Those who will use East Lake’s stage as the next round of auditions before Woods announces his four discretionary picks in November include: Tony Finau, who posted a 69 on Sunday to finish alone in fourth while playing in the final grouping Sunday with Thomas and Cantlay; the reigning United States Open champion, Gary Woodland (73); the winner of last week’s first playoff event, Patrick Reed (70), and Chez Reavie (76).

No one would begrudge Woods if he elected to use one of the picks on himself and become a playing captain. But for that to happen, Woods said, he has work to do before his next start, in Japan in October. He needs to get physically stronger in certain core areas, he said, and then fine-tune his game.

Phil Mickelson, 49, who made his first United States team as a pro in 1995 and has graced every squad since, closed Sunday with a 71 and sounded resigned to seeing the streak, of which he is understandably proud, snapped.

Since February, when he collected his 44th tour title, Mickelson has missed seven cuts and finished no higher than 18th. His uneven play was on display at Medinah, where he finished five-under to finish in a group at 48th.

“I’m mentally fried and physically fried,” Mickelson said, adding, “I need a break. I’ve had a rough four, five months. Probably the worst four, five-month stretch of my career. I’m looking forward to having a couple months off and kind of regrouping.”

Mickelson almost got an early start to his off-season. He thought he might miss his tee time after the nearby resort where he was staying was struck by lightning Sunday morning. The structure caught on fire, causing the hotel to be evacuated roughly 90 minutes before his fourth round was scheduled to start.