Monday at work obviously wasn’t what Phil Mickelson was looking for this year: After three rather uneventful rounds of 69, 70, 72 (211, -2) at TPC Boston,  Phil missed the 54-hole cut. The Deutsche Bank Championship - where Phil was the defending champion - marks the first time that Mickelson got a day off due to the new rule that was introduced early in the 2008 season in order to reduce the number of players in the final round of PGA Tour events.

Under the new regulation, if more than 78 players make the halfway cut, the field will be reduced to low 70 professionals plus ties. Think that this is a funny rule? Why not check out this Golf Digest article…

Shortly after it was clear that Mickelson was not going to play in the 4th round, speculations began on whether he will tee it up at this week’s BMW Championship at Bellerive CC. No official statements have been issued yet - needless to say that I will let you know as soon as I hear of something.

What about my pre-tournament picks: With the exception of Phil Mickelson (see above) they are faring quite well: Ernie Els lays T5 (-13) and Sergio Garcia T3 (-14) after the third round. However, I was definitely wrong about Vijay Singh as he is currently tied with Garcia and very much in contention again. After Singh’s playoff victory last week the two will be paired together again today - I am looking forward to seeing who comes out on top this time. They are all chasing tournament leader Mike Weir who shot rounds of 61, 68 and 67 to lead by one over Camillo Villegas.