Now, the playoffs can begin
The crowd following Tiger Woods around the TPC Boston grew steadily throughout the morning sunshine until it lined the length of the 18th fairway as he finished his pro-am Thursday at the Deutsche Bank Championship in Norton, Mass.
It was about the same size of the gallery following the leaders in the final round last week at The Barclays.
Maybe that's why some people believe the playoffs don't start until Woods shows up.
"Let's be honest about it," Rich Beem said. "There's only one person that really matters in this playoff system, and that's Tiger Woods. If Tiger is not playing, you're not going to have a whole lot of validity. If he's not playing, then how serious can we be about this?"
Woods skipped the first round of the PGA Tour playoffs last week at Westchester, saying his body and mind needed a brief vacation after back-to-back victories in stifling heat, the second title coming at the PGA Championship.
He looked plenty refreshed on the refurbished TPC Boston during the pro-am round, playing without a bogey and without much effort on his way to a 63. That's the same score he had the last time he was on this course, when he turned a 3-shot deficit into a 2-shot victory over Vijay Singh in the final round last year.
Woods went 10 days without picking up a club, but doesn't appear to have lost momentum anywhere but the playoff standings.
By skipping The Barclays, which Steve Stricker won with a birdie-birdie-birdie finish, Woods fell from No. 1 to No. 4, nearly 5,000 points behind Stricker with three tournaments remaining.
He didn't break much of a sweat when he heard that.
"I know I've slipped in the standings, but there's plenty of points out there, and I'm just going to go out there and get some Ws," Woods said. "It makes things pretty exciting coming down to the last few weeks."
Woods has his own ideas how he would change the system, such as starting with fewer players. But even though he skipped the first playoff event -- and some proclaimed this new model a failure with his absence alone -- he seems to have embraced the concept.
He said he would play the next three events, even if he were to clinch the FedEx Cup before arriving at East Lake. It is mathematically possible for Woods to be the runner-up the next three weeks and win the FedEx Cup.
Which means more?
"I'd rather take the Ws instead of three 2s," Woods said. "Just me."
He said going winless over the next three weeks but still capturing the FedEx Cup would be similar to winning the Arnold Palmer or Byron Nelson awards, given each year for the player who earned the most money or had the lowest scoring average on the PGA Tour.
"It's a year-long award," Woods said. "But would you much rather have Ws throughout the year than win that award at the end of the year? Ask any guy out here, they'd much rather win tournaments."
State Farm Classic: U.S. Solheim Cup player Sherri Steinhauer shot a 5-under 67 in windy conditions to take a 1-stroke lead in the LPGA State Farm Classic in Springfield, Ill., while Annika Sorenstam was 4 shots back in defense of her last tour title.
Steinhauer, the last of the 10 automatic qualifiers for the U.S. team for the Sept. 14-16 matches against Europe in Sweden, had 5 birdies in her bogey-free round on the Panther Creek Country Club course. Winless since the 2006 Women's British Open, Steinhauer played alongside Solheim Cup teammate Angela Stanford (72).
Johnnie Walker Championship: Marc Warren made 8 birdies for an 8-under 65 to take a 1-stroke lead in the first round of the Johnnie Walker Championship in Gleneagles, Scotland. The 2006 European Tour rookie of the year leads Nicolas Colsaerts (66) on the Centenary Course at Gleneagles.
Colin Montgomerie opened with a 69, defending champion Paul Casey shot a 71 and Darren Clarke had a 73.