But his opposite number Jim Furyk faces a similar scenario with one of his four picks, Phil Mickelson, struggling just a week before the big showdown in Paris and three of his key players propping up the field in the Tour Championship in Atlanta.

Mickelson, 48, won for the first time since his 2013 Open Championship victory when he captured the WGC-Mexico Championship in April. Since then he’s recorded just one top-10 finish. But that came in June and while he’s made this week’s Tour Championship at East Lake he was tied 25th in the 30-man field after adding a two-over 72 to his opening 73.

While he was ranked in the top three for strokes gained around the green, the left-hander was last for proximity to the hole and as a result, fourth last for putting.

It’s not the kind of form he was looking for as the USA chases its first Ryder Cup win away from home for 25 years in what’s likely to be his last away match as a player.

Mickelson believes the FedEx Cup has been a boost to American chances in the Ryder Cup, explaining: “We would often times have a four-to six-week break after the PGA Championship, and a lot of times guys would take some time off and head into The Ryder Cup not as sharp competitively as we would like.

“So the FedExCup has been a huge thing for us to compete and play at the highest level, so to compete and go right into The Ryder Cup has been a very good thing for our side.”

That’s clearly a doubled-edged sword if players are struggling for confidence and it will be interesting to see how FedEx Cup leader Bryson DeChambeau reacts now after he made seven bogeys in a 75-over to lie second last in the 30-man field with Keegan Bradley and Masters champion Patrick Reed on six-over.

The self-proclaimed golfing scientist was having a torrid time in Atlanta, especially his driving. He hit just six of 14 fairways in an opening 71 and only five last night as he found seven greens in regulation.

The 25-year-old Californian has found the thick Bermuda rough a massive challenge and if he struggles for driving accuracy at the demanding Albatros layout in Paris, that could be a major problem for Furyk.

While a win tomorrow guarantees him the $10m bonus, that looks impossible now and he will be chasing a top 10 finish hoping that second-ranked Justin Rose finishes in a two-way tie for fourth at best.

It was also a tough day at the office for Masters champion Reed, who bogeyed his last five holes to add a four-over 77 to his opening 74.

Brooks Koepka had an even tougher day on the lightning-fast greens at East Lake, making five bogeys and two double bogeys before finishing with a birdie at the last for a 78 that left him dead last in the 30-man field on seven-over.

Justin Rose and Tiger Woods duked it out at the top of the leaderboard last night with Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm in the chasing pack.