good reason, just to prepare myself for moments like this.’’

That birdie at No. 16 opened a five-shot lead and Day finished his business with a par and birdie, giving him a 22-under-par 262 for the 72 holes. Berger finished second, six shots back, and moved from 46th to ninth place in the FedEx standings. Only the top 30 qualified for next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta, so the strong finish got Berger there.

“It was unbelievable,’’ said Berger. “Thousands and thousands of people, and I got into two marquee groups with Jason (Saturday) and Rory (Sunday). It was just a lot of fun.’’

While Day stayed clear of trouble, the other 68 players (Jim Furyk withdrew during the first round with a wrist injury) either wangled for a top-five spot in the playoff standings or for one of the other 29 spots available at Atlanta. The top five – still Day, Spieth, Rickie Fowler, Henrik Stenson and Bubba Watson – could win the $10 million playoff bonus by winning at Atlanta regardless how the others perform there.

“That’s the ultimate goal throughout the playoffs, to be in the top five, to have a chance to win there and win it all,’’ said Fowler.

In addition to being assured another big payday, all 30 Atlanta qualifiers are assured spots in the Masters, U.S. Open, British Open and PGA Championship next year. Nine from the BMW field made it to Atlanta for the first time including Harris English, who missed by a stroke the last two years and finished at No. 30 this time.

“It’s awesome,’’ said English, who needed a 15-foot birdie putt on the last hole to survive. “It’s a goal starting each year to make it because you get in all the majors, and that makes your schedule easier.’’

The other qualifiers included Zach Johnson, winner of the 2013 BMW Championship at Conway Farms and owner of Sunday’s best score. Johnson finished with five straight birdies and posted a 64 to finish in a tie for 13th place.

Those who missed a trip to Atlanta from the BMW field included Billy Horschel, last year’s BMW and FedEx Cup champion; Hunter Mahan, the only golfer to have qualified for all of the previous FedEx tournaments; Phil Mickelson, Ian Poulter and Keegan Bradley.

They’ll miss the season-ending climax to another PGA Tour season — 30 players competing over 72 holes for another $8.25 plus the big bonus.

“It’s all for this setting, for Atlanta,’’ said Spieth. “There are a lot of exciting players in the mix, and that’s going to create quite a finish next week. The top 10 in the world are all on their game, and that’s what you want for the Tour Championship.’’

It would have been asking a lot for Jason Day to keep scoring the way he had been during the first two days of the BMW Championship.

After all, the 27-year old Australian led by four strokes after shooting a course record 10-under-par 61 in Round 1 at Conway Farms in Lake Forest and his margin was five after a 63 in Round 2. Day matched the all-time PGA Tour scoring record for 36 holes and a continuation of that pace would have made him the first player to break 250 for 72 holes and he was also in position to claim the record for strokes under par in a 72-hole event – presently 31-under by Ernie Els in the 2003 Mercedes Championships on a par-73 course.

Well, talk about more record-setting subsided after Saturday’s round, when Day made four bogeys and showed he’s human after all. But his lead – now up to six strokes — still looks safe entering Sunday’s final round of the third event of the FedEx Cup’s four-tournament series. He cooled off to a 69 on Saturday and is at 20-under 203 for 54 holes. His six-stroke advantage is the biggest 54-hole lead of the season on the PGA Tour.

“It feels like I shot 80 compared to the first two days,’’ said Day, “but I’m not unhappy with the score. The first two rounds were great, but this was the more important one to get through, and I’m happy to have extended the lead.’’

If he hangs on to it Sunday he’ll pass Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy and claim the No. 1 spot in the World Golf Rankings. That, said Day, “is a life-long dream.’’

Even though another night of heavy rain – four inches pelted the course in a 48-hour span — further softened the course and resulted in the lift, clean and place rule put into place for the second straight day, the birdies didn’t come as easily for Day or anyone else. A change in wind direction caused that.

“There were tough pin locations with a northerly wind,’’ said Day. “It was the most difficult round we had this week.’’

Day first got to 20 under par after a spectacular approach over a tree to two feet at No. 12. That widened his lead to eight strokes over Rickie Fowler and Scott Piercy, but Day’s next tee shot sailed out of bounds and he scrambled to make bogey – his third of the round after making only two in the first two rounds.

By then Fowler had posted his 66 – the low round of the day — but didn’t envision much hope of catching Day. Fowler is tied for fifth, seven strokes off the lead. Piercy, who will be Day’s playing partner on Sunday, and Daniel Berger, who played with Day on Saturday, are tied for second. Unlike previous rounds, players will go off in twosomes off only the No. 1 tee in the final round. First tee time is 7:15 a.m., and Day and Piercy go off last at 12:40 p.m.

Day concluded his round with a 20-foot birdie putt, which he hopes will provide good momentum going into the final 18.

“I’ll be trying to extend the lead. That’s the mindset,’’ he said.

Others weren’t thinking the same way. Just staying in the top five or even the top 30 in the FedEx standings is important. Those in the top five after the BMW Championship are assured of winning the $10 million bonus if they can win next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. And, only the top 30 of the 70 starters at Conway Farms will qualify for that last playoff event.

“Conditions were a little tougher, and I was able to move up the board,’’ said Fowler after Saturday’s round. “You’ve got to look at Jason as an outsider. You don’t have to worry about him. There’s another tournament going on, and he’s in control of whatever he’s doing. If he happens to come back, then we may have a chance.’’

“The tournament is in Jason’s hands right now,’’ said McIlroy, who moved into solo fourth – seven back — after posting a 67. “It’s up to us that are behind him to get off to fast start, and he needs to come back to the field a little bit.’’

Jason Day’s one shot at shooting a first-round 59 in the BMW Championship fizzled Friday morning. The 27-year old Australian put his approach from the rough on the green, but not in the hole, and wound up settling for a 61 in the rain-delayed first round at Conway Farms in Lake Forest.

Day still owned a four-shot lead over playing partner Jordan Spieth and five others after Round 1 and didn’t lose momentum when the second round teed off 90 minutes later. He backed up the 61 with a 63 to hit the halfway point of the 72-hole competition at 18-under-par 124 and a five-stroke lead.

The second round ended more spectacularly than the first, as Day holed a 42-foot putt for eagle at No. 18. Before that he had seven birdies that were offset by one bogey. His 36-hole score tied the lowest all-time 36-hole score in PGA Tour history, matching marks posted by David Toms and Pat Perez.

“I came in this morning and didn’t shoot 59,’’ said Day. “I thought everyone was disappointed, and it’s hard to back up a good round with another one, but we had much calmer conditions.’’

There’ll be one big difference for Day entering the second half of the tournament. His playing companions won’t be his celebrated partners of the first two days, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler – Nos. 2 and 3 behind Day in the FedEx standings. Both dropped back, Spieth now seven shots off the lead in a tie for fourth place and Fowler 11 back.

“Right now what Jason is doing on the course is something I haven’t watched or witnessed in my life,’’ said Spieth. “I feel like I should be paying to come watch some of this. It was special.’’

A red-shot 22-year old is still on Day’s heels; it’s just not Spieth. Daniel Berger went 65-64 in the first two rounds, and he had a sizzling playing partner in Brendon Todd. Todd, who strung four birdies early (holes 2-5), holed a lob wedge shot from 83 yards for eagle on his last hole for a 63 to join Berger at 13-under-par 129.

Day, Todd and Berger will now be in the featured final group Saturday, as more rain in the forecast forced PGA Tour officials to again alter the schedule. Instead of going with the planned earlier start with twosomes play will again begin at both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees at 10 a.m. with players going off in threesomes.

Scores figured to be low in the second round after two inches of rain doused the Conway layout overnight. That softened the greens, and necessitated the use of the lift, clean and place rule on the fairways.

“We had optimal scoring chances,’’ said Todd, who wasn’t the only one to take advantage. Dustin Johnson had the day’s low round, a 62, and Kevin Na, Hideki Matsuyama and Henrik Stenson all matched Todd’s 63.

“A course that’s as soft as this, the wind has died down and it’s not overly long,’’ said Rory McIlroy, the No. 2 ranked player in the world who shot 65. “The par for us out here really should be 67 or 66.’’

Berger, in his rookie season on the PGA Tour, and Todd started the week outside of the top 30 in the FedEx Cup rankings. Only the top 30 go to the final event, The Tour Championship next week in Atlanta. Berger started at No. 46 and Todd at No. 48. Both are winless on the PGA Tour but looking forward to playing with the red-hot Day.

“I played well with him last year on Sunday of the British Open,’’ said Todd. “We have a great rapport. When someone is playing as well as he is, sometimes it takes the pressure off of you and you just got out there and play your game. Hopefully I feed off of his momentum just like Daniel and I did the last couple days.’’

Berger was paired with Day two weeks ago in the Deutsche Bank Championship, second event of the playoffs, in Boston. Day was coming off a win at The Barclays, the first event in the playoffs.

“The funnest part about playing with Jason is the crowds,’’ said Berger. “You’ve got thousands of people watching you. For a young guy like myself, that’s the most fun. I thrive off playing with good players, and it’s going to be fun to experience that again.’’

Thursday produced a great first round at the BMW Championship – but it was a strange one, too, and it’s not quite over.

Sound confusing? Well, it certainly was.

Jason Day, the top-ranked player in the third tournament of these FedEx Cup Playoffs, was cruising and his playing partner, No. 2-ranked Jordan Spieth, was showing the same signs of brilliance he had earlier in the season – before he started the season-ending four-event series with two missed cuts.

Day smacked a solid tee shot on their final hole, No. 9 at Conway Farms in Lake Forest, and so did Spieth. Then, without a drop of rain falling, weather sirens sounded to suspend play 4:22 p.m. Twelve minutes later a vicious storm pelted the course and at 5:15 PGA Tour officials opted to end play for the day.

So, Day has to wait overnight before know if he can shoot a 59. He needs to hole out from the rough 44 yards from the pin to match the score shot by Jim Furyk in the first BMW Championship played at Conway Farms two years ago.

“If I make it, I make it,’’ said Day, who had one eagle, nine birdies, six pars and one bogey before the weather hit. He is 10-under-par for the tournament, four strokes ahead of Daniel Berger who finished his round with a 65 and five ahead of Spieth.

Day wasn’t thinking about shooting 59 – a score posted by only six players in PGA Tour history – until Spieth reminded him at the No. 9 tee that Conway is a par-71 course. Most layouts are par-72s.

“I should have known, because there are only three par-5s,’’ said Day.“I’m playing good golf, but trying to not think about it.’’

The Australian won last month’s PGA Championship as well as the first of the FedEx Cup Playoff tournaments. Despite those recent successes Day put a new, lighter driver in his bag this week. It proved a good decision on Thursday, most notably on the still-to-be-completed ninth hole where he blasted his drive 20 yards further than any of the other players in the field.

Day was in the featured threesome with Spieth and Rickie Fowler. They’re ranked 1-2-3 in the FedEx Cup standings and they drew a big following on opening day of the $8.25 million tourney. The middle of the round was spectacular, and Day and Spieth matched great shots. From No. 18 (the last hole of their first nine) to No. 4 – a five-hole stretch, both Day and Spieth were 5-under-par.

At No. 1 Day holed a 77-yard bunker shot for eagle. Moments later Spieth’s 7-iron on a 196-yard par-3 dropped in for a hole-in-one. Spieth also chipped in on the next hole for birdie and made a third straight bird with a three-foot putt on the next.

Day wasn’t to be outdone. He followed Spieth’s ace with a 30-foot birdie putt at No.2 and added birds at Nos. 3, 7 and 8 before the storm. Weather worries led to the schedule being adjust for Friday. Day will hit his approach to the No. 9 green at 7:30 a.m. That’s when first-round play resumes.

Second-round play was to begin at 11:20 a.m. but the start was moved up to 9 a.m. because more bad weather is in the forecast for Saturday.

Two players who were able to finish their rounds on Thursday are serious challengers for Day. Daniel Berger, who holed out for eagle at No. 9 to complete his round, posted a 6-under-par 65, which puts his four strokes behind Day, and Brendon Todd, who hit only 10 greens in regulation, chipped well enough to get in with a 66.

Todd is solo third among the finishers but Spieth, Kevin Chappell and Justin homas are at 5-under and still on the course.

There was one sad side to the opening round. Furyk, the course record-holder, withdrew after six holes with a painful wrist. He said he was “very concerned’’ that he’d be able to play in next week’s season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Never has the future of professional golf been put on display as dramatically as it will be on Thursday and Friday at Conway Farms.

The Lake Forest private facility has a dream threesome teeing of at 11:53 a.m. Thursday and 12:59 p.m. on Friday. That’s when Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rickie Fowler begin their bids for the title in the first two rounds of the BMW Championship. It’ll be the first time the young stars have played together in a threesome at a PGA Tour event.

“We’re going to have a blast,’’ said Fowler. “The three of us really enjoy playing together, and our caddies are all good friends. It’d be fun if we can build some momentum with all of us playing well the first two days, but there won’t be any shortage of smiles and laughs going on.’’

They’re playing together because they rank 1-2-3 in the FedEx Cup standings. In regular tournaments the pairings are determined by tournament officials; in the playoffs they’re determined by playoff standings.

Day is 27, Fowler 26 and Spieth 22. That’s as close as golf has come to a “Big Three’’ since the days when Arnold Palmer, Jack Nicklaus and Gary Player were in their heydays, and that legendary trio never played for the money that the Day-Fowler-Spieth group is chasing this week.

The BMW Championship, third event of the four-tournament FedEx Cup Playoffs, is a 72-hole competition with and $8.25 million prize fund and no cut for the 70 qualifiers. Sunday’s champion will receive $1,485,000.

Spieth didn’t survive the 36-hole cut in the first two playoff events but could still win the $10 million bonus awarded after next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. Spieth downplayed the back-to-back missed cuts.

“Everything feels normal. My game is in a solid state,’’ he said. “It’s just a matter of getting it rolling, get into a groove and start seeing some putts go in.’’

The FedEx point standings include results during the 47-event regular season. That’s why Spieth, winner of the Masters and U.S. Open, is in the mix despite his recent slump. Day won The Barclays, the first playoff event, and Fowler took the last one, the Deutsche Bank Championship. They’re using the BMW Championship to get into position for the big prize, to be awarded in Atlanta.

Any player ranked in the top five in the FedEx standings after this week’s tourney will win the big bonus with a win in The Tour Championship, and there is some long-term strategy involved.

“Just playing good golf and trying to win both tournaments. That’s the plan,’’ said Day. “Winning takes care of everything. That’s great to say right now, but it’s obviously harder to do.’’

Actually, there’s precedent for none of the “Big Three’ winning either this week or next. If a player down the list gets hot, he could claim the $10 million bonus as well.

“Exactly,’’ said Day. “You look at Billy Horschel last year and Camilo (Villegas) a few years back (2008). Things like this can happen.’’

Horschel, in this week’s field but down in 67th place in the FedEx standings, tied for second in the Deutsche Bank Championship last year and then won the BMW and the Tour Championship. Coupled with the bonus, he won $13,477,333 in just the final month of the season.

Players have taken different approaches in the FedEx Cup season. Some, with enough points going in, feel a week’s rest would be beneficial in the long run and skip a tournament. Phil Mickelson, most notably, has tried that tactic in the past and Sergio Garcia trumped him by skipping the first two tournaments this year. Both, though, will have to play well to get inside the top 30 – a requirement for play in Atlanta. Garcia enters the BMW at No. 54 in the standings and Mickelson is No. 61.

While all the players want to win the BMW Championship, the secondary goal is just to get into the top five on the point standings. Any of those five would win the bonus with a win in Atlanta regardless of where any of the other players finish.

Behind the Day-Spieth-Fowler trio in the top five are Sweden’s Henrik Stenson, who won the bonus in 2013, and Bubba Watson.