PALM BEACH GARDENS, FL. – Could Friday’s second round of the Honda Classic be the start of something big for Luke Donald?

Time will tell, but Donald certainly looked like the golfer who was No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings for 56 weeks in 2011 and 2012. The former Northwestern star and member at Conway Farms in Lake Forest made eight birdies in a 13-hole stretch on a cold, windy day to post a 4-under-par 66 on PGA National’s Champion Course.

That was the low score of the day but Brendan Steele, an afternoon starter, garnered the 36-hole lead, shooting a 67 for a 5-under-par 135 score. That was one better than Donald, J.T. Poston and Lee Westwood at the midway point in the first of the four tournaments on the PGA Tour’s annual Florida Swing. U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland is another shot back in the 72-hole test, which ends on Sunday.

“It’s nice to be back in contention. It’s been a little bit of a while since I’ve played decent,’’ said Donald, who has struggled mightily during a two-year struggle with back problems. His Official World Golf Ranking was 456 and his FedEx Cup Ranking stood at 212 entering the Honda Classic.

By his standards Donald last “played decent’’ at the Dunhill Links Championship on the European Tour last October – a tie for 10th place. Before that it was last March, when he tied for ninth in another Florida PGA event — the Valspar Championship. In the 2019-20 PGA Tour season Donald made three of four cuts but his best finish was only a tie for 43rd in November’s RSM Championship.

Obviously there’s been a big dropoff for the 42-year old who has won five times on the PGA Tour and has eight international victories. The Jack Nicklaus-designed Champion Course at PGA National, however, has long been one of Donald’s favorites and that showed on Friday.

The Champion has long been considered one of the toughest courses on the PGA Tour, but Donald has played it consistently well. He won the Honda Classic in 2006 and was runner-up in 2008. He also had three other top-10 finishes, the last being in 2015.

“I practice a lot on Bermuda and am very accustomed to this type of grass,’’ said Donald. “I’ve had decent finishes around this place before. It sets up well for me.’’

Donald, born in England, has had a residence in south Florida for many years. He had an early tee time in the second round, which was played in weather rarely seen in these parts.

“We’re not used to 46 degrees at 7 in the morning,’’ said Donald. “It’s usually a little bit warmer, but I like it when conditions are tough. That’s when I play my best, especially with this northwesterly wind. The course tends to play a little bit tougher this way, and you’ve got to be very patient.’’

Donald was certainly that after a less-than-ideal start. Starting on No. 10, he was 3-over-par after five holes. Then he made birdie twos on two par-3s – Nos. 15 and 17. The second of those came on the last hole of the course’s treacherous Bear Trap, statistically the toughest three-hole stretch on the PGA Tour.

After that it was clear sailing, as Donald made six birdies on the front nine to conclude his round.

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman, who is four strokes behind Steele in a tie for 15th, remains in contention but defending champion Keith Mitchell and established stars Rickie Fowler and Brooks Koepka all missed the 36-hole cut. So did PGA Tour rookie Doug Ghim, of Arlington Heights.

BOCA RATON, Florida – There’s no reason the LPGA shouldn’t play as many of its tournaments as possible in Florida. After all, the LPGA’s headquarters are in Daytona Beach and three of the circuit’s top stars — Lexi Thompson and Jessica and Nelly Korda – live there.

This year’s schedule called for four LPGA tournaments in the Sunshine state, including two new ones.

Holding the first two tournaments of 2020 in Florida wasn’t a bad idea, either. The drama was ideal in the first, a seven-hole playoff in the Diamond Resorts Tournament of Champions that eventually went to Mexico’s Gaby Lopez. It was halted early by darkness before Lopez wrapped up the title on Monday morning.

The second tournament was a better showcase for the skills of the players, particularly champion Madelene Sagstrom of Sweden. She made 11 birdies in the second round of the inaugural Gainbridge LPGA at Boca Rio en route to shooting a 62 on Friday. She followed that with a 67 on Saturday before surviving a Sunday duel with snakebit Japan veteran Nasa Hataoka.

“My goal was to stay patient and do what I did the previous two days,’’ said Sagstrom. “I had already beaten my demons by going 62-67. Winning was icing on the cake.’’

Hataoka lost to Lopez in the playoff in the limited field season opener and handed Sagstrom her first-ever LPGA win when she three-putted the 72nd hole for bogey at Boca Rio. Sagstrom ended up winning by one after making a clutch eight-footer for par on her last hole before Hataoka’s costly miss.

“I told myself, `Don’t look at a leaderboard,’’’ she said. “If you keep fighting anything can go your way. It was mind-blowing. This was just my week.’’

Sagstrom, 27, starred collegiately at Louisiana State and worked her way through the Symetra Tour before earning LPGA playing privileges. Though she was a captain’s pick for the 2017 Solheim Cup for Europe, she had never been ranked higher than No. 68 in the world and came into the Gainbridge event at No. 116. Sagstrom was also missing her regular caddie, and her boyfriend’s father was recruited to fill in.

That unlikely pair started the final round with a two-stroke lead on Hataoka with American Danielle Kang, who finished third, also in the mix. Those three were tied for the lead at one point on the back nine but the day’s key shots were Sagstrom’s holed bunker shot at No. 10 for a birdie that pulled her into a tie for the lead and Hataoka’s pushed putt from four feet on the 18th that would have forced a playoff.

Sagstrom, in her fourth LPGA season, posted a final-round 70 for a 17-under-par 271 to win the $300,000 first prize from a $2 million purse.

Gainbridge was the first full-field event of the season for the LPGA and it kept tour golf coming to Boca. The PGA Champions Tour had made a habit of holding its first full-field event of the year in the South Florida city. This year that event, called the Boca Raton Championship on the Old Course at Broken Sound, was moved to October as part of the Champions’ season-ending playoff series.

With the Gainbridge tourney now history the LPGA will be on foreign soil for awhile. There’ll be two tournaments in Australia and one each in Japan, Thailand and China before the next American event – the March 19-22 Founders Cup in Phoenix.

Florida will be back on the LPGA schedule two more times before 2020 is out, however. The other new event of the 2020 campaign, the Pelican Women’s Championship, will be played at Pelican Golf Club in Belleair on May 14-17 and the usual season-ending climax CME Group Tour Championship at Tiburon in Naples, is Nov. 19-22. The CME event will have the biggest first-prize in women’s golf — $1.5 million.

FRENCH LICK, Indiana – Winning a Grand Slam in senior women’s golf isn’t unusual. You just need to win two tournaments to do it.

England’s Laura Davies did it in 2018 and Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson accomplished the feat on Wednesday when she captured the Senior LPGA Championship on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort.

Alfredsson won the first leg of the slam when she captured the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles, in North Carolina, in May. She was a three-stroke winner in the Senior LPGA on Wednesday in golf’s last major championship of 2019 on any of the pro tours.

“It was a great feeling to win the U.S. Open and get a USGA trophy,’’ she said, “but I was most pleased with being able to do it in the and,, and being the strongest then.’’

Alfredsson’s win at French Lick came on a frigid day when temperatures dropped 20 degrees over night and winds picked up. She was the only player to finish under par, completing the 54-hole test at 2-under 214. Juli Inkster was three strokes behind in what was basically a two-player duel throughout the final round.

Inkster started the final round with a two-stroke lead and struggled with a 76. Alfredsson posted a 70 and captured a $100,000 first prize from a $650,000 purse. Davies tied for 19th in her title defense and Nicole Jeray, a teaching pro at Mistwood in Romeoville and the only Chicago player in the field, tied for 36th among the 49 finalists.

There were some other notable developments. Dave Harner, the director of golf at French Lick Resort, confirmed that the tournament won’t be played on its unusual fall dates in 2020 – and won’t have live television coverage because of it. It’ll move to late July instead, meaning both of the senior majors will be played just a month apart.

The Golf Channel gave the inaugural Senior LPGA live TV coverage with its first staging in 2017, but there was a stipulation that the event be played on weekday dates in October. Bad weather and financial considerations led to French Lick opting to move the event to the summer months.

In another notable development Lee Ann Walker was assessed what might be the biggest penalty in golf history. Walker was assessed a 58-stroke penalty because her caddie had been lining up her putts and Walker didn’t step away before making her stroke. She learned of her infraction 23 holes into the tournament and wound up being given a score of 127 for the first round and 90 for the second.

Next year’s fourth playing of the Senior LPGA will be July 27 to Aug. 1. Instead of the Monday through Wednesday scheduling of the last three years the 54-hole event will run Thursday through Saturday after a practice round and two pro-ams kick off the festivities.

The year’s major golf championships aren’t finished just yet. There’s still one to go.

Indiana’s French Lick Resort will host the third annual Senior LPGA Championship on its Pete Dye Course from Oct. 14-16. The 54-hole final event of The Legends Tour season has an unusual Monday through Wednesday schedule because that enabled the circuit for women 45 and over to gain live TV coverage on The Golf Channel.

England’s Trish Johnson became the first champion of a senior women’s major when she won the inaugural Senior LPGA Championship on the Pete Dye Course in 2017. The U.S. Golf Association staged its first major tournament for senior women last year – the U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Chicago Golf Club in Wheaton. England’s Laura Davies won that one by a whopping 10-stroke margin.

Davies also won last year’s second Senior LPGA at French Lick last October and Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson took the second U.S. Senior Women’s Open at Pine Needles, in North Carolina, in May. Those players, along with American Juli Inkster, loom as the favorites for the year’s final major at French Lick. A $650,000 prize fund will be on the line with the champion getting $100,000.

Since last year The Legends have undergone a change in leadership. Jane Blalock, who founded the circuit in 2000, stepped aside and Jane Geddes assumed the role of chief executive officer three months ago. Geddes, who still competes on the circuit, won the last of her 11 LPGA titles at the 1991 Chicago Challenge, which was played at White Eagle, in Naperville.

Illinois Open changes

White Eagle, which has just undergone a major renovation by architect Todd Quitno, will be the primary site of next year’s Illinois Open. According to published reports White Eagle will replace The Glen Club as the primary site of the tournament finals with nearby Stonebridge the secondary site.

Dates have not been announced but officials from both White Eagle and Stonebridge confirmed the site change, according to the reports.

Here and there

The Illinois PGA will have a representative in next year’s Senior PGA Championship at Michigan’s Harbor Shores course. Roy Biancalana, of Fresh Meadows in West Chicago, tied for 22nd at the Senior PGA Professionals Championship last week at Barton Creek, in Texas, to earn his spot at Harbor Shores.

The Women’s Western Golf Association presented its Woman of Distinction Award to Beth Daniel and Hollis Stacy will be this year’s lone inductee into The Legends Hall of Fame at French Lick when the ceremonies are held prior to the Senior LPGA Championship.

Vince India and Brad Hopfinger, winners of both the Illinois State Amateur and Illinois Open and competitors on the Korn Ferry Tour last season, switched to the PGA Latinoamerica circuit last week in Ecuador. India tied for 10th and Hopfinger tied for 46th. Patrick Flavin, also a winner of both of Illinois’ top tournaments, tied for 32nd and is fifth on the Latinoamerica season money list.

Chris French and Jim Sobb scored big wins as the Illinois PGA’s tournament season wound down. French, playing out of Aldeen in Rockford, won the IPGA Players Championship at Crystal Tree, in Orland Park, and Sobb took the Super Senior Open at Makray Memorial, in Barrington.

The all-star team from Cog Hill, in Lemont, is in the national finals of the PGA Junior League for the fourth straight year. The finals run through Monday (OCT 14) at Grayhawk, in Arizona.

Record scores were the story after each of the first three rounds of the BMW Championship at Medinah. Not so in Sunday’s final round, however.

While Justin Thomas came out the champion, the final 18 at Medinah basically set the stage for what comes next – The Tour Championship at East Lake in Atlanta. The last event of the PGA Tour’s 2018-19 season has a weird, new format and the second of the three FedEx Cup Playoff events decided who would be the leader when the last one tees off on Thursday.

To no one’s surprise it’ll be Thomas, who started Sunday’s final round at Medinah with a six-shot lead in the BMW and won by three over playing partner Patrick Cantlay. They climbed to first and second in the FedEx Cup standings and now they’ll battle again for golf’s biggest cash prize under different circumstances.

Under the new playoff format, Thomas will sleep on a two-stroke lead over Cantlay for the next four nights. Then those two plus the other 28 qualifiers for The Tour Championship will compete over 72 holes again. When the points are re-calculated the player with the most gets $15 million.

Thomas doesn’t know what to make of the new format.

“I can certainly say a thousand percent I never slept on a Wednesday lead, but I’m definitely excited for that,’’ he said. “ I’m just going to try to win the golf tournament as if everybody starts at zero.’’

There was always the possibility of two winners at The Tour Championship during its first 12 years. The winner of the tournament and the winner of the bonus weren’t always one in the same. Organizers didn’t like that, so now there’ll be just one winner at East Lake. He’ll be a very rich man, and the PGA Tour expects to have a more dramatic finish to its season-ender.

Thomas, who won the FedEx Cup in 2017 under the old format, will be a marked man. He’ll have a handicap advantage of some sort on all 29 of his rivals. The scoreboard at Atlanta will start with him at minus-10 and Cantlay at minus-8. Brooks Koepka, No. 1 in the Official World Golf Rankings and the leader in the FedEx standings going into the BMW Championship, dropped to third and will start at minus-7 at East Lake.

The other 27 players in the field will also be handicapped, all the way down to those ranked 26-30. They’ll start at even par.

As for the wrapup at Medinah, Thomas set a course record on Thursday with a 65, a score matched by Jason Kokrak. Hideki Matsuyama lowered the record to 63 on Friday and Thomas to 61 on Saturday. Thomas went on to shoot 68 Sunday for a 25-uder-par 263 score and a three-shot victory over Cantlay with Matsuyama two shots further back in third.

Thomas said he was nervous going in because of the pressure require to protect a six-stroke lead.

“I had guys telling me congratulations on 13 today, even on the front nine when the tournament was so far from over,’’ he said. “You can get it going sideways and make a lot of bogeys pretty quick.’’

While Thomas had won nine previous PGA tournaments including the PGA Championship in 2017, he had no top-10 finishes this year until Sunday. Cantlay put the pressure on him with three straight birdies on holes 7-9 and Thomas’ lead eventually shriveled from six strokes to two.

“Patrick caught fire and I couldn’t really get anything going,’’ said Thomas. “But from 11 on I really, really played some quality golf and hit a lot of really great golf shots and great putts.’’

Patrick Cantlay had his best round of the week on Sunday, shooting a 7-under-par 65. Only Hideki Matsuyama (63) did better. Neither could overhaul Justin Thomas at Medinah but they’ll have a chance to do it next week in the final FedEx Cup Playoff event in Atlanta.

Cantlay goes into it with a two-stroke deficit on Thomas, but he has an advantage of some sort on every other player in the field. Cantlay doesn’t know how to approach it, though.

“I haven’t done it before, so I don’t know what to expect,’’ said Cantlay. “I’m just going to go out and have a good game plan for the golf course, stick to that and let the chips fall where they do.’’

Cantlay’s goal was to make lots of birdies on Sunday, and he certainly did that. He made nine of them against two bogeys.

Matsuyama, who shot 63 twice in the tournament, got through the final 18 with an astonishing 20 putts. The record low is 18 putts, done by 10 players since such statistics were first kept in 1979.

President’s Cup preview

Tony Finau had a good week, and played in the last group on Sunday. That wasn’t good enough to get him on the U.S. team for this fall’s President’s Cup matches in Australia, however.

“It’s a little bittersweet,’’ said Finau. “Few guys played better than me this week, I knew what I needed to do, and I’m proud I gave myself a chance to do that I knew I needed a top-three finish.’’

Instead Finau wound up fourth in the tournament and ninth in the point standings for the President’s Cup team. Only eight receive automatic berths. Finau seems a shoo-in to be one of Tiger Wood’s captain’s picks, however.

The eight automatic spots for the U.S. went to Brooks Koepka, Dustin Johnson, Thomas, Xander Schauffele, Matt Kuchar, Webb Simpson, Bryson DeChambeau and Cantlay.

The International team spots went to Marc Leishman, Matsuyama, Louis Oosthuizen, Adam Scott, Abraham Ancer, Hao Tong Li, C.T. Pan and Cameron Smith.

No title change

The BMW Championship isn’t dead after all. The sponsorship agreement, which was scheduled to end after Sunday’s round, has been extended.

The announcement, made jointly by the auto manufacturer, Western Golf Association and PGA Tour on Sunday, did not say how long the extension would be in effect but NBC Sports reported it would carry through 2022. Sites were not announced other than the one for next year. I’ll be on Olympia Fields’ North Course and the event remain a part of the FedEx Cup Playoffs for the 14th consecutive year.

BMW took over sponsorship starting in 2007. The tournament has raised over $30 million for the WGA’s Evans Scholars Foundation and been named the PGA Tour’s Tournament of the Year four times.

Electrifying start for Phil

Phil Mickelson had a memorable start to his day, which he revealed in an early morning tweet.

“How’s this for crazy,’’ Mickelson tweeted. “My hotel was struck by lightning. I was on the top floor, we were evacuated and the place is on fire (the only thing of mine on fire this week). I can’t get back into my room and may miss my tee time because I am without clothes and clubs.’’

Forty-five minutes after that tweet Mickelson sent another, saying that he would arrive at the course on time. Mickelson was staying at the Eaglewood Hotel, which is adjacent to the course. He changed into his golf shoes in the Medinah parking lot but wouldn’t talk further about the incident there.

“Turns out my clubs acted as a fire retardant. Lucky me,’’ Mickelson said in subsequent tweet.

They’re out

Last two spots in the top 30 who qualified for The Tour Championship went to Lucas Glover and Jason Kokrak. The three who just missed (in spots 31-33) were Kevin Tway, J.T. Poston and British Open champion Shane Lowery.

Other notables on the outside looking in after the BMW Championship were Francesco Molinari, Ian Poulter, Woods, Billy Horschel, Jordan Spieth and Mickelson.

Just how low can these guys go?

Medinah No. 3 has long been considered one of the world’s most difficult courses. It won’t be after the BMW Championship concludes there on Sunday. Only two of 69 players are over par after 54 holes and leader Justin Thomas is 21-under.

Thomas has set the pace in this three-day birdie binge. He tied the then course record with a 65 in Thursday’s opening round, then faded to a 69 on Friday when Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama took the spotlight with a record 63.

On Saturday Thomas took the spotlight back with a dazzling 11-under-par 61. His 21-under 195 is six better than Tony Finau and Patrick Cantlay, Thomas’ top challengers entering the final 18. Finau, playing with Thomas, shot 68 in the third round. Cantlay, paired with Matsuyama in the final group, also carded a 68.

Matsuyama, as so often happens to players trying to follow up a low round, stumbled to a 73 on Saturday. Avoiding the letdown that affected Matsuyama may be the biggest challenge Thomas faces on his way to what would be his first victory of the 2018-19 season.

Winner of the PGA Championship and FedEx Cup in 2017, Thomas has been winless this season in part because he missed three key tournaments – one being the Masters — with a wrist injury and he hasn’t had a top-10 finish since returning to action.

“I’ve felt good about my game for awhile, and you don’t know when a round like this is going to happen,’’ said Thomas. “We’ve been talking the last couple of weeks that I’m due to have one, and it’s nice when it happens. At the end of the day this round was great and awesome, but it’s over with and I need to focus on tomorrow.’’

Thomas’ round was a thing of beauty and full of highlights. He opened with five birdies before making his lone bogey at No. 6. On the back nine he had eagles on Nos. 10 and 16. For the day he needed only 22 putts, chipped in twice and holed an 8-iron from 180 yards on the par-4 16th.

“That was really impressive,’’ said Finau . “He played extremely well, and it was fun to watch. Whenever you see a guy playing that well he’s in a zone. That’s really cool.’’

Thomas and Finau teed of 75 minutes late after a rain delay halted play in the morning. They had a softened course all the way around, but the scoring conditions have been ideal all three days of the tournament.

“The first seven holes there was no wind whatsoever. You couldn’t have it easier than that, and this was probably the easiest of the three days we’ve played,’’ said Jon Rahm, in fifth place after posting a 66.

U.S. Open champion Gary Woodland played early and shot 64 – but it boosted him only into a tie for 18th place.

“Obviously the course is still soft. If the wind is down like it was you’ll see some low scores,’’ said Woodland.

Thomas, sensitive to the feelings of Medinah members who wouldn’t want their storied course considered easy, said “it doesn’t matter what golf course it is. You give us soft, good greens and soft fairways and we’re going to tear it apart. It’s just how it is.’’

The scores all the way down the leaderboard bore him out.

“We all have such great control over our golf ball and we know how far it’s going to go when we’re hitting it well,’’ said Thomas. “We’re just good. It’s just the fact of the matter.’’

Sunday’s round will be a bit different than the first three. To cope with potential weather issues the players will be sent off in threesomes off both the Nos. 1 and 10 tees. First tee time is 10:19 a.m. Thomas, Finau and Cantlay hit off No. 1 at 12:20.

Tiger Woods played better on Saturday. He shot a 5-under-par 67 at Medinah No. 3, but it may not matter. Woods’ chances of getting into the top 30 on the Fed Ex standings still aren’t good going into Sunday’s final round.

“I figured I’m going to have to do something in the mid-60s for two straight days. I left myself pretty far behind after the first two rounds,’’ he said.

He’s still pretty far behind, so far behind in fact that — when he was asked to about the number he needed in the final round to play next week at The Tour Championship in Atlanta – he said somewhat sheepishly “I shoot 60. It should be right.’’

That sounds about right. Woods came to the tournament at No. 38 in the FedEx standings and his 71-71 dropped him down into the 40s. He’s projected to finish the BMW Championship at No. 40, even after Saturday’s improved round.

Woods stirred up the golf world when – after a long series of injuries and personal problems — he won The Tour Championship last fall and the Masters in the April. There hasn’t been much success since those giddy weeks, and Woods’ season will likely end when his last putt drops at Medinah.

Going forward, Woods will still be visible in his sport – he’ll captain the U.S. President’s Cup team this fall in Australia – but his future as a player isn’t as promising as it seemed just four months ago. His expansive comments after Saturday’s round backed that up.

For one thing, his health remains questionable. A mild oblique strain, for instance, limited his on-course preparations for the BMW Championship to nine holes in Wednesday’s pro-am. Four back surgeries have taken a toll.

“It’s just one of those things where some days I feel better than others,’’ he said. “I’m going to have some difficulties here and there. I’ve got to fight through it and be patient.’’

Another factor may be even more important. Woods admits that the game is changing and there’s at least some doubt that he can change with it. He opened up on that after his round on Saturday.

“What’s amazing is how many guys are under par on this golf course (67 of 69 after Saturday’s third round). Who would have guessed that going into this week,’’ he said. “We all thought this was one of the more tough and bigger ballparks, and the whole field is playing well.’’

The younger stars just don’t think the way the older ones – and Woods, at 43, is one of those – do now.

“When I first came out on tour there were a lot of 1-irons off the tees, just to kind of get it in play,’’ he said. “Now you just pull out driver, bomb it down there and you’re looking for three to four good weeks a year. That’s how you play. It’s not consistency. It’s not about making a bunch of cuts. It’s about having three-four good weeks a year. That’s the difference. The guys understand that.’’

The short game, chipping and putting, used to play a big part in determining a player’s success – or lack of it. That’s not the case now.

“With today’s equipment you can maximize a driver, and some of the guys sacrifice stuff around the greens or short irons,’’ he said. “The driver is the most important club in the bag now, just because of the way the game is played.’’

Woods needs one more win to tie Sam Snead’s record 81 victories on the PGA Tour and – just based on his age – Woods would seem in position to break it. But those critical wins won’t come easily.

Lots of great rounds, by lots of great players, have been shot over Medinah Country Club’s No. 3 course over the years. So many, in fact, that it’s tricky determining which one was the best.

Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama staked the best claim yet to the record on the storied course on Saturday. The layout that opened in 1923 has hosted three U.S. Opens and two PGA Championships and a Western Open prior to this week’s BMW Championship, and Matsuyama has played it the best so far.

He toured it in 9-under-par 63 – nine birdies and nine pars – in Friday’s second round of the second of three tournaments comprising the PGA Tour’s season-ending FedEx Cup Playoffs. The course record had been 65, set by Tiger Woods and Mike Weir in the third round of the 2006 PGA Championship and tied twice in Thursday’s first round by Justin Thomas and Jason Kokrak.

When it comes to Medinah No. 3, however, the assessment of a record score isn’t that simple. Tom Bendelow was the architect for the original design, and there were many re-designs over the years. In fact, different architects provided major tweaks to the course as part of the preparations for each of the major championships as well as the 2012 Ryder Cup played there.

The first record score on the course was a 63 by Lighthorse Harry Cooper, one of the game’s top stars from almost a century ago. He posted that number in the 1930 Medinah Open, an event played only that one year. The No. 3 course was a par-70 then and its yardage was only 6,261 yards.

Three years later it was expanded into a par-71 layout, and it remained that way until 1986. Best score on that course was 67, shot by eight players in various big tournaments.

Dick Metz did it first, in the 1939 Western Open. Lloyd Mangrum, Harold “Jug’’ McSpaden and Johnny Palmer matched it in the 1946 Chicago Victory National Open. Cary Middlecoff had a 67 en route to winning the 1949 U.S. Open. Billy Casper did it in the 1962 Western, George Archer in the 1966 Western and Frand Beard in the 1975 U.S. Open.

The course became a par-72 in time for the 1988 U.S. Senior Open and Skip Kendall had lowered the record to 65 in the 1999 PGA Championship.

Now the course measures 7,613 yards from the back tees. While par has remained at 72 the yardage has gradually increased with each re-design. Matsuyama’s record is the one that counts now – at least sort of. Director of golf Marty DeAngelo says he has a card turned on for another 63 – by Brent Geiberger in an informal round three years ago. It hasn’t been publicized much, but DeAngelo says Geiberger did play the course from the tips.

“I like the idea of a course record coming from the current design, so (the 63) should stand,’’ said DeAngelo. “The way it’s played currently is the way it’s been played since the Ryder Cup.’’

Matsuyama’s score – as good as it was — could have been better. He failed to make birdie on either of the back nine par-5s. Still, he made 165 feet 8 inches worth of putts, climaxed by a 30-footer for birdie on the last hole. That was the story of his great day.

“I did make a lot of long putts, and that was the difference,’’ said Matsuyama, speaking through a translator, “Honestly, I didn’t know it was for a course record, but I’m happy with the way I played.’’

Matsuyama’s putting has rarely approached the level of Friday, and he’s received “a lot of advice, good advice from some real good putting professionals.’’

He wouldn’t name them, but was happy to see his game perk up.

“My season so far has been not bad – better than last year but nothing that I’m satisfied with,’’ he said. “I’ve worked hard, and it’s not that (the hot round) came out of the blue. But I’m very happy and happily surprised, I guess.’’

He hardly has the tournament under control at its halfway point, however. Matsuyama stands at 12-under-par 132 and is only one stroke ahead of Patrick Cantlay and Tony Finau. First-round co-leader Justin Thomas, a former FedEx Cup winner, is another shot back.

Tony Finau is thinking victory at the halfway point of the BMW Championship, and there’s no reason he shouldn’t be. Finau is just a shot behind leader Hideki Matsuyama heading into Saturday’s Round 3 at Medinah.

Finau shot 66 on Friday in an effort to keep in close touch with the record-setting Matsuyama and believes Medinah No. 3 is a good fit for him.

“It’s a great driving golf course. It looks pretty good to me off the tee, and I’m a very visual, very creative player,’’ said Finau. “That plays a big part of the story.’’

Finau crushed a 333-yard drive on the par-4 eighteenth hole while trying to get into a share of the lead with Matusyama. He had only 115 yards to the pin but left his approach short and settled for a par and a one-stroke deficit. He’s tied for second with Patrick Cantlay.

“I feel like a win is around the corner,’’ said Finau. “I’ve felt that way all season. Coming off (last year’s) Ryder Cup I got some great experience there and had a couple good loos at majors this year. I haven’t gotten it done, but one of these times I know it’s going to be my turn. Hopefully that’s Sunday. If not, it will be next Sunday (the final round of The Tour Championship in Atlanta and the last round of these FedEx Cup Playoffs).

Tiger’s outlook dims

Tiger Woods’ chances of defending his title in next week’s Tour Championship are now slim and none.

Woods started the BMW Championship in 38th place in the FedEx Cup standings and needs to finish in the top 30 after the weekend round at Medinah to qualify for a place at East Lake. His first two rounds at Medinah (71-71) don’t suggest that’s likely.

“I’m going to have to have a great weekend and make a lot of birdies and post some rounds in the mid-60s to give myself a chance,’’ said Woods, who is 2-under-par after the first 36 holes.

Putting was Woods’ main problem on Friday.

“I left quite a few shots out there,’’ he said. “I hit the ball a lot better today, which is great, but I didn’t really make anything until 14.’’

By then it was too late to salvage his second round and – barring a huge comeback — his season will come to an end when his last putt drops at Medinah. He’s not the only top star struggling, either. Dustin Johnson is tied with Woods, 10 shots off the lead, and Phil Mickelson is still another shot back.

Too little, too late?

Jordan Spieth is only one shot better than Woods and Johnson, but at least he feels he has some momentum going into the weekend.

“I was able to close with three birdies in the last five holes,’’ said Spieth. “I probably need to go somewhere around 10-under on the weekend, but I certainly have the firepower to do it. I feel very confident holding the putter in my hands right now. I just simply need a few birdie putts. There hasn’t been enough of them.’’

Standing at 3-under Spieth is tied with two former BMW champions, Jason Day and Justin Rose, and Matt Kuchar. Dylan Fritelli, winner of this year’s John Deere Classic, is also in that group.