2014 Deutsche Bank Championship: Tee times, pairings for Saturday’s round

It’s a big day in Boston for the 40 or so names bubbling around the cut-off line for the third round of the FedEx Cup. Even though the Deutsche Bank Championship starts with a limited 100-man field, the PGA Tour still makes a cut down to get to the usual top 70 for the final 36 holes. That’s also the limited number of spots reserved for the BMW Championship next week in Denver, so if you’re anywhere in that 60-to-100 range of the FedExCup standings, a missed cut likely means your postseason is over.

The biggest name in danger of missing out on the third leg of the playoffs is Phil Mickelson. He’s been a lock to make the final event in Atlanta since this FedEx Cup started in 2007. He’s finished inside the top 15 of the standings each year, but now he’s projected to drop from 57th at the start of the week to 74th and going home early. Mickelson shot an ugly 3-over 74 to start his week in Boston, bombing it all over the course and making only six pars in a wild loop around TPC Boston.

Phil said he didn’t have “high expectations” for his “crapshoot” game at the start of the week, and things went off line pretty early in his opening 18. He’s tied for 77th place, so getting hot for a day and making the cut isn’t a hopeless reach. This is a course that consistently yields rounds in the mid-to-low 60s, and Phil made a run at breaking 60 here just last year, going out with a 28 on his first nine.

But you have to wonder whether he even wants to move on and qualify for the BMW Championship next week. He’s clearly worn out a bit after an underwhelming season, and even debated showing up this week for the Deutsche Bank. It might be best for him, and the US Ryder Cup team, to play it out on Saturday and take a few weeks to rest up for Gleneagles. Phil will be out early so we’ll know where this is headed well before lunchtime. He tees off at 8:32 a.m. ET with Ryo Ishikawa and Justin Hicks, a threesome that’s a combined 16-over and would probably rather be somewhere else on Saturday.

While Mickelson will be grinding to make the cut in the morning, the top three in the FedEx Cup standings will anchor the afternoon draw. Rory McIlroy, Jimmy Walker, and Hunter Mahan are safe to play all four events and should have a nice spot near the top of the standings reserved in Atlanta in two weeks. It’s a much less precarious position than Mickelson, but staying inside the top five in the standings is crucial for that final $10 million check at the TOUR Championship. They’ll tee off at 1:40 p.m. ET. Here’s the full tee sheet for Saturday’s second round (remember we’re a day later on everything this week with a scheduled Labor Day finish):