Phil Mickelson Leads FedEx Cup Playoffs With Win at Deutsche Bank Championship
After 72 holes played at The Players Club in Norton, Massachusetts, Phil Mickelson scored an impressive 268 to maintain a two-stroke lead over the likes of Tiger Woods, Brett Wetterich and Arron Oberholser, who each shot 270, and earn the crown of The Deutsche Bank Championship as well as nearly $1.3 million of the $7 Million prize pool.
With a first place finish at The Deutsche Bank Championship, Phil Mickelson also gained enough FedEx Cup points to overtake last week’s first placer Steve Stricker, who won at The Barclays, the first week of the FedEx Cup Playoffs. Steve Stricker still managed a consistent game to finish in the top ten and maintain 2nd place in the FedEx Cup points standings. South Korean K.J. Choi, had to move down to 4th place from 2nd after he withdrew from The Deutsche Bank Championship due to lower back pains.
Tiger Woods, who did not see action on the first week of the FedEx Cup Playoffs in The Barclays, moved up from his number 4 standing to number 3, following his 2nd place finish behind Mickelson. Rory Sabbatini made another consistent finish in the top ten, but falls down from 4rd to 5th in the standings. Vijay Singh doesn’t change his spot at 6th as well as Jim Furyk at 7th. Of course, the real mover going up the standings include Geoff Ogilvy, who jumped from 17th to 8th with a 2nd consecutive finish in the top ten. Other big improvements include Arron Oberholser whose second-place finish jumped him from 67th to 29th and Brett Wetterich who also gained to 22nd place from 51st also with a second place finish at The Deutsche Bank Championship.
And while these players were successful in continuing to the 3rd round of the FedEx Cup Playoffs, others were not so lucky. Of the 120 PGA golfers who played at The Deutsche Bank Championship, only 70 would move on to the 3rd round of the playoffs to be held next week in the BMW Championship at the Cog Hill Golf and Country Club in Lemont, Illinois.
Some of the more notable names who didn’t make the 3rd round include Davis Love III, Retief Goosen, Justin leonard, Mike Weir, Steve Elkington and Steve Flesch, who was at the bubble in 71st in the standings.
In this coming week’s BMW Championship, the field of 70 players will be reduced to the top 30 who will compete in The Tour Championship presented by Coca Cola at the East Lake Golf Club in Atlanta, Georgia. Among those who need to put in a good score or face elimination include Stewart Cink, David Toms, Camilo Villegas and Stuart Appleby, who are just outside the magic 30.
Those in the top 5 might have their chance to overtake Phil Mickelson at the top spot of the FedEx Cup points after Mickelson announced that he will withdraw from the BMW Championship.
“This decision was not an easy one to make, and in no way is meant as disrespectful to the Tour or ’sending a message’ to anyone. I’ve talked for weeks about needing to find a balance between my game, my business affairs and my family, and now is the time for me to take some time off,” revealed Mickelson.
However, he plans to return to The Tour Championship presented by Coca-Cola in the week following the BMW Championship. But without Phil Mickelson around to tame Tiger Woods like he did in their showdown at The Deutsche Bank Championship, we can look to Tiger Woods to put in a good performance. Of course, maybe others will step up to the challenge. After all, The FedEx Cup Champion following the culmination of the playoffs will get a handsome reward of $10 Million for himself. And that’s a big prize all the players won’t be taking lightly.
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