PGA / Chris Ryan / 28 September 2009 / Leave a comment Bet Now

On the golf course, Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson have a lot in common. Each began playing the sport during their pre-school years, each was dominant at the amateur level (both winning a U.S. Amateur title; in Tiger's case three of 'em), and each won an NCAA individual championship and almost uncountable professional titles (including multiple Majors), writes Brian Heard.

But Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia, the two, concordantly No. 1 and No. 2 in the world for so long and so intricately linked in history, did something they hadn't before - both winning on the very same day. Like usual, however, Woods, deservedly so, stole the headlines.

Mickelson, whose season has been truncated by family concerns - both his wife and mother were diagnosed with breast cancer within a couple of weeks of each other in the spring - was making a return to form (tuning-up a sputtering putting stroke) at this week's Tour Championship, the final event of four in the Tour's FedEx Cup Playoffs, firing a final-round-best 65 to overtake Woods, et al, to win the event and the $1.35 million first-place check.

But Tiger, who started and finished Sunday in second place at 6-under, won the FedEx Cup and its $10-million champion's bonus - as if the billion-dollar man needed more financial liquidity.

It was the second time in the three-year history of the FedEx Cup that Woods has won. Vijay Singh took it last year when Woods was out of action after knee surgery. Along with the FedEx Cup, Tiger also won the Tour Championship event in 2007.

It was Mickelson's third win of the season (37th on Tour overall), but considering the star-studded cast he was playing against and the manner in which he did it - following a 3-over 73 on Thursday he went 67-66-65 in the last three rounds - it was probably his biggest since the 2006 Masters.

Drama ... what drama?

All the rhetoric from the PGA Tour and its broadcast/advertising partners about how the changes in the FedEx Cup playoff system would result in "drama" on Sunday at the Tour Championship? Well, it was, uh, rhetoric.

By the back nine on Sunday, it was pretty clear Tiger was in the $10-million winner's circle. Sure, Mickelson's great day, launching himself into the lead by the back nine after trailing by four strokes heading into the day, was quality, entertaining stuff. But the big prize was almost predetermined. Honestly, when's the last time you saw Tiger really stink? The answer is never, it just doesn't happen.

So unless Steve Stricker, Jim Furyk, Padraig Harrington or Sean O'Hair had been really, really good and won from behind on Sunday, it was going to be Woods holding up the big check, even if 49-year-old, third-round leader Kenny Perry had held on for the victory in Atlanta at East Lake Golf Course. For the record, Perry didn't.

Here's what had to happen for the Tour Championship contenders for Woods not to win the complicated FedEx Cup title Sunday.

Perry
-He wins. Stricker or Furyk do not finish alone in second. Tiger finishes in a three-way tie for third or worse.

Mickelson
-He wins. Woods ties for eighth or worse.

O'Hair
He wins. Tiger finishes in a three-way tie for second or worse. Stricker ties for second or worse.

Steve Marino
He wins. Tiger finishes 19th or worse.

Padraig Harrington
He wins. Tiger finishes second or worse.

Stricker
He wins.

OR

He finishes in second alone. Any seed lower than No. 6 wins. Tiger finishes third or worse.

OR

He finishes in a two-way tie for second. Any seed lower than No. 7 wins. Tiger finishes fourth or worse.

Ernie Els
He wins. Woods finishes 14th or worse.

None of the above came to pass, of course.

Georgia, Woods on his mind

Perry was paired with Woods for the fifth time in his career Sunday, and though he amicably quipped about Tiger after Saturday's third round: "He'd better bring his A-game tomorrow", it was the eminently like-able Perry who got and shot a failing grade. His 74 dropped him into a tie for fourth with Harrington at 4-under and only slightly improved his scoring average while playing with Woods from 75 to 74.8. Tiger, on the other hand, has shot an average of 69 when paired individually with Perry.

The Tour Championship final round did nothing to exorcise the Georgian ghosts for Perry, who had a golden opportunity to win The Masters (which would have been his first Major) in April before falling in a playoff to Angel Cabrera after leading by two strokes with two holes to play in regulation.

Winners and losers

-Woods was the big winner, of course. Though he said after the third round, he'd rather win the Tour Championship than worry about what would happen with the FedEx Cup points afterwards, he didn't have much to be concerned with as it turned out, despite being the runner-up on the course Sunday.

Before the 30-player Tour Championship started only the top five in the playoff standings: Woods, Stricker, Furyk, Zach Johnson and Heath Slocum controlled their own destiny - win the event, win the FedEx Cup.

But none of those other than Woods was ever truly in contention. Stricker, who had moved ahead of Tiger into first place in the standings after winning the second playoff event, the Deutsche Bank Championship (before Woods won the BMW Championship two weeks ago), was undone by a second-round 72 this weekend. He ended up in sixth at 3-under and in third in the FedEx Cup points race.

-Mickelson was the big mover in the FedEx Cup standings, jumping 12 places with the win, from 14th to second.

-The ever-steady Furyk was actually a little up and down this week, but thanks to a Sunday 67 tied for seventh at 2-under and finished fourth in the FedEx Cup.

-Slocum, the stunning Barclays winner (the first playoff event), and Johnson were never a factor. Slocum tied for 19th at 4-over (finishing 8th in the FedEx Cup) and Johnson finished in a tie for 16th (2-over), good for 6th in the FedEx.

-The other really big upward movers Sunday in the FedEx Cup race were Steve Marino (from 25th to 15th, after tying for seventh at the Tour Championship), Jerry Kelly (from 29th to 22nd, after tying for 10th), Australian John Senden (from 30th to 24th, after tying for 10th) and South African Ernie Els (from 22nd to 16th, after finishing ninth).

-The biggest mover in the wrong direction was 26-year-old Korean-born American Kevin Na, who after finishing last (30th) at the Tour Championship dropped from 18th to 26th in the FedEx Cup standings.

-Other losers, for lack of a better term, included Australian Marc Leishman (down four from 16th to 20th, after tying for 28th) and Brian Gay (down four from 17th to 21st, after tying for 28th).

What's next?

For hard-core PGA Tour golf fans the answer to that question is, if not a wholly entertaining one, at least an interesting one. The Tour has labeled it the Fall Series. But it could be called something else; say, the Last-Chance Series.

That said, it is an intriguing time of the season. You won't see a whole lot of the top players in the FedEx Cup standings - for them it's basically the beginning of the off-season (with the exception of the President's Cup, see below). But for those struggling to maintain Tour cards for next year, it's the most dramatic, critical time of the year. Basically, it's now or never.

There are some big names who will be trying make sure "now" is the part of their equation.

Stuart Appleby, eight-time Tour winner, is on the bubble. As are Rich Beem, three-time winner, including the 2002 PGA Championship, and former young, up-and-comers gone South Adam Scott and Aaron Baddeley.

Then there are other vets like Appleby - Tim Herron, Tommy Armour III, Steve Flesch, Chris DiMarco, Jeff Maggert, Alex Cejka, Ben Curtis and Daniel Chopra - who are desperate to get results to make sure they've earned enough money to be back on Tour with exemptions next season.

Presidents Cup

For the casual fan looking for star power, well, the Fall Series might not turn you on. But the President's Cup in two weeks (Oct. 8-11) in San Francisco, California, should.

It's match play with two teams of 12 players, the world's best, sans Europe, U.S. vs. International. The biennial event is like the Ryder Cup, again, sans Europe. In the seven iterations, the U.S. has dominated: 5 wins, 1 loss, 1 tie.

The 2009 lineups are set. Here they are:

U.S. Team

Captain: Fred Couples
Assistant captain: Jay Haas

Tiger Woods
Phil Mickelson
Steve Stricker
Kenny Perry
Zach Johnson
Stewart Cink
Sean O'Hair
Jim Furyk
Anthony Kim
Justin Leonard
Lucas Glover
Hunter Mahan

International Team

Captain: Greg Norman (Australia)
Assistant captain: Frank Nobilo (New Zealand)

Geoff Ogilvy (Australia)
Vijay Singh (Fiji)
Camilo Villegas (Colombia)
Retief Goosen (South Africa)
Ernie Els (South Africa)
Angel Cabrera (Argentina)
Mike Weir (Canada)
Y.E. Yang (South Korea)
Tim Clark (South Africa)
Adam Scott (Australia)
Ryo Ishikawa (Japan)