Did Phil Just Seal the Cup?

Yes Tiger Woods and Steve Stricker are a big part of why the U.S. will go into Sunday's 12 singles matches with a three-point lead, but why the U.S. kept that three-point lead can be placed on the shoulders of Phil Mickelson.

Trailing the International team of Tim Clark and Vijay Singh all round, Mickelson rolled in a 40-foot putt, lasered in a brilliant approach on 16 to stay tied and all while getting little, if any, help from his playing partner, Sean O'Hair.

Michael Jordan's "project" hasn't faired too well and will need to step up tomorrow for his team. If O'Hair can right the ship and at least salvage a half in his match tomorrow, it would go a long way toward redeeming the Cup rookie's dismal performance so far.

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Sports' Babe Ruth of Billionaires

It was reported by Forbes Magazine last week that Tiger Woods is a billionaire.

I'll wait...

Hmmm, nothing.

OK, let me type that again...It was reported by Forbes Magazine last week that Tiger Woods is a billionaire...

Hmmm, still nothing. Guess I didn't think there would be. I'm betting your reaction is somewhere in the ballpark of, 'Yeah, so what, pally?'

Am I right?

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Double Your Golfing Pleasure

So exactly what was it with the month of September anyway?

No, I am not talking about Tiger Woods rolling to another FedEx Cup championship and another $10 million dollar check (that likely went to the petty cash fund anyway)that Mr. Woods deposited into his account.

What was truly amazing about the recently concluded month was a flurry of holes-in-ones across the globe. Now, I don't know what the exact numbers are on how many times a day someone, somewhere, experiemces the ultimate joy of golf. I'm sure there has to be at least one or two every week if not more.

But what we saw in September was above and beyond the norm for golf. Three people not only carded a hole-in-one in September, they did it twice. In the same round. And that number we do know.

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Please Fix the FedEx Cup Already!

Because we believe in straight talk and candor in the Grill Room, the management feels compelled to warn you that this column is mostly about golf's FedEx Cup.
Who says we don't look after you around here, eh?

To those of you brave enough to stick this one out, let's move on...

Yes, golf's version of the 'playoffs' has improved. The gods of Ponte Vedra Beach actually managed to make the confounding format a little more compelling and comprehensible this year.

And, yes again, the result of any championship system (sorry, Commissioner Finchem, this is a points race, not a playoff), no matter how wacky, should be to determine the best player or team when it is all over.

Well, right now Tiger Woods is leading the FedEx race, and even if he took an 0-for-4 in this year's majors, is still undeniable the game's best player by about the length of a solidly struck 3-wood.

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Tiger Puts Stricker on Notice

Coming into Round 3 of the FedEx Cup, both Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods needed to just finish in the top 10 to all but secure that one of them would win the Cup this year.

Tiger got the memo, currently tied for first after 36 hole of the BMW Championship at Cog Hill in Chicago. Woods usually does well at Cog Hill, so it is really no big surprise to see his name atop the leaderboard on a Friday evening. And while Tiger cannot clinch the Cup with a win this week, he certainly can put a huge amount of pressure on the current Cup leader Stricker.

Maybe that is why Stricker is struggling horribly after two rounds this week.

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Two-Man Horse Race for FedEx?

Barring an amazing back-to-back win performance over the next two weeks, the chase for the FedEx Cup has pretty much become a two-man race between Steve Stricker and Tiger Woods. Based on their play over the past two weeks, Stricker goes into this weeks' BMW Championship outside of Chicago with the advantage.

Stricker's win on Monday at the Deutsche Bank Championship put him in first place by 909 points over Woods. While Woods usually does well at Cog hill, the simple fact is he is struggling with his game, Monday's 8-under, 63 notwithstanding. Woods' balky putter either runs red-hot or ice-cold and it not only cost him a chance to put the FedEx Cup out of reach, it has opened the door for Stricker to cruise right on by.

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