GREENSBORO, N.C. — Russell Henley shot 1-under 69 on Saturday to take a three-stroke lead in the Wyndham Championship and move a round away from his first PGA TOUR win in four years.

Henley, who tied the lowest 36-hole score on TOUR this year, couldn’t keep up that pace at Sedgefield Country Club. Yet, he rolled in a 33-foot putt for eagle on the par-5 15th and went on to finish at 15-under 195 as he tries to win his fourth career title and first since the 2017 Houston Open.

Tyler McCumber, the son of 10-time TOUR winner Mark McCumber, shot a 66 and was at 12 under in second. He’s searching for his first win.

The group of six four shots behind at 11 under included three FedExCup Playoff outsiders in Rory Sabbatini, Scott Piercy and Roger Sloan now on track to tee it up in the 125-man field for the postseason that starts next week at THE NORTHERN TRUST.

Sabbatini, the Olympic silver medalist last month, has used his momentum from Tokyo to make a charge in the FedExCup standings. His 69 included a birdie on the 17th hole that moved him from outside — he began the week at No. 141 — to a projected place of No. 122.

Piercy, too, continued his charge into the Playoffs with a 68. He was first man out at No. 126 when the week began. But his third straight round in in the 60s projected him to 93rd.

Sloan also needed a big week to continue his season and he’s gotten it so far with a second straight 64 to move from 131st in the standings to No. 102.

Others tied at 11 under were Branden Grace, Kevin Kisner and Kevin Na. Grace shot 64, Kisner 66 and Na 67.

Former FedExCup champion Justin Rose, who started the week 138th in the standings, shot 69 after a bogey on the final hole. He’s 126th in the projections.

There are no guarantees that current results mean anything come the next round — or next hole. Just ask Tyler Duncan, who made five birdies on his front nine to move up 61 spots to 101st.

But Duncan played the back nine at 3 over for a 69 — and dropped to 150th by round’s end.

It won’t be a normal final round either as the PGA TOUR will start earlier with the first golfers going off at 7 a.m. to beat expected bad weather later in the day. Golfers will also go off in threesomes and from the first and 10th tees.

Henley, who entered at No. 46, was locked into the Playoffs long before this event began. He’s focused on finishing out the victory, something he could not do two months ago when he was in a three-way tie for the top after three rounds of the U.S. Open.

Henley shot a final-round 76 at Torrey Pines to fall back.

He looked as if he’d regained his form with his eagle on No. 15. But Henley missed a 13-foot par putt on the 18th to drop a shot.

McCumber’s career best came this year with a second at the Corales Puntacana Resort and Club Championship in the Dominican Republic last September. He had missed his past six cuts before getting hot this week.

“You’ve got to stay in the process and I feel like I’ve been doing that pretty well and getting rewarded for it through the first three rounds this week, so taking that momentum into tomorrow,” he said.

SECOND ROUND

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Russell Henley shot a 6-under 64 on Friday to open a four-stroke lead halfway through the Wyndham Championship.

Henley was at 14-under 126, tying Stewart Cink at the RBC Heritage in April for the lowest 36-hole score this season in a tournament. Cink went on to win.

Olympic silver medalist Rory Sabbatini was tied for second with past champion Webb Simpson and Scott Piercy.

Sabbatini shot a 64, Simpson 65 and Piercy at 66.

Former FedExCup champion Justin Rose, outside the Playoffs at the start of the week, continued his surge toward the postseason with a 65 that left him at 9 under in a group with Tyler Duncan and Brian Stuard.

Duncan had the lowest score of the round at 62. Stuard shot 66.

When Henley teed off, the first-round leader had already been passed by Sabbatini, Piercy and Simpson. Henley, who opened on the back nine, got going with four straight birdies on Nos. Nos. 14-17 to regain the lead.

Henley added three more birdies on his final nine. It was a couple of months ago that Henley shared the halfway lead at the U.S. Open. He was among three leaders after 54 holes until falling off with final-round 76.

Henley hopes he can keep the same drive and mentality on the weekend. After all, this is not the U.S. Open and pars here will probably lead you out of contention.

“You have to do everything right,” Henley said. “So it’s kind of the same way except for I’m just mainly trying to keep committing to every shot off the tee and put myself in the fairway” where he can stay aggressive.

It was a good day for Sabbatini, Piercy and Rose, all who began the week outside the 125-man postseason cutoff, but have played themselves into THE NORTHERN TRUST next week with 36 holes to go.

Sabbatini, buoyed by his Tokyo experience, has moved from 141st in the FedExCup standings to a projected 95th. He tied his career low 36-hole score of 130, last accomplished in 2003 at the Shriner’s Hospitals for Children’s Open.

Piercy started this week as first man out at No. 126. His 64-66 start has him projected at 80th for the FedExCup Playoffs.

Rose, who won the 2018 FedExCup, was also outside at No. 138 when he teed off Thursday. He’s inside the top 125 after shooting 66-65.

It was not the case for Playoff outsider Rickie Fowler, who missed the cut after shooting 71-72. He had needed to finish 21st or better to keep his 11-season streak of advancing to golf’s postseason intact. Instead, Fowler will have a few weeks off before next season.

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

Sabbatini said his game kicked into gear in Tokyo — he finished with a 61 for the silver behind gold-medalist American Xander Schauffele — and has continued at the PGA TOUR’s final regular-season event.

His play at Sedgefield Country Club has him pointing toward the Playoffs. “I do potentially have a flight reservation, but I don’t know which direction.”

Piercy had made the pPayoffs the past six seasons.

Rose said his first two rounds have him thinking about more than the top-10 finish needed to continue his season: He’s aiming for his first PGA TOUR win since the Farmers Insurance Open in 2019.

“I know I need to finish top-10, but at the same time there’s no point limiting yourself to that kind of thinking,” he said. “Winning would go a long way to kind of feel like you can compete in the Playoffs.”

Among those missing the 3 under cut were Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama and veteran Ryan Moore, who will miss the Playoffs for the first time since it began in 2007.

FIRST ROUND

GREENSBORO, N.C. — Russell Henley shot an 8-under 62, his lowest round in more than two years, to take the lead Thursday in the suspended first round of the Wyndham Championship.

Henley birdied three of his final four holes for a two-stroke lead over Sung Kang, Ted Potter Jr., Chris Kirkand, Hudson Swofford, Scott Piercy and Michael Thompson in the PGA TOUR’s final Regular Season event. Adam Hadwin also was 6 under, but had two holes left when darkness ended play.

A storm halted play for 2 hours, 7 minutes, with 30 players unable to finish.

Past champion Webb Simpson and Kevin Kisner led a group of ten another stroke behind at 65 at Sedgefield Country Club, where many competitors are scrambling to make it into top 125 to advance to the FedExCup Playoffs that start next week at THE NORTHERN TRUST.

Henley, at No. 46 in the standings, had no worries about the postseason, but came out fast with a bogey-free round in chasing his first PGA TOUR victory in four years.

He moved in front with a two-putt birdie on the par-5 15th before closing with birdies on 17 and 18, the last with a 20-foot putt. He had with his lowest round on the TOUR since a career-low 61 at the John Deere Classic in 2019.

Henley has played some solid golf of late. He was tied for the 36-hole lead at the U.S. Open in June, then had two straight top-20 finishes before missing the cut at the Open Championship. He returned this week, hoping he can carry his strong play to the end.

“I haven’t won in years, so I feel like as well as I’ve been playing, I feel like I’ve underachieved a little bit,” he said.

“My mindset,” Henley continued, “is I feel if I can play my game, play my normal game, then I can maybe give myself a chance and that’s kind of where I’m at.”

There are several big names competing to keep their season’s alive. Adam Scott, who started at No. 121, and Matt Kuchar, at No. 124, both had strong starts at 66.

“I would like to play well this week and get a chance to play next week and keep getting my game into place,” Scott said.

Rickie Fowler, who came at 130th and needing a good week, didn’t help himself with a 71. Justin Rose, the Payne Stewart Award winner this week, has to finish in the top 10 to advance after coming in 138th. He opened with a 66, tied for 19th.

Masters champion Hideki Matsuyama was at 69, tied for 89th.

Olympic medalists Rory Sabbatini and C.T. Pan also are playing after the Tokyo Games. Sabbatini, who took silver for Slovakia behind U.S. gold medal winner Xander Schauffele, started with a 66.

Pan, from Chinese Taipei, won a seven-man playoff for the bronze. He shot a 68.