OLD HICKORY – Some golf history could be made on Sunday at the LPGA Legends Tour’s ISPS Handa Cup.

The World team was winless in the first seven stagings of the team competition that matches LPGA players 45 and over from the U.S. against their Legends counterparts who were born internationally. The U.S. won the first six meetings and last year’s ended in a 24-24 tie at the Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla.

This eighth staging, at Hermitage Golf Club on the outskirts of Nashville, could have a much different result based on what transpired in Saturday’s 12 team matches. The World team opened a 14-10 lead and just needs to protect it in Sunday’s 12 singles matches. Each match is worth two points.

Saturday’s opening day of the competition saw the World team play the U.S. to a 6-6 standoff in the morning best ball matches and then dominate in the afternoon alternate shot battles.

The U.S. won only one match in the afternoon, that one coming from the team of Rosie Jones and Beth Daniel. Jones-Daniel also won in the morning, as Jones continued her reign as the dominant individual in the team competition. The two wins on Saturday gave Jones a lifetime 17-3-2 record in Handa Cup matches. No other player on either team has won more than 13 times.

“I’ve just had good partners,’’ said Jones. “Team events make me knuckle down. I try to putt well in all of them and try to not make any mistakes.’’

Jones has won with a variety of partners over the years and believes her last loss was five years ago. Her partners prior to Daniel were usually Patty Sheehan or Sherri Steinhauer.

“Both couldn’t be here this year,’’ said Jones, “but they can put me with anybody who can tolerate my short drives. Beth Daniel this week is hitting the ball really good. She’s 30 yards closer (to the green) than I normally would be, so it’s easier for me to hit wedges in.’’

Daniel is no slouch in Handa Cup play, either. She has a 12-5-2 record. Like Jones, she’s not used to seeing her U.S. team trail in the competition.

“I was kind of surprised,’’ said Jones. “But we have 24 points out there. That’s what we’ve got to bank on.’’

The U.S. will get a dose of reality in the first singles match, at 9 a.m. on Sunday when Daniel faces long-hitting Laura Davies. Davies sparked the World team on Saturday while playing with Trish Johnson. The duo from England was 5-under-par in best ball and a staggering 6-under in alternate shot en route to winning both times.

Their morning match was the first of the competition and opponents Pat Bradley and Betsy King took charge for the U.S. early with birdies on the first three holes. Davies-Johnson rallied back, however, and got the win when Davies rolled in a 20-foot downhill birdie putt on the final hole.

After Saturday’s matches were over World team captain Pia Nilsson quickly made Davies the first player to go off in singles on Sunday. Daniel will be a tough opponent. Jones will try to keep her winning streak going in the second singles match against Johnson, Davies’ partner on Saturday.

Davies is the only player on the World team to win a title in the Sara Lee Classic, an LPGA stop at Hermitage from 1988-2002. Davies won that event in 1994. The only other players in this Handa Cup to win the Sara Lee Classic didn’t do so well on Saturday. Nancy Lopez (1991) and Barb Mucha (1998) were paired in both the best ball and alternate shot formats and were losers in both.

SATURDAY’S RESULTS

Morning best ball: Laura Davies-Trish Johnson, World, def. Pat Bradley-Betsy King; Lorie Kane-Alicia Dibos, World, def. Nancy Lopez-Barb Mucha; Sherri Turner-Laurie Rinker, U.S., def. Liselotte Neumann-Jane Crafter; Cindy Figg-Currier-Christa Johnson, U.S., def. Gail Graham-Jenny Lidback; Helen Alfredsson-Jan Stephenson, World, def. Nancy Scranton-Cindy Rarick; Beth Daniel-Rose Jones, U.S., def. Alison Nicholas-Mieko Nomura.

Afternoon alternate shot: Davies-Johnson, World, def. Turner-Rinker; Neumann-Dibos, World, def. Bradley-King; Figg-Currier-Christa Johnson, U.S., tied with Kane-Graham; Alfredsson-Nicholas def. Lopez-Mucha; Daniel-Jones def. Crafter-Nomura; Scranton-Rarick tied with Lidback-Stephenson.

SUNDAY’S SINGLES MATCHES

9 a.m. – Daniel vs. Davies; 9:10 – Jones vs. Trish Johnson; 9:20 – Rarick vs. Lidback; 9:30 – Mucha vs. Alfredsson; 9:40 – Lopez vs. Nicholas; 9:50 – Christa Johnson vs. Kane; 10 a.m. – Bradley vs. Nomura; 10:10 – Rinker vs. Crafter; 10:20 – Scranton vs. Neumann; 10:30 – Figg-Currier vs. Dibos; 10:40 – Turner vs. Stephenson; 10:50 – King vs. Graham.

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OLD HICKORY, Tenn. – The ISPS Handa Cup is one of the premier events on the LPGA’s Legends Tour and its eighth staging at Hermitage Golf Club on the outskirts of Nashville figures to be something special.

In fact, it could result in a breakthrough for the World team. It has never won the Handa Cup, but last year’s match ended in a 24-24 tie at Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla. Because ties go to the defending champion the U.S. was able to retain the cup for another year. This time the U.S. might not be so fortunate.

Both captains – JoAnne Carner for the U.S. and Sweden’s Pia Nilsson for the World – return from last year but with different approaches for organizing their teams.

Carner paired the same players for both the morning best ball matches on Hermitage’s front nine and the afternoon alternate shot matches on the back side. Nilsson will change up her teams after the morning session.

The U.S. team features a pairing of former champions of the Sara Lee Classic, the LPGA Tour stop at the Hermitage from 1988-2002. Nancy Lopez, who won the Sara Lee title in 1991, will play with Barb Mucha, the winner in 1998.

Most interesting of the matches, though, could involve best friends Cindy Rarick of the U.S. and Jan Stephenson of the World team. They’ll meet in both best ball and alternate shot, though Australian Stephenson will have different partners. She’s paired with Sweden’s Helen Alfredsson in the best ball and with Peru’s Jenny Lidback in alternate shot. Rarick will play both with Nancy Scranton.

The competition concludes with 12 singles matches on Sunday, so Rarick and Stephenson could be matched up a third time.

Hottest Legends’ competitor going into the competition is the World team’s Lorie Kane, the Canadian golfer who won the first Legends Tour Championship two weeks ago at the brutal Pete Dye Course in French Lick, Ind. The U.S. team, however, has the most successful all-time Handa Cup player in Rosie Jones who has a 15-3-2 record in the competition.

For all the Legends’ competitors the return to the General’s Retreat course at Hermitage, a 36-hole facility, is a sentimental homecoming. It was one of the most popular stops for the LPGA players during Sara Lee’s run as sponsor, and Thursday’s kickoff party and Friday’s pro-am reflected their affection for the layout designed by Gary Rogers Baird.

Most notable during the Handa Cup festivities was the arrival of Midori Miyazaki, the executive director for international affairs for sponsor International Sports Promotion Society. She arrived via a flight from London on Thursday afternoon, was a speaker at the kickoff party, played in the pro-am on Friday and then caught an evening flight back to London. Trips to France and Cambodia are on her calendar over the next week.

She maintains a whirlwind schedule, but the ISPS Handa Cup was a must stop.

“We’re happy to be involved in this fantastic event,’’ she declared to loud cheers at the kickoff/pairings party. ISPS also has connections with the PGA of Australia, the European Senior Tour and the Asian Tour.

Miyazaki describes herself as a “terrible’’ golfer. She’s not, but her appearance spoke volumes about the Handa Cup’s importance to both ISPS and the stars of the LPGA’s 45-and-over circuit.

ISPS was created by Dr. Haruhisa Handa, an international businessman and philanthropist. His humanitarian efforts include founding the Japanese Blind Golf Assn., and the Handa Cup is named in his honor.

HERE ARE THE PAIRINGS

MORNING BEST BALL MATCHES

9 a.m. — Pat Bradley-Betsy King, U.S., vs. Laura Davies-Trish Johnson, England.

9:12 — Nancy Lopez-Barb Mucha, U.S., vs. Lorie Kane, Canada, and Alicia Dibos, Peru.

9:24 — Sherri Turner-Laurie Rinker, U.S., vs. Liselotte Neumann, Sweden, and Jane Crafter, Australia.

9:36 — Cindy Figg-Currier-Chris Johnson, U.S., vs. Gail Graham, Canada, and Jenny Lidback, Peru.

9:48 — Nancy Scranton-Cindy Rarick, U.S., vs. Helen Alfredsson, Sweden, and Jan Stephenson, Australia.

10 a.m. — Beth Daniel-Rosie Jones, U.S., vs. Mieko Nomura, Japan, and Alison Nicholas, England.

AFTERNOON ALTERNATE SHOT MATCHES

1 p.m. –Turner-Rinker, U.S., vs. Davies-Trish Johnson.

1:12 — Bradley-King, U.S., vs. Neumann-Dibos.

1:24 — Figg-Currier-Johnson, U.S., vs. Kane-Graham.

1:36 — Lopez-Mucha, U.S., vs. Nicholas-Alfredsson.

1:48 — Daniel-Jones, U.S., vs. Crafter-Nomura.

2 p.m. — Scranton-Rarick, U.S., vs. Lidback-Stephenson.

HANDA CUP: U.S. Legends have never lost to the World team

OLD HICKORY, Tenn. – The biggest season in the 13-year history of the LPGA Legends Tour reaches a climax this week with the eighth playing of the ISPS Handa Cup at Hermitage Golf Club.

The international team event features some of the biggest names in women’s golf with the U.S. squad, captained by JoAnne Carner, taking on the World team, led by Sweden’s Pia Nilsson.

Canadian Lorie Kane, coming off her victory two weeks ago in the first LPGA Legends Championship at French Lick, Ind., heads the World squad that also includes England’s Laura Davies and Trish Johnson, Australian Jan Stephenson and Sweden’s Helen Afredsson and Liselotte Neumann.

Also on the World squad are Jane Crafter, of Australia; Alicia Dibos and Jenny Lidback, Peru; Gail Graham, Canada; Alison Nicholas, England; and Mieko Nomura, Japan.

Carner’s U.S. squad features Pat Bradley, Beth Daniel, Rosie Jones, Betsy King and Nancy Lopez among its 12 players who will compete in team matches on Saturday and singles matches on Sunday. Jones has a dazzling 15-3-2 record in ISPS Handa Cup play – the best of any players in the competition.

Rounding out the U.S. roster are Cindy Figg-Currier, Christa Johnson, Barb Mucha, Cindy Rarick, Laurie Rinker, Nancy Scranton and Sherri Turner. Lori West will be Carner’s assistant captain and South Africa’s Sally Little will back up Nilsson.

Team pairings and matchups for Saturday’s competition will be announced at Thursday night’s opening ceremonies. The players on both squads will participate in a Friday pro-am before the Handa Cup tees off on Saturday.

The Handa Cup was first played in 2006 at World Golf Village in St. Augustine, Fla. It was conducted there for five years, then moved to Portsmouth, N.H., for two stagings and was contested last year at Reunion Resort in Orlando, Fla. The U.S. won the first six battles but last year’s ended in a 24-24 tie with Carner and Nilsson also the competing captains.

Saturday’s program includes 12 team matches of nine holes each. Six will be played in the morning starting at 9 a.m. on the front nine using best ball format. The six afternoon matches will start at 1 p.m. on the back nine using the modified alternate shot format. Unlike the Solheim Cup, the Handa Cup is not a match play event. It’s stroke play within each match.

While team competition is a rarity on all the pro tours, the LPGA Legends do have familiarity with the General’s Retreat layout – one of two 18-holers at the well-regarded Hermitage public facility on the outskirts of Nashville. It hosted the LPGA’s Sara Lee Classic from 1988-2002 and three of the players in this year’s Handa Cup were winners of the Sara Lee Classic.

Davies won in 1994 and Mucha in 1998 but the most memorable of the champions was ’91 winner Nancy Lopez. Then pregnant with her third child Lopez shot a course record 7-under-par 65 in the first round en route to her 44th LPGA title with a 54-hole score of 10-under-par 206.

Lopez went on to win 48 LPGA titles and was a key player in last year’s Handa Cup. It was her last putt that enabled the U.S. to salvage a tie in the team competition.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – Lorie Kane let a victory slip away on the LPGA Legends Tour two weeks ago when she lost in a five-hole playoff to Rosie Jones in the Harris Charity Classic in Maine.

There was no such negative carryover to Sunday when Kane put herself in position to win again, however. The Canadian golfer put a 40-foot chip shot to within two inches of the cup on the final hole for the birdie she needed to bag the biggest title in the history of the 13-year old circuit for LPGA players who have reached their 45th birthday. All the players endured strong winds (which had the sponsors’ banners blowing, photo below) and day-long rains before Kane won her title.

Kane and playing partner Laurie Rinker started the round tied for the lead at 3-under-par with Val Skinner, the only other player in red numbers, another shot back.

Skinner hooked her first tee shot into a hazard, setting the stage for an opening bogey that kept her chasing the co-leaders the rest of the way. Kane opened a two-stroke lead on the front nine, then gave it back with bogeys at Nos. 13 and 14. That set the stage for a dramatic finish at the finishing hole, a dogleg par-5.

A 25-foot birdie putt pulled Skinner to 2-under and within a shot of the leaders as Kain and Rinker prepared to hit their second shots to the green.

“You have to hit a good shot because it’s off a sidehill-downhill lie,’’ said Kane. “I knew Laurie could have a little trouble with her lie and – very fortunate for me – I missed my shot in the right spot. I wound up a little right of where I wanted to go but had a good chance to chip in.’’

Rinker hit her second shot thin and her third short of the green. She wound up with a bogey after Kane notched her birdie to finish at 3-under-par 213. The bogey dropped Rinker into a tie with Skinner, two strokes behind the winner.

The first LPGA Legends Championship, staged on the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort, had the most players (58) and the biggest purse ($500,000) in the circuit’s history. Kane claimed the biggest prize — $60,000 – for winning the only 54-hole event of the season. Her only previous Legends win came in a one-day tourney.

“I don’t consider myself a legend, but they gave me a place to play,’’ said Kane. “This will give me the boost my game needed. I am totally honored to win here. I had the chance to meet Pete Dye, and I really like the golf course. It’s fun to play.’’

Not everyone agreed. The Dye Course was brutal in Sunday’s conditions. A steady morning rain required the lift, clean and place rule to be put into effect and misty, cold, windy weather was prevalent throughout the day. Only fourth place Laura Davies (1-under 71) bettered par in the final round and Kane and Trish Johnson, who finished in a tie for ninth, matched it. Kane hadn’t played in weather like that since last year’s Women’s British Open.

“I’m part-Irish and part-Scottish,’’ said Kane. “But that was a tough test of golf, and it was so much fun to win again.’’

Kane has struggled on the LPGA circuit and plans to improve her status at the fall qualifying school after competing for the World team in the Legends’ Handa Cup event in Nashville, Tenn.

The LPGA Legends Championship is scheduled to be played on the Dye Course the next two years and the Legends Hall of Fame at the nearby West Baden Springs Hotel will be completed in time for next year’s event, tentatively planned for August. Another women’s competition, the Big Ten Championship, will be played on the Dye Course in May. It has been held at French Lick’s Donald Ross Course the last two years.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The wind blew harder and from a different direction in Saturday’s second round of the LPGA Legends Championship. Some of the pin positions at the Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort were more difficult, too.

“Add in that Pete Dye designed this place, and that raised it another notch,’’ added Canadian Lorie Kane, who appreciated the change in conditions and coped with them better than most of her rivals. “The golf course played very tough.’’

Still, Kane posted 2-under-par 70 and ended the day in a tie for the lead with Laurie Rinker at 3-under-par 141. Val Skinner, who also shot 70, was alone in third, a shot back of the co-leaders, and no other players were under par for the first 36 holes of the 54-hole test that pays $75,000 to the champion after Sunday’s final round.

The $500,000 purse and 58-player field make this the biggest event in the 13-year history of the LPGA’s official senior circuit.

Skinner, who doubles as an analyst for Golf Channel, started her round with two bogeys, but found herself suddenly in contention after making a 25-foot birdie putt at No. 17 and adding another bird at the par-5 finishing hole. Like Kane she did some muttering about the Dye design style, described by Jan Stephenson before the tournament as “diabolical.’’

“It was a lot of fun to play, but you’ve got to get control of your ball,’’ said Skinner. “It’s in great shape and a nice walk out there, but I said Pete’s name a few times. It was tough, a very challenging golf course.’’

No one could appreciate that any better than first-round leader Dina Ammaccapane. She posted a women’s course record 66 on Friday before soaring to an 81 on Saturday.

Rinker, her playing partner in the last group, was two shots back when play started. She got within one with a birdie at No. 2 and was the solo leader after Ammaccapane made double bogey at the par-3 fourth. On Saturday Rinker celebrated her 51st birthday.

“But I feel a couple years older after that round,’’ she said. “I’m still very pleased with my position.’’

Kane was in the thick of things in the Legends’ last tournament, the Harris Charity Classic in Maine. She wound up losing the title to Rosie Jones in a five-hole playoff. Kane said that difficult loss carried no scars.

“At this day and age in my career I’m just happy for being able to compete with the great legends of this game,’’ said Kane. “(In Sunday’s final round) I’ll just try to make as many birdies as I can. You’ve got the women who got the LPGA Tour to the next level, and now they’re getting the Legends Tour to the next level. I can only imagine that they’ll come out firing. No lead is safe.’’

Not many came out firing on Saturday. Jean Bartholomew was an exception. She shot the day’s best of four sub-par round – a 3-under 69. The four-player Super Senior tournament got started with Jane Blalock posting a 1-over-par 73 from shorter tees than the regular Legends players used. She owns a five-stroke lead on Sandra Palmer in that 36-hole competition.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The five-year old Pete Dye Course at French Lick Resort figured to be a mystery to the players in the LPGA Legends Championship. The layout, loaded with elevation changes and spectacular views, had never hosted a premier women’s event before welcoming the biggest in the history of the LPGA’s senior circuit.

Dina Ammaccapane, a Legends Tour rookie, didn’t find the layout all that difficult in Friday’s first round, however. She made birdies on the last four holes en route to posting a 6-under-par 66 that will go down as the competitive course record.

Ammaccapane had played in just two previous Legends tourneys before taking charge early in the 13-year old circuit’s milestone event. The 54-hole tourney drew the Legends’ biggest field ever (58 players) and offered the biggest purse ($500,000). Sunday’s champion will earn $75,000.

“I’m the baby of this bunch, so I’m just getting my feet wet,’’ said Ammaccapane, who spent 21 seasons on the LPGA Tour after helping San Jose State to the 1989 NCAA Championship.

Ammaccapane finished Round 1 with a two-stroke lead over Laurie Rinker and Laura Davies. Only Davies threatened Ammaccapane’s domination of the first round. Davies actually held the lead briefly, after getting to 7-under through 15 holes.

Davies dropped back, however, with a double bogey at No. 16, a par-3, and then lipped out a par putt on the par-5 finishing hole.

Ammaccapane, whose older sister Danielle was also in the field, made birdies from five, three and 12 feet on Nos. 15-17 and then got up and down for birdie on the par-5 finishing hole thanks to a great chip to within a foot.

“This course favors my game. I’m a cutter, as opposed to the girls who draw the ball,’’ said Ammaccapane, who did no research on the Dye course prior to playing her two practice rounds this week. “I took notes, and I took a lot of trouble out of play.’’

Rinker could have gathered some advance knowledge. Her brother Larry, a former PGA Tour player, competed on the Dye Course in the 2010 Professional Players National Championship. Rinker, though, didn’t seek his advice. Instead, she hired Caleb Powers – a regular caddie at French Lick.

“He knows the course like the back of his hand,’’ said Rinker. “I heard this course was tricky, so I wanted local knowledge. You’ve got to know where you’re going.’’

Rinker pretty much knew until facing a long eagle putt on the 18th green that could have tied her with Ammaccapane for the lead. Rinker not only missed that one, but also failed to connect on her birdie try. She had no complaints with her 68, however.

“I played very well. I drove the ball well and hit my irons well,’’ she said. “I kept it in good spots. This course is beautiful, kind of target golf, and — not playing as competitively as much as I used to do – you’ve got to put a lot of mental effort into it.’’

Saturday’s second round will also include the start the of the 36-hole Super Seniors competition. It’ll be between four players – Susie Berning, Jane Blalock, Donna Caponi and Sandra Palmer.

FRENCH LICK, Ind. – The stage is set for what amounts to more than just a golf tournament. The Legends Championship presented by Humana is a week-long celebration of women’s golf at French Lick Resort.

The Legends is the official senior tour of the Ladies PGA. It has been in existence since 2000, but the 54-hole tournament that tees off on Friday, is the circuit’s biggest event yet. It offers a record purse of $500,000 with Sunday’s champion receiving $75,000.

Veteran competitor Jane Blalock, chief executive officer of the circuit, calls it “the most significant event in the history of the Legends Tour.’’

French Lick, with a rich history in women’s golf, unveiled its new Legends Hall of Fame on Thursday night at the West Baden Springs Hotel prior Friday’s first tee shot by a field of about 60 LPGA stars of the past on the resort’s Pete Dye Course.

Kathy Whitworth, winner of 88 LPGA tournaments and six major championships, and Jan Stephenson, the leading career money-winner on the Legends circuit, will be the first inductees to the new Hall and Louise Suggs, Betsy Rawls and Mickey Wright were also honored on Thursday.

Suggs won the 1958 French Lick Women’s Open, the first of three LPGA events staged on the resort’s Donald Ross Course. That layout also hosted the LPGA Championships of 1959 and 1960, with Rawls and Wright the respective champions. Whitworth was in the field for those two majors.

“With our history of women’s golf – past, present and future – and the addition of the Legends Championship, it was a natural fit to create a Hall of Fame here for these legendary golfers,’’ said Dave Harner, French Lick’s director of golf. “Stephenson and Whitworth have done so much for women’s golf and are perfect choices for our first year of honoring these legendary golfers.’’

The Ross Course, which also hosted the 1924 PGA Championship won by Walter Hagen, underwent a renovation in 2008, but it won’t be the site of the Legends tourney. The well-received Dye Course, the last course designed by the legendary Indiana-based architect, will be the site of the competition that includes nine members of the LPGA Hall of Fame and six former Solheim Cup captains. The Dye course has previously hosted the Professional Players National Championship and the Big Ten men’s and women’s championships.

Among the competitors in the Legends Championship are Nancy Lopez, Joanne Carner, Betsy King, Beth Daniel, Pat Bradley, Amy Alcott, Donna Caponi and Hollis Stacy. All won at least 18 LPGA tournaments and were major tournament winners.

Laura Davies, Liselotte Neumann, Blalock and Rosie Jones are also among the leading competitors. Blalock and Caponi will join Hall of Famers Sandra Haynie and Sandra Palmer in a 36-hole Super Legends event on Saturday and Sunday.

This has been a tough season for Luke Donald. The world’s No. 1 player for 55 weeks in 2011 and 2012 missed the cut in both the British Open and PGA Championship. Some home cooking, though, got him out of his funk.

The former Northwestern golfer came into the BMW Championship on his home course and, presto!, his golf game is back in business.

Donald entered the tournament at No. 54 in the FedEx Cup Playoff rankings, leaving him with seemingly little hope of getting into the top 30 for next week’s Tour Championship in Atlanta. Missing that one would be painful, since another $8 million is on the line, and every qualifier will pick up at least $300,000 for just playing 72 more holes.

Oh, yes, there’s the matter of the $10 million bonus that goes to the FedEx Cup winner after the Tour Championship concludes the four-event series.

Donald has little hope of claiming the big prize, but at least he has a chance. His 67-66 finish at Conway Farms boosted him into a four-way tie for fourth place in the BMW Championship and elevated him from 54th to 29th in the FedEx Cup rankings.

“I thought I had to finish top five at the very worst for the week, and I was hoping that being a member here would help me,’’ said Donald. “I think it did a bit.’’

Despite his sub-par season Donald was in the spotlight at Conway, where he’s been a member been a member for 15 years. He started playing at the Lake Forest course when he was still a student at Northwestern and he campaigned with the Western Golf Assn. and PGA Tour to get the tournament moved from Cog Hill, the tourney’s home in Lemont for 20 years.

Donald believes his campaigning was worth it, and expects the tourney to return to Conway in 2015.

“It’s done well on all fronts – on fan attendance, on selling (corporate hospitality) tents and the players have been very positive about it,’’ said Donald. “It looks great on TV, and it’s been a success from my standpoint.’’

Donald was a success on the course thanks to birdies on the last two holes. He knew they would probably be needed to qualify him for Atlanta.

“There were nerves the last couple holes, probably from 15 onwards,’’ he said. “I knew I had gotten myself into position where we had a chance. Fortunately I was able to hit some good shoots when I needed it hit them.’’

Donald, 35, felt the need to do a painful thing as his game was seemingly slipping away. He recently replaced Pat Goss as his swing coach, turning to Chuck Cook instead. Goss was the head coach at NU when Donald played there and their working relationship continued into the professional ranks.

Goss remains Donald’s short-game coach, and his college loyalty is still intact. He left immediately after Monday’s round to attend Wildcat Golf Day at Evanston Golf Club. From there it’ll be on to East Lake in Atlanta where he hopes his sudden golf turn-around will continue. It’s still mathematically possible he could win the FedEx Cup.

“It’s unlikely, but it’s certainly been done before when you look at what Bill Haas did a couple years ago, winning – I think – from the 27th position,’’ said Donald. “I’ve notoriously played pretty well at East Lake. I’ve had chances to win there.’’

Donald was one of only two players to move into the top 30 at the BMW Championship. Nick Watney, who rallied with a 64 on Monday to finish second, also climbed into the top 30 at No. 12. Harris English and Lee Westwood, in the top 30 before the BMW Championship, finished outside of it.

Three others will Illinois connections advanced to East Lake. University of Illinois alum Steve Stricker, who was in the tie for fourth at Conway Farms, is No. 6 for the Playoffs. The five ahead of him – Tiger Woods, Henrik Stenson, Adam Scott, Zach Johnson and Matt Kuchar – will win the $10 million if they win in Atlanta. If none do Stricker could claim the biggest money prize in golf.

Wheaton’s Kevin Streelman goes in at No. 19 after finishing in a tie for 33rd on Monday. Another Illinois alum, D.A. Points, slipped to No. 28 after tying for 57th in the BMW Championship.

Slugger White, the PGA Tour’s vice president for rules and operations, knew rain was going to fall at the BMW Championship on Sunday. He just didn’t know how much.

The PGA Tour deals with weather issues all year long, and usually has the answer to minimizing the problems related to them. That wasn’t the case in the circuit’s first visit to Conway Farms in Lake Forest.

After Saturday’s third round White’s staff checked the weather forecasts. It called for about half the rain that pelted the course on Sunday and forced the suspension of the final round of the $8 million championship.

“We thought to was going to be about six hours of maybe constant rain, but just an accumulation of maybe a half an inch,’’ said White. “That’s not too much in a six-hour period. To me it was almost like a mist.’’

So the PGA Tour staff set time times similar to Saturday – all players off the first tee in twosomes beginning at 7:15 a.m. instead of sending them off in threesomes off both Nos. 1 and 10 to condense the playing time required.

White arrived at 6 a.m. on Sunday and it didn’t take long for him to realize the rain might be more than just a mist.

Play started on time but had to be suspended at 10 a.m. It resumed at 1:31 p.m. but was stopped again at 2:28 when puddles formed on the greens and fairways and in the bunkers. White and his staff went back out at 4 p.m. after the rain had subsided in hopes of getting the players back on the course. He was surprised again.

“It wasn’t even close to what we had when we started at 1:30. That was the reason there was no sense in going back out,’’ said White. “This course drains well, but Mother Nature just won’t give us a break as far as shutting this faucet off.’’

He scheduled the resumption of play for 8 a.m. on Monday, and Golf Channel will pick up coverage at 9 a.m.

White expects better weather on Monday when 64 of Sunday’s 70 starters will take to the course. Only six finished their final rounds before play was suspended for the day and 22 hadn’t even teed off. That group included leader Jim Furyk, who is scheduled to tee off in the last twosome at 9:40 a.m. on Monday.

Vince Pellegrino, vice president, tournaments for the Western Golf Assn., said gates would open at 7 a.m. on Monday and that anyone with a Sunday ticket would be allowed to return on Monday. Tickets will also be on sale, at the full price of $55. Some hospitality venues will be open.

Parking options may have to be adjusted, based on how the designated lots handled Sunday’s one inch-plus rainfall.

“We had a great week through Saturday,’’ said Pellegrino. “It’s just one of those things that’s unavoidable. We’re anticipating having a good-sized crowd (on Monday). We will have public transportation, the shuttles to and from Metra, as well.’’

Barring a playoff, White expects the tournament to be completed in six hours. He’s expecting scattered lake showers in the morning with sunshine peeking through as the day progresses.

The BMW Championship, first PGA Tour event ever at Conway Farms and first on Chicago’s North Shore since 1972, is the 22nd event of the season that has had delays in play for various reasons – fog, lightning, thunderstorms, snow, hail, sleet, frost, darkness, high winds.

Now a roving tournament after being an annual Chicago event until 2007, the BMW Championship has had suspensions in six of the last nine years. The last without a suspension was in 2011 at Cog Hill, in Lemont.

This season the PGA Tour has had two previous unscheduled Monday finishes – the Farmers Insurance Open because of fog and the Arnold Palmer Invitational because of thunderstorms.

Players competing for the biggest monetary prize in golf will have their travel plans altered thanks to this latest Monday finish. The top 30 in the FedEx Cup standings after the BMW Championship advance to the final stop in the four-event series, The Tour Championship that tees off on Thursday at East Lake in Atlanta.

All three of the FedEx Cup Playoff events this year have had a suspension in play, but only the BMW Championship was forced to finish a day later than scheduled.

For Jim Furyk, leader of the BMW Championship through 54 holes, Sunday turned into a day to watch football on television. For Steve Stricker, his closest pursuer, it was a day for family time.

For all the 64 players left in the third event of the four-tournament FedEx Cup Playoff series it was a day to change travel arrangements. They had to figure out how to get to Atlanta for the final tournament that tees off on Thursday.

“You’re used to getting to a tournament on Monday and having a routine, practice rounds, all that kind of stuff,’’ said Brandt Snedeker, winner of the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus last year and two strokes behind Furyk now. “Things are just going to be thrown off, but we’re used to this. It happens probably four or five times a year that we have to play on a Monday.’’

Furyk was supposed to start his final round at 12:40 p.m. on Sunday but won’t do it until 9:40 a.m. on Monday. He’s glad he didn’t have to hit a shot in Saturday’s downpours.

“It’s probably a positive because if I did get out on the golf course it would have only been for a hole or two,’’ he said. “It’s tough to get real excited about that. No one wants to slop it around in bad weather on a golf course where we’re playing the ball down.’’

The lift, clean and place rule is frequently put into effect when rain hampers tournament play, but it couldn’t be done at the BMW Championship because play had already started without that rule in place. It can’t be instituted after play starts because it wouldn’t be fair to all the players.

Of the six players to finish their round on Sunday the best was Rory McIlroy, the tourney’s defending champion. He shot 68, the same as his score on Saturday. Finishing at 7-over-par 291 for the 72 holes, he is the clubhouse leader but he won’t hold that honor for long once more players finish on Monday.

Dustin Johnson was the last player to complete his round on Sunday. He put his second shot into water at the par-5 18th and settled for a 72, good for a 72-hole score of 293. Though he doesn’t have to play on Monday, he will be watching closely to see if he winds up in the top 30 in the series standings and qualifies to play in Atlanta.

Kevin Chappell, Johnson’s playing partner, shot the same score at Conway Farms and will also have to sweat out Monday’s round to see if he’s still alive in the playoffs.

Stricker, one shot behind Furyk, joined the leader in being thankful he didn’t have to play on Sunday.

“We got the better end of the deal,’’ said Stricker. “It looked like pretty tough conditions for everybody.’’

Zach Johnson, three shots behind Furyk and also in the mix for the title, doesn’t feel a later arrival in Atlanta will matter much because the players all know that course already.

“There’s not a winner in all of this,’’ said Johnson. “If anything I feel really bad for the fans. I certainly feel bad for the WGA (Western Golf Assn.) and BMW because it was such a great championship up until this point.’’

Monday, in a sense, will be anticlimactic, with fewer fans likely to attend. The players will also be dealing with a changed course after the day-long rains. Soggy greens are slower than dry ones and wet fairways don’t allow for as much roll as they do before the rain falls.

“It’ll be completely different,’’ said Johnson. “Maybe you can be a little more aggressive, but yet you’ve still got to pay attention to how the course is playing. This course can bite you if you get too aggressive. You’ve just got to roll with it and hopefully get the speed of the greens down early.’’