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By Helen Ross
PGATOUR.com Chief of Correspondents

NORTON, Mass. -- Phil Mickelson called it "just an amazing par," and the man who made it, Brett Wetterich, later admitted that 4 at the fifth hole at the TPC Boston on Sunday was a "round saver."

Truth be told, both may have been understatements.

Some successful scrambling early in his round kept Brett Wetterich alive and well in the Deutsche Bank chase. (Scott Halleran/WireImage)

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

WETTERICH IN 2007

Category Total Rank Driving Distance 302.4 9 Driving Accuracy 56.14% 174 Greens in Regulation 65.54% 36 Putts per Round 30.49 189 Sand Saves 47.87% 112 Scoring Average 70.95 114 FedExCup Points 91,750 51 Money Leaders $1,458,628 40

• Brett Wetterich's Player Page

Once he got out of that "pretty big jam," Wetterich went on to shoot a 66 that lifted him to 13 under and into a one-stroke advantage entering the final round of the Deutsche Bank Championship.

Wetterich leads Arron Oberholser by one stroke, Mickelson by two and Tiger Woods and Aaron Baddeley by three. Without that clutch par at the fifth hole, though, the 34-year-old might have been headed in the wrong direction on the leaderboard.

Wetterich had just made birdie on two of his first four holes, and momentum was on his side. But he flailed a 3-wood right into the trees, and he needed six drops before he could hit a spectacular 5-iron from 220 yards that settled just 4 feet from the pin.

As Wetterich took his drops -- first from the hazard line, then for relief from a cart path and finally from a rubber mat that covered some TV wires -- Mickelson, his playing partner, waited.

"He finally did hit it, and it was well worth the wait because it was the shot of the day in my opinion," Mickelson said.

"It landed on the bottom of the tier, swung up the tier, back around to four feet and (he) nded up making that for par. It was an incredible par."

Wetterich, meanwhile, admitted that he "was in my own little world trying to figure out how I could end up making bogey and ended up making par." With it, the all-important momentum remained squarely on Wetterich's side.

"To somehow come out of there and make a par, it builds you and just keeps you going," he said. "Two holes later, I make eagle. You go from 2 under to 4 under, and who knows what kind of mind frame I would have been in if I would have made double. You know, who knows?"

Who knows, indeed? Instead, Wetterich, who ranks 51st in the FedExCup standings, now has the second 54-hole lead of his PGA TOUR career.

The other was at the 2005 Honda Classic, where Wetterich was tied with Geoff Ogilvy and went on to share sixth as Padraig Harrington won. Wetterich does have more recent experience playing in the final pairing on the final day, though.

Wetterich trailed Tiger Woods by four strokes entering Sunday's final round of the World Golf Championships-CA Championship in March. He actually made up two shots before the game's No. 1 player claimed the trophy, but Wetterich shot 71 that day to Woods' 73.

Reminded of that fact on Sunday, Wetterich essentially gave it a verbal shrug. He says you have to "drown those thoughts" about who's chasing you and try to concentrate on your own game.

"If I go out and shoot 5 under like I did today, it's going to be hard to beat me, I think, unless someone really plays a good round of golf," Wetterich said. "I'm going to go out and try to make the best score that I can, and if someone catches me and beats me, then hey, they did.

"If I feel good about my round and how I played, I can't do anything about it."

Wetterich has plenty to feel good about this week, too. He leads the field in driving distance, which is to be expected. He only missed 12 fairways over the first three rounds, though, and he ranks fourth in greens in regulation for the week.

Wetterich has played the par 5s in 8 under, making three eagles along the way, and he ranks second only to U.S. Open champion Angel Cabrera in both categories. He's made 15 birdies, too, while dropping eight shots to par.

"He can make a bunch of birdies," Woods said. "He plays extremely aggressive, very strong, very powerful. It's just a matter of him being up there in contention enough times to gain the experience because we all know he has the talent to be up there consistently, it's just a matter of being up there."

Wetterich handled the pressure of contention at the 2006 EDS Byron Nelson Championship, though. That was the crowning moment in a year that saw him go from q-school to the Ryder Cup and finish 10th on the PGA TOUR money list.

"The Ryder Cup was unbelievable," Wetterich said. "It was great to play for your country, and I had a great time while I was over there and got closer to some of the guys that I really didn't know.

"That's why it was nice and relaxing with Phil today. If I didn't get that experience, who knows how I would have felt out there. I feel comfortable being around him, and overall it was just unbelievable."