With no guarantee of playing beyond this week, Van Pelt combined a great start and a great finish for a 6-under 65 to take a one-shot lead Thursday at The Barclays. He is No. 104 in the FedEx Cup. Only the top 100 advance to the next tournament.
McIlroy is the top seed after his amazing summer of winning two majors and a World Golf Championship. But the world's No. 1 player showed the effects of taking a week off to celebrate. He had a 3-over 74, his worst start to a tournament in two months.
