Frustrated Phil Mickelson may skip Deutsche Bank Championship

#PhilWasHere became a Twitter sensation over the weekend when Phil Mickelson hit a shot from a hospitality tent for the second day in a row at The Barclays, the first of four FedEx Cup playoff games. Organizers of stage two, the Deutsche Bank Championship, must hope they’ll have the chance to employ the meme this week as well, though the five-time major winner said after missing Saturday’s secondary cut that he may skip Boston’s Labor Day tradition in an effort to preserve his mental health.

“I don’t know,” Mickelson told Jason Sobel after carding a 4-over 75 on Saturday about whether he would make a start at TPC Boston on Friday. “I’ve got four or five days off here with the late start. We’ll see when I get back home. I’m frustrated with my game, but I love playing in Boston. I love the golf course ... but I’m not playing very inspired golf right now.”

Should Mickelson, who fell from 45th to 57th in the FedEx Cup standings, join the injured Tiger Woods on the sidelines, the DBC would lose two of its biggest attractions as well as past champions (Woods won in 2006, Mickelson in 2007).

“I’m barely keeping my sanity,” said Mickelson, whose only top-10 finish this season came at the PGA Championship, where he came in second. “I’m so frustrated.”

One guy who was not frustrated after The Barclays, even though his three-game winning streak came to an end, was Rory McIlroy. The 2012 Deutsche Bank victor looked forward to getting back into the winner’s circle.

“It was going to come to an end sooner or later, but at the end of the day, great thing about golf is always there’s next week,” the world No. 1 told reporters after closing at 5-under in a tie for 22nd, nine shots back of winner Hunter Mahan. “Looking forward to going to Boston, a course where I’ve had success on before and I’ve played well there, and I feel like my game is in good shape. So there’s no reason why I can’t go there next week and challenge for the title there.”

Still, with no break in the four-week playoff schedule, some other big names will miss this week’s event due to injuries or personal reasons. Woods failed to qualify for the postseason in just eight tournaments but his bad back would have kept him out of his third DBC anyway (he missed the tourney with injuries in 2008 and 2011).

Also on the DL are Jason Dufner, with a neck injury, and Steve Stricker, on hiatus from the PGA Tour as he deals with hip and back issues.

Dustin Johnson was already on a leave of absence to deal with personal issues; tour officials said that Johnson was not suspended though Golf.com reported he had failed three drug tests.

Graeme McDowell was with his wife Kristin Monday when she gave birth to their first child via Cesarean section.

Justin Rose, meanwhile, told Bob Harig he wanted to be at home when his son starts school in Orlando.

“If there was one week that has to give,” said the 2013 U.S. Open champion, “this is it.”

Despite the absence of such high-profile players, tourney director Mike Antolini remained upbeat about the players who will show.

“The Deutsche Bank Championship field always showcases the best competition and we expect no less at this year’s championship,” Antolini told SBNation via email on Sunday. “The New England fans are in for a great week and our ticket sales are packing far ahead of past year’s.”