Deutsche Bank Championship Recap: The Next Best Thing

Jordan Spieth was gone, Jason Day and Rory McIlroy were far back. So what's the next best thing? It turns out, it might be Rickie Fowler.

Fowler won the Deutsche Bank Championship by one stroke in a Monday duel with Henrik Stenson, moving to No. 5 in the world rankings. He's still not ready to crack the Big 3 or even make it a Big 4 -- he'll need a major victory to be considered for entry into the club. Besides, Bubba Watson stands at No. 4, and he has two majors.

But Fowler certainly has put himself in the conversation, just months after being deemed the PGA Tour's most overrated golfer in a poll among his peers. Since then, Fowler has won The Players Championship, the Scottish Open and now the Deutsche Bank. Was Fowler misread by his fellow pros, or did their accurate portrayal serve as a wakeup call? We'll never know, but at this point, it really doesn't matter.

"I just think he's learned his tendencies," Fowler's caddie, Joe Skovron, told the New York Times. "He's learned to slow down the process, to not rush any shots. He knows if he hangs in there, hangs in there, hangs in there, he can finish."

Fowler is now in the mix to become the FedEx Cup champion, with two tournaments in the four-event playoffs still to be decided. After a one-week break, the season continues with the BMW Championship and concludes with the Tour Championship.

Fowler closed with a 3-under 68 at TPC Boston for a 15-under total, one better than Stenson, the overnight leader who was runner-up for the second straight playoff event. Both are in the top 5 in the point standings, which sees Day on top, followed by Spieth, Fowler, Stenson and Watson. Anyone in the top 5 heading to East Lake controls his own destiny and would win the FedEx Cup, not to mention $10 million, with a victory.

TUESDAY TAKEAWAY

Henrik Stenson

When Stenson pulled out a 7-iron at the par-3 16th, after Fowler needed a 6-iron into the wind, at least one Stenson owner got nervous (that would be me). Sure enough, he rinsed it for a double bogey, moving from a one-stroke lead to a one-stroke deficit. And that was that. Stenson still likely will be in the top 5 heading to East Lake. But that doesn't do him, or me, much good now.

"I obviously pulled the wrong club on 16 and was trying to get the most out of a 7-iron into the wind and ballooned that one a little bit and that was the crucial mistake. Making double there was really a killer," Stenson told reporters. "I tried to get those two shots back or at least one to force a playoff on the last two holes and couldn't manage to do it."

Rory McIlroy

McIlroy did not play well in the first three rounds, perhaps a case of rust. He closed with a 66 to climb the leaderboard and tie for 29th. Maybe he needed three rounds to find his game. The feeling is that he will do better at Conway Farms, but he'd need a win to reach the top 5 in the standings. McIlroy is 17th.

Jordan Spieth

Let's put aside the fact that Spieth was No. 2 in points, missed the cut and is still No. 2 points. And let's put aside that after missing a second straight cut, he elevated to No. 1 in the OWGR, overtaking McIlroy. And if you want to, let's also put aside that after next week's idle week, Spieth will again fall to No. 2 in the world behind McIlroy. What in the world is going on there? As bizarre as it all is, what's paramount here is that the 22-year-old Spieth may have hit a wall in his first season of superstardom. He seems tired, and whether he can recover with a much-needed week off is a big IF.

Charley Hoffman

Hoffman finished fourth in the FedEx Cup standings into 2010, and he's sixth now, after a solo third at TPC Boston. This year, he has played far better. In 2010, he began the playoffs at 77th in points, then won this very same Deutsche Bank and finished sixth at the Tour Championship to make a late surge. This year, he has a win, two seconds, a third, seven top-10s and, with a good showing at the BMW, could very well overtake Watson to be in the coveted top five heading to East Lake. If you drafted Hoffman way back in January or whenever, give yourself a hand. And, along with everyone else, admit that you didn't see this coming.

Daniel Summerhays, Russell Knox

If you had Summerhays and Knox in position to be in the Tour Championship at this point in the season, then you're twice as smart as the guy who drafted Hoffman. Summerhays tied for ninth to move to 26th in points and Knox tied for 12th to 29th. Both will need to play well at the BMW to maintain their standing, but still.

Hunter Mahan

If nothing else, Mahan is built for the playoffs (and there very well may be nothing else). Mahan tied for fourth to surge 39 spots up the standings to qualify for Chicago and continue his streak as the only golfer to play in every FedEx Cup event since the inception of the playoffs in 2007. Last year, he brushed aside a sub-par season with a win at The Barclays. This time around, though, at No. 52 in points, Mahan will need another strong showing at the BMW to keep his streak alive.

Luke Donald

The BMW would've been a home game for the Northwestern alum, but he's not going to be there. Donald began the week at 87th in points but moved only to 80th, meaning that for the second straight year he'll miss the Tour Championship, after being a staple in it since the playoffs began.

Phil Mickelson

Unlike Donald, Mickelson will be in Chicago, at No. 61 in points. But like Donald, he's looking at back-to-back years outside the top 30. Mickelson is just a middle-of-the-road golfer now, as sad as it is to say. Middle-of-the-road golfers do win tournaments, so Mickelson still has a puncher's chance.

Billy Horschel

Horschel came out of nowhere last year to win the FedEx Cup by finishing second in Boston before winning the final two events. This year, while not quite back to nowhere, Horschel has been unable to generate anything close to a run. After missing the cut at The Barclays, he finished 72nd in the Deutsche Bank, barely qualifying for Chicago. He season will likely end there, and you should remember the 2015 Horschel when drafting, and don't fantasize about the 2014 Horschel, someone who played well for three tournaments all year, albeit at the exact right time.

Outside in: Mahan, Keegan Bradley, Jerry Kelly, William McGirt

These four began the week outside the top 70 needed qualify for the BMW Championship. Mahan was detailed above, but no one cracked the cutoff more spectacularly than McGirt. Beginning the week at 88th in points and having a decent tournament, McGirt was still not in the top 70 when he stood in the fairway at the par-4 17th on Monday. From 169 yards, he sank his iron for an eagle, allowing him to climb into a tie for 12th in the tournament and squeak into Conway Farms at 68th in the standings. It was also a nice moment for Bradley, a newlywed, and Kelly, a couple of months shy of 49. Kelly tied for ninth to move to 65th. Despite all the nice stories related to the four golfers reaching Chicago, it's unlikely any reaches East Lake.

Inside out: Boo Weekley, Kevin Streelman, Jim Herman, Marc Leishman

Streelman, beginning the week at 65th, seemed well positioned to get to the BMW. But he imploded with a back-nine 42 on Monday to tumble to 75th. Herman picked a bad time to miss a cut. He began the week at No. 64 and fell to No. 74 after missing the weekend by a stroke. Still, it was by far the best season for the veteran, and he is someone to be considered when drafting next season. Leishman had a difficult season, withdrawing from the Masters with his wife near fatally ill. She is now doing well, and that should allow Leishman to have a season more commensurate with his abilities in 2015-16.