HARRISON, N.Y. (Aug. 23, 2007) - The only thing that’s an easier target in sports right now than The FedEx Cup is Michael Vick. In fact, PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem’s playoff baby has gotten such a bad rap that you half expect PETA to show up at the gates of Westchester Country Club and just start protesting on rote.

No matter what you think of the Cup though, there is no denying some of its side benefits. Like a Vijay Singh, Phil Mickelson, Jim Furyk pairing in the first two rounds of The Barclays, starting this morning.

And what do we have to thank for this bit of guaranteed compelling golf theater? The FedEx Cup standings no less. Singh, Furyk and Mickelson are grouped together because they’re two, three and four in the Cup standings respectively. This is one rare instance where Tiger Woods absence actually makes the pairings more interesting.

If Tiger was here, he’d nudge Mickelson out of the threesome and this is a must-watch group in large part because of the animosity between Phil and Vijay, dating back to spikegate at the Masters a few years ago. With Mickelson and Singh in a complete career tie with 31 victories and three majors apiece you are going to hear more and more talk in the coming weeks how they are competing against each other to go down in history as the second best player in the Tiger era too.

Unfortunately, viewers at home will miss any staredowns today with the trio teeing off at 8:10 a.m. and the Golf Channel - which believes in little live golf - not going on air until 3 p.m. You’ll surely see plenty of Singh, Mickelson and Furyk live on Friday with their 1:10 p.m. tee time though.

Mickelson is already adding to the potential drama.

“No, I mean the guy is 10 years older than me,” Mickelson said when asked if he measures his legacy against Vijay. “He’s an old man!”

As the laughter rang through the interview room, a smiling Mickelson added, “I’m kidding. Of course I’m kidding.”

Mickelson did go on to say some very nice things about taking it as a compliment to be compared with Singh. No word on whether Vijay appreciates a joke that’s not on a caddie’s hat though.

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