Phil Mickelson, hunting his 32nd PGA Tour title, pulled three shots clear midway through the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship this evening.
A stroke off the pace overnight, the American left-hander birdied the second, fourth, fifth and seventh to reach the turn in four-under-par 32.
That left Mickelson at 15-under overall, with fellow Americans Arron Oberholser and Brett Wetterich tied for second place, also after nine holes.
Overnight leader Wetterich, grouped with Oberholser in the final pairing, lost ground after bogeying the par-five second and was one over par on a blustery day at the TPC Boston.
World number one Tiger Woods, playing with Mickelson in front of huge galleries, briefly got to within three of the lead following birdies at the second and seventh.
However, the holder slipped back to 11 under with a bogey at the par-four ninth where his approach ended up in the front greenside bunker.
Level with Woods were compatriot Steve Stricker (11 holes), the winner of last week's Barclays Classic, and Australian Aaron Baddeley (nine).
Another Australian, Robert Allenby, closed with a six-birdie 67 to hold the clubhouse lead at nine-under 275.
Players are competing this week for points in addition to an overall purse of $7 million and a winner's cheque for $1.26 million.
The leading 70 on the FedExCup points list at the end of the tournament qualify for the BMW Championship outside Chicago starting on Thursday.
The top 30 in the standings will then qualify for the Tour Championship in Atlanta where a $10 million bonus in deferred compensation will be earned by the overall points champion.
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