Breaking news: Phil Mickelson may go Tiger and not play entire FedEx Cup either

HARRISON, N.Y. (Aug. 22, 2007) - With every top golfer but Tiger Woods playing in the FedEx Cup playoff’s first tournament, The Barclays, everyone’s assumed that the rest of the playoffs will have all the top players and Woods.

Not so fast, Phil Mickelson let everyone know today in New York. Mickelson dropped some serious hints that while he’s playing this week, he might not be playing in Boston next week or Chicago the following week as the Cup moves into weeks two and three.

“I’m not sure how it’s going to all play out,” Mickelson said. “My intent is to play all four. But we’ve heard that before.”

That’s what Tiger said of course - that he intended to play all four FedEx Cup tournaments - right until the point he pulled out of The Barclays.

Later when asked away from the media horde if he was opening the door to future skipping, Mickelson paused. “I intend to play all four,” he said. “But I don’t know how this year is going to play out yet. So I can’t say anything with complete certainty.”

In other words, organizers in Boston and Chicago can feel free to sweat. And PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem might as well lock himself into a room with rubber walls.

The guess here is that Mickelson will keep playing as long as he’s in contention to win the $10 million retirement fund grand prize. But if he has a dismal first tournament or two, a third straight week of Cup action with Mickelson would be in serious doubt.

Mickelson left little doubt he’s at best tolerating the schedule for this year.

“It’s been very difficult this year to create a balance amongst everything because I’ve played more events in a condensed time frame,” he said. “And something’s got to give. My family’s been through a lot as far as a lot more travel than they are used to and it’s been difficult on everybody. It’s been tough to try and pinch together corporate responsibilities in the limited time.

“So something is … again, the way that the schedule is this year is not going to work for me long term. Something is going to give.”

Part of Mickelson’s annoyance clearly comes from the fact he thinks that Finchem has not listened to his concerns.

“I certainly have some thoughts and views on it, but I would rather just convey those to the Commissioner privately,” Mickelson said on the FedEx Cup format. “They don’t seem to matter.”

Ouch. Yes, Mickelson said his thoughts don’t matter to Finchem. Which isn’t any big deal - except if it happens to come from one of the few golfers in the world that can affect TV ratings. Think Finchem is digesting his food well these days?