FanHouse Steve Marino

He isn't the most liked guy on the PGA Tour. Probably towards the bottom of the list, really. That doesn't change the fact that Rory Sabbatini, as Craig Stadler once put it, can play stick. His win this year at the Byron Nelson was the fifth of his career, and helped vault him to his current position in the FedEx Cup point standings at 35.

None of this seemed to matter to Greg Norman, who made his Presidents Cup captain's picks the same way I pick a cab when I stumble out of a bar at 2:08 AM on a Saturday ... "Ummmmm, that one." Sabbatini was ahead of both the picks that Norman made, had more wins this season on the PGA Tour than both combined (which is, obviously, zero) but got snubbed. So, surely Norman called Sabbatini to let him know he wasn't going to pick him, sadly, but he appreciated his game and hoped to see him on the team in the future. Yeah, not so much.

It was a final round 63 last week that got Tiger Woods, yes, Tiger Woods, back into form at the Deutsche Bank Championship. Struggling with scoring, Tiger carded eight birdies and an eagle to tie his lowest score of the year, and that little spark carried over on Thursday at Cog Hill.

Sporting an umbrella on the collar of his blue Nike polo in honor of Arnold Palmer's 80th birthday, Tiger posted a 3-under 68, made a hair worse by a third shot on the par-5 18th that landed nearly in the hole, but struck the pin, ending up 12-feet away, leaving Tiger a disgusted look and a disappointing par.

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The four-tournament FedEx Cup might be billed as the playoffs, but Tiger Woods (along with just about everybody else in the field) are treating it with all the reverence of a practice round. Maybe it's the rain-soaked conditions, or the tricked-out, wannabe links-inspired course set-up. Or maybe the manufactured drama of the FedEx Cup isn't working.

So call the next month of golf whatever you want, but it feels a lot like the PGA Tour season officially ended with last week's Wyndham Championship. Hey, it could be worse: we could be subjected to made-for-teevee skins games.

In any event, we're three rounds into the Barclays, and 24-year-old Webb Simpson, the 36-hole leader, stumbled through moving day, dropping two shots off the lead after signing for a 1-over, 71. Meanwhile, Paul Goydos and Steve Marino each needed 68 strokes to get around Liberty National and are tied atop the leaderboard at 9-under heading to the final day.

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Not a lot of rookies have had the chance to take command of the FedEx Cup. Zero, actually. The first year Tiger Woods was in control from the get-go. Last year, Vijay Singh was the man that couldn't be beat. If Webb Simpson continues to play like he has so far at the Barclays, he might find himself in a position to win some very nice cheddar for a first-year man on tour.

Simpson is currently 8-under for the first FedEx Cup tournament of the year, two shots clear of second place after a Friday 68 settled in nicely next to his first round 66. It seems like ages ago when we were writing about Simpson, who started his rookie year with two top-10s and a 68-67 start to the FBR Open (he'd finish 77-75 at TPC Scottsdale, and go on to miss nine of his next 13 cuts).

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Ho-hum. That was Tiger Woods' opening round of the FedEx Cup at Liberty National in New Jersey. A 1-under 70 for the current FedEx points leader was good enough to stay within shouting distance of the leaders, but it was a pretty boring day by Tiger standards.

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He's 59. Fifty-nine. He isn't supposed to be leading the British Open. Hell, Tom Watson isn't supposed to be contending in the SENIOR British Open at this point, but there he is, at 4-under par with 18 holes left to have his name engraved for the sixth time on the famed Claret Jug.

He's the John McCain of this championship, hoping that for a second, golf will forget the number of years he's been around and just focus on his incredible ball-striking and wonderful lag putting that has him above guys half his age. On Saturday at Turnberry, Watson shot a 1-over 71 in windy conditions to keep himself above the pack at this very different Open Championship.

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Major championships will make you do some crazy things. Greg Norman can attest to that at Augusta in 1996. Constantino Rocca was a great example of this on the final hole of the 1995 British Open. So far at Turnberry, Tom Watson is doing the complete opposite of that.

The five-time British Open winner is leading the Open after the front nine Saturday, cashing in all but one short par putts that used to give him grief and playing the first nine holes 1-over par, 4-under for the championship. Watson, 59, spent most of his week preparing for interviews and questions about 1977, not getting set to be leading the British after 45 holes. Some people waiver at this point, but Watson looks as solid as a leader can look. Pure iron shots, putts that find the middle of the hole and a demeanor that quietly shouts, "I'm still great, just watch me."

TURNBERRY, Scotland -- Tom Watson was not doing well. Five bogeys in the first seven holes Friday in the second round of the British Open, and it looked like the miracle of a 59-year-old in contention at a major championship was just a one-day fluke.

So Sergio Garcia, playing with Watson, came up to offer support on the 8th hole.

"Come on, old man,'' Garcia said.

"Well, I feel like an old man,'' Watson said back.

Watson laughed, telling the story: "That's what Sergio said to give me a pep talk.''

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As any golf fan knows, feel-good stories at majors normally last a day. The lesser known kid has a great opening round, or the player that had a family member pass away gets out to a fast start, or an old-timer comes back for one last shining moment.

The latter of those three would be Tom Watson at the British Open on Thursday. Playing a venue he famously won in 1977, Watson rolled the clock back with a 5-under 65 to land within a shot of the lead on day one. The problem, however, is that the 59-year-old Watson is not going anywhere. On a windy day where Watson was on the bad side of an afternoon draw, the older TW shot even-par on Friday to tie Steve Marino at the top of the leaderboard, and put an exclamation point on his round with an across the green birdie putt on 18 that dropped in.

Every Monday during the PGA Tour season, Monday Pin Placement will run as a wrap-up of the weekend's action. Basically, we'll focus on what you missed while you were out grinding on the putting green.

Stricker Uses Experience to Edge Others -- There were three golfers in the playoff at the Colonial on Sunday, but only one had hoisted a trophy on the PGA Tour. Steve Stricker, by all accounts, had struggled on Sunday. The man that relies on his putting to get it done on the golf course hit multiple lips on his way to the 17th hole after he came off a frustrating bogey on the par-3 16th.

A second shot from just over 150 yards on 17 was yanked a hair, and Stricker found himself over the green with a tricky little pitch out of some thick rough. It didn't matter for the 42-year-old. Pitch. Roll. Pin. Birdie. Reminiscent of Nick Watney's shot on the ninth hole at the WGC earlier this year, Stricker's birdie gave him a chance at a playoff.

Inexperience by the others got him in.