Projo Sports Blog

Phil Mickelson looks as if he is finished for this week at the Deutsche Bank Championship, one day ahead of schedule. And he just dropped a hint that he is not certain he will be playing later this week at The BMW Championship in St. Louis.

Mickelson shot a 1-pver-par 72 today at the TPC of Boston in the third round of the Deutsche Bank. That gives him a 54-hole total of 2-under 211. He had barely made the cut, on the number, at 3-under 141. He was one of 86 players to make the cut.

The tour implemented a new rule this year to try and improve play in the final two rounds. It dictates that whenever more than 78 players make a cut, the field is cut again after the third round to get to 70 players and ties.

As it now stands, at 12:55 p.m., Mickelson is in a tie for 75th. That means five players still on the course have to drop to 211 or Mickelson will be eliminated. He acknowledged that he is very unlikely to be able to play tomorrow.

``We'll go back to San Diego tonight,'' he said. ``My kids start school this week. We'll go from there.''

Then he dropped what could be a major bombshell.

The Deutsche Bank is the second week of the four-week FedEd Cup playoffs. The third is at Bellerive in St. Louis this week. Mickelson indicated he is not certain he will play.

He hesitated when asked if he was playing at the BMW.

``I think I'm schedule to play, yeah,'' he responded. ``I think I've committed, so far.''

Mickelson began this week sixth in the FedEx Cup standings. If he indeed is eliminated today, current projections having him falling to 10th. He could be so far behind that not even a victory next week would get him into first place heading to Atlanta for the Tour Championship.

The playoff system was criticized last year, its first year, when some players, including Tiger Woods, took a week off. The system was changed to try and insure players would not skip one of the four events. If Mickelson is serious about skipping St. Louis, it would be a major blow to the system.

Barrington's Brett Quigley recorded a 67 today, his best round ever at TPC Boston. He now stands at 7-under 206 and has jumped from the cutline into a tie for 33rd.

 Tags  Brett Quigley PGA Tour Phil Mickelson

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