FOWLER EARNS THIRD VICTORY AT TPC BOSTON

NORTON, Mass. -- Here are a few observations following Monday’s final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship at TPC Boston.

THINGS TO KNOW 

1. OVERRATED?: Prior to this year, Rickie Fowler had one career win on the PGA TOUR. A magazine poll among his peers dubbed him the most overrated player in golf. How did Fowler respond? By winning THE PLAYERS Championship in a playoff. Monday, he added another dramatic victory, coming from as many as three down at one point to beat Henrik Stenson to win the Deutsche Bank Championship.

The victory moved him to third in the FedExCup standings and guaranteed that he will be in the all-important top 5 going into the season-finale at East Lake -- meaning if he were to win there, he would win the FedExCup, too. 

“I want to be the best player in the world at some point,” said Fowler, who shot a 3-under 68 in the final round that included an eagle on the second hole and two birdies on the back nine. “But, yes, being called overrated, I won three times, so thanks for the poll, I guess.”

2. WRONG CLUB: Stenson had a one-shot lead going to the 187-yard par-3 16th. Fowler teed off first, hitting 6-iron safely to the green. The Swede took one club less and it turned out to be costly. His ball came up short in the hazard and he went on to make double bogey while Fowler made par.  

“I pulled the wrong club on 16,” Stenson said. “The wind is pretty firm up above the trees. I felt like I needed to go a bit harder with that 7-iron. Rickie hit a small 6, and I ballooned it a little bit and into the wind and it was just stalling. And that's kind of a little bit my dilemma. It pops up a little bit and that was really the killer blow for the week." 

3. DAY EXHAUSTED: The last two months have been fruitful for Jason Day. He’s won three times, including his first major championship, and moved to the top of the FedExCup standings.

They’ve also been exhausting.

“Done; I’m toast,” a worn out Day said following a final-round 69 to end his week 6 under. “I’ve been making a lot of mental errors out there. I had four three-putts this week, just a lot of soft bogeys.”

A break in the schedule couldn’t come at a better time. Day said he’ll put the clubs away until the weekend and won’t arrive at the BMW Championship, the third leg of the FedExCup Playoffs, until next Tuesday night.

“I’m just trying to catch up on rest,” he said. “I haven’t had time to spend any time by myself and just rest.”

4. RORY ROLLS IT: Rory McIlroy made six birdies in his first 11 holes Monday, although it was too little, too late after he had failed to crack 70 until the final round.

Still, it was a positive sign for the 26-year-old Northern Irishman who was making just his second start since returning from a left ankle injury that kept him sidelined for more than a month. 

“It really feels like it could have been a lot more,” said McIlroy, who shot 66 to end the week at 3 under. “A lot of positives. It was nice to finish the week this way.”

The most positive sign: McIlroy seemed to turn around his putting. He got a tip from Dave Stockton earlier in the week and on Monday took just 27 putts, which included four makes from outside 10 feet.

5. NEW NO. 1 AGAIN: A week after moving back to No. 1 in the world while sitting on his couch, Rory McIlroy will lose the top spot to Jordan Spieth despite Speith having missed the cut at the Deutsche Bank Championship. 

The Official World Golf Ranking operates on a rolling two-year calendar with recent tournaments more heavily weighted than older ones. It also has a maximum divisor of 52 events and a minimum of 40 over that span.

McIlroy’s divisor is 44. Spieth’s is 55. It helps, too, of course that Spieth won two majors this year.

“I only stayed in school until I was 15,” joked McIlroy, “But I understand to a certain degree the world ranking and how it works. For Jordan to miss the cut, it’s because of the divisor, because of the points coming off his ranking and the points coming off mine. I don’t completely understand it, but I know why it's happening.”

McIlroy isn’t too concerned. Besides, he’ll return to No. 1 going into the next event, the BMW Championship, in two weeks. Neither he nor Spieth are scheduled to play until then, but that rolling calendar keeps moving.

“You can do it on a one-year point system, like they do in tennis,” McIlroy said. “I think two years is a reflection of how you played. At the end of the day, it’s just about playing and playing well. I don't know any other way we could determine the best player in the world.”