Gary Woodland two shots back at Deutsche Bank

By Associated Press     Sep 5, 2011

? For all that went wrong for Bubba Watson on the back nine Sunday, at least he still had the lead at the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Right when he was starting to pull away in the third round at the TPC Boston, Watson lost control off the tee and made three bogeys in a five-hole stretch, then failed to get up-and-down for birdie from just behind the par-5 18th green. He still managed a 1-under 70 to take a one-shot lead into the final round of the second FedEx Cup playoff event.

The Labor Day finish figures to be wide-open.

Adam Scott (71) and Jason Day (67) were among five players in a tie for second.

Luke Donald, the No. 1 player in the world, Jim Furyk, Masters champion Charl Schwartzel and former Kansas University golfer Gary Woodland were in the large group just two shots behind. Woodland shot a 66 on Sunday and moved up 18 spots into a tie for seventh place.

Phil Mickelson, who started the round 11 shots behind, even has a chance. He holed out a 7-iron from the rough on the 12th hole for eagle on his way to a 63, and wound up among two dozen players separated by four shots with 18 holes remaining.

“It’s not even that there’s so many guys,” Brendan Steele said. “It’s who the guys are, too. There’s a lot of talent there. Somebody is going to have to definitely go and take this tournament. It’s not going to be given to them.”

The tournament became so wild over the final hour that Steele couldn’t even find his name on the first two pages of the electronic leaderboard after a bogey on the 14th. He rolled in a long birdie putt up the ridge on the 16th, then hit 5-iron to four feet for eagle on the last hole for a 67 and was in a six-way tie for the lead.

That’s nothing new for the TPC Boston. Six years ago, there was a five-way tie for the lead going into the final round in the Deutsche Bank Championship. Adding to the stakes this year is the FedEx Cup, with the winner assuring himself a spot among the top five at the Tour Championship when 30 players have a shot at the $10 million prize.

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