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ATLANTA - Chris Kirk and Billy Horschel have little in common except a clean card of 4-under 66 at the Tour Championship and their chances at the biggest payoff in golf. Kirk and Horschel, the top two seeds going into the FedEx Cup finale at East Lake, played in the final group and traded birdies - neither of them made a bogey - over four hours in steamy weather to share the lead. They need only to win the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup and its $10 million bonus. "Billy has obviously been playing some pretty incredible golf with winning last week and finishing second the week before," Kirk said. "And Ive been doing all right myself." Kirk is a 29-year-old who went to Georgia and plays golf without a pulse. Even when he chipped in from 80 feet on the 17th hole, he simply smiled and bowed his head before slapping hands with his caddie. Horschel is a 27-year-old who went to Florida, brash enough to wear octopus prints on his pants in the final round at a U.S. Open, to flip his cap around backward and to pump his fist for routine pars. They grew up playing amateur golf against each other. They were teammates in the Walker Cup. And they are leading the race to the FedEx Cup. "Were probably two completely opposite people in the sense that he just looks like hes moving very slow and nothing affects him," Horschel said. "I look like Im running around the golf course — literally last Sunday. But Chris and I get along very well. We seem to always play well when were paired together." Horschel won the BMW Championship last week and was seen sprinting off the fairway toward a portable toilet because he couldnt hold it anymore. Kirk won the Deutsche Bank Championship the previous week, and he surprised even himself when twice - a career high - he pumped his fist after making a putt. They didnt have the course to themselves. Masters champion Bubba Watson made seven birdies to offset a few mistakes, such as trying to hit a shot through a gap in the trees. It worked at Augusta National two years ago. His ball clipped a branch Thursday, leading to double bogey. A bogey from the bunker on the par-3 18th hole gave him a 67, leaving him in reasonable shape. Watson was tied with Patrick Reed, Jim Furyk and Jason Day. The top five seeds need only to win the Tour Championship to claim the FedEx Cup. Watson is third. Rory McIlroy is at No. 4, and he didnt hurt himself. McIlroy wasnt at his best, though he made enough birdies and key par saves for a 69 that kept him very much in the hunt. "You can really shoot yourself out of it," McIlroy said. "Even though I didnt play great, I kept it together." Hunter Mahan might have shot himself out of it. Mahan is seeded fifth and opened with a 74. Only one other player in the 29-man field - Geoff Ogilvy, who is just happy to have made it to the Tour Championship - had a worse score. Mahan, one of three captains picks for the Ryder Cup, has broken par once in his last nine rounds since winning The Barclays. Kirk was left off the Ryder Cup team, even though he has two wins this season and had just won a FedEx Cup playoff event the day before U.S. captain Tom Watson announced his three picks. Horschel might be the hottest in golf at the moment. He is prone to go on big streaks like this. They have only one cup in mind, and they took a big step toward it Thursday. "This is my sixth week in a row. I havent played more than three events in a row this year," Horschel said. "But I have no issues with that. Listen, this is the FedEx Cup playoffs. If you cant get yourself in shape and get up for it on a daily basis, they why are you playing this game? "Its our playoffs. Its like the World Series or the NBA championships and NFL playoffs. And were all tired and weve just got to figure how to put it out of our mind and go out and play golf." Horschel has more on his mind than just a $10 million bonus. His wife is expecting their first child in two weeks. He said even if she were to go into labour early, they agreed that he should stay in Atlanta and try to win the FedEx Cup. DIVOTS: Jason Days coach and caddie, Colin Swatton, had to stop after eight holes when his back locked up on him. Days mental coach caddied the rest of the way. ... Cameron Tringale made his debut in the Tour Championship with a 68, but it wasnt his first time at East Lake. He played at Georgia Tech, which has a corporate membership at East Lake. ... The average score was 69.8. Robinson Cano Jersey . Louis still looking for a way out of Tampa Bay, the 38-year-old NHL veteran isnt showing his cards. Sam Tuivailala Jersey . "Hes over there," the first baseman said. "You dont need to talk to anybody else." Indeed, Peralta did it all as the majors top team won again. https://www.cheapmariners.com/2045k-j-p-...y-mariners.html. The Canadians led for much of the game before Argentina forced overtime in the dying seconds of the fourth quarter. Canada weathered the storm after squandering a lead with a series of made shots. "Its a fantastic win for our country with 11 first-time Canadian national team members," said head coach Roy Rana. Erik Swanson Jersey . Picard had a goal and two assists to help Canada improve to 2-0 at the tournament. Seven different players scored for the two-time defending champions. "Today all four lines played excellent," said head coach Laura Schuler. Ken Griffey Jr. Mariners Jersey . - Jason Day and Cameron Tringale shot an 8-under 64 on Friday in modified alternate-shot play to increase their lead to three strokes in the Franklin Templeton Shootout.SINGAPORE - Eugenie Bouchards brilliant season on the WTA Tour came to an anticlimactic end.Bouchard was defeated 6-1, 6-1 by Serena Williams on Thursday, eliminating her from semifinal contention at the season-ending WTA Finals.The native of Westmount, Que., struggled at the prestigious tournament, failing to win a set in three straight losses against Simona Halep, Ana Ivanovic and Williams.Still, the mere fact that Bouchard made it to a tournament reserved for the top eight players in the world in her first full season on the tour outweighs the disappointment of her tough finish in Singapore.Yeah, its been fun, Bouchard said of her WTA Finals debut. Definitely a unique experience compared to any other tournament, one I would love to come back to in the future.Definitely disappointed with my play this whole week, but I feel like I can do so much better. Thats a positive I can take out of it as well.Despite the way it ended, this season was a resounding success for Bouchard. The 20-year-old made a big splash at the Grand Slam level, advancing to the Wimbledon final and the semifinals of the Australian Open and French Open.She rose to No. 5 in the world, the highest position ever achieved by a Canadian, and won her first WTA tournament in May in Nurnberg, Germany.Its been crazy, hectic, intense. I dont know, those words come to mind, Bouchard said of the last 10 months. Really enjoyable as well. No matter how tough its been, I love playing tennis.Bouchard came into the tournament with only two tour matches in a month due to injuries, and won only 11 games across her three matches.I didnt have ideal preparation but that can happen to a number of players at any given tournament, she said.Bouchard said she was impressed with the carnival atmosphere of the WTA Finals, complete with pyrotechnics for the player pre-match introductions.I tweeted that before I knew the entrance was so grand. Then the first time I walked out I was like, This is actually like the Hunger Games, she said. Yeah, just like were walking out, one person left standing, walking out to our death maybe. It was intense.Bouchard said shell take some time off to relax before next season starts early next year.Im going to go into hibernation mode. Dont know when Ill wake up. Might be days; might be weeks, she said.Ill keep you guys posted when I do wake up eventually. Going to eat some cookie dough, hug my little brother. Thats all in my plans right now.Williams rebounded from the worst beating of her professional career to rout Bouchard, yet her title defence remains in the balance.Williams was humbled by Halep the previous day, when the 18-time Grand Slam champion won only two games.Williams will make the final four unless Ivanovic manages to beat Halep in straight sets on Friday. Halep is guaranteed a semifinal berth.Meanwhile, the outcome of the other group remains uncertain, with none of the four players qualified for the semis, and none out of contention.ddddddddddddPetra Kvitova beat Maria Sharapova 6-3, 6-2, further eroding the Russian players hopes of claiming the year-end No. 1 ranking.Sharapova, who needs to win the title and rely on Williams not reaching the final if she is to bump the American from the top spot, fell to a 0-2 record while Kvitova is 1-1.In order for Sharapova to progress to the semis, she will need to win her last match against Agnieszka Radwanska and rely on Caroline Wozniacki beating Kvitova, and have both matches decided in straight sets.Williams credited her coach Patrick Mouratoglou with lifting her out of the doldrums and preparing her for Thursdays match.I started to believe that maybe I could come play another match, Williams said. I wasnt quite sure that I could.I was feeling mighty low. I was able to feed off this belief. I know that sounds weird, even though Ive won so many titles, I still at some point feel like, Oh gosh, maybe I might not be able to do this or maybe I might not be able to do that?Williams was fatalistic about whether she will make the semifinals and remain in the running for a third straight title at the season-ending championships.If I wanted to win and be a part of the event, I should have won my match yesterday or should have done better, Williams said. If I dont qualify, Ill be sad, but it wasnt my year. Im not going to fall out and die.Sharapova, who lost the Wimbledon final to Kvitova in 2011, beat the Czech left-hander in their past five meetings and started brightly by winning the opening two games. But Kvitova took over from there, winning 11 of the next 12 games.Kvitova said she was feeling burnt out during her opening loss to Radwanska, so took an unusual approach to freshen up for Thursday.When I lost against Aga ... I was so tired and sick of the tennis for a moment, Kvitova said. So I didnt practice today at all, and I just really relaxed and cleaned my mind a little bit.Earlier, Wozniacki moved closer to a place in the semis by beating Radwanska 7-5, 6-3 for her second win in the group stage.The first set, which began with four service breaks in five games, lasted 67 minutes and contained some lengthy rallies that were punctuated by superb shot-making.Radwanska ended up the loser but played a couple of extraordinary volley winners: One picked up at her shoelaces and lifted diagonally over the net, and another leaping effort played with her back to the net.I just needed some more good serves as well in that match, said Radwanska, who has a win and a loss.Wozniacki was able to smile after Radwanskas trick shots.Im like, OK, you know what, thats just too good, Wozniacki said. You can either get frustrated or laugh — its better to laugh. ' ' '