Deutsche Bank leaderboard a reflection of entire TOUR season

NORTON, Mass. -- A guy who's seeking redemption. A guy who's hoping to salvage an injury-plagued season. A guy who's on a serious roll. And a young guy who broke through with his first PGA TOUR win earlier this year and now seems to be getting very greedy.

Those are your four players at the top of the leaderboard going into Sunday's third round of the Duetsche Bank Championship. Their paths in getting to this point, obviously, are varied.

DEUTSCHE BANK

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Rd. 3 Tee Times
Scorecard: Snedeker
Scorecard: Day
Daily Wrap-up: Rd. 2
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Second-round coverage

MISSING THE CUT: Here's a look at who missed the cut -- and whose Playoffs are over following the second round. Story LOOKING AHEAD: Before Brandt Snedeker can move forward, he will remember his past, says Helen Ross. Column FEDEXCUP WRAP-UP: Take a closer look at who did what in the race for the FedExCup after Round 2. More

What they have in common, though, is that they aren't the usual suspects. They aren't the big names with a lengthy list of tournament wins or major championships on their resumes. But they are talented and hungry and not willing to concede anything to the more familiar names.

And that's been the theme of this entire year on TOUR.

Brandt Snedeker and Jason Day, who share the lead at 12 under, and Matt Kuchar and Charley Hoffman, who are tied at one stroke back, are the latest reflection of a 2010 season that has seemingly produced more parity than at any other time in the Tiger Woods era.

It really has become Any Given Sunday -- although in the case of the Deutsche Bank, it's actually Any Given Monday due to the traditional Labor Day finish.

"It just shows how the game is evolving and the new generation coming up," said Day, the 22-year-old Aussie who won his first TOUR event earlier this year in Dallas. "There's a lot of different names up there.

"It's good to see because on any given week, whether it's a tough tournament with the best golfers in the world or just one of those secondary tournaments, anyone can win. It shows how good the caliber of player out here."

It's hard to predict who will emerge on any given week, although it certainly seems Kuchar has signed a lease agreement to take up space on the leaderboard.

He won in a playoff last week against Martin Laird at The Barclays to take over the No. 1 spot in FedExCup points, and his 10 top-10 finishes lead the TOUR in that category. That he's hanging around again after shooting 66-65 in the first two rounds is no surprise.

Like plenty of others, he sees a chance to reach a new level.

"There do seem to be those steps," he said. "You're on the PGA TOUR, but there's the top 125 guys, there's the top 70 guys, there's the top 30 guys, and there's that upper echelon.

"It's fun to be kind of getting up to that level."

Snedeker, who shot the low round on Saturday with a 7-under 64, is the hard-luck kid from last year who lost his place in THE TOUR Championship presented by Coca-Cola when he four-putted the final hole of the BMW Championship. All he needed was bogey.

Like the other three guys at the top, Snedeker has won on TOUR. But the Playoffs have given him an opportunity for additional glory. Of course, that also means facing potential agony, too.

"That's what makes the FedExCup great," Snedeker said. "It has those kinds of stories that are there. You put a little bit more extra pressure on yourself than you normally should.

"I learned from that last year and hopefully this year I won't make the same mistake."

Perhaps more than anything, the Playoffs give players a chance to turn a poor season into a great one in just four tournaments.

Hoffman was slowed earlier this year with a wrist injury, and he made just two starts during a two-month span. Once he got back on TOUR, it took him awhile to find his rhythm.

In early June, he ranked 124th in points and was in danger of missing the Playoffs. But he put together a run, and in his last five starts, he has three top-10 finishes. This week, he's shot 64-67, his best opening two rounds in more than four years.

He's injury-free. And he's playing carefree too. Coming into the Playoffs ranked 69th in FedExCup points, he has nothing to lose.

That makes him dangerous.

"I was in a very average spot in a very average year," Hoffman said. "(The FedExCup) is an incentive for me.

"I think if you're one of the top guys and you catch a bad stretch, obviously you can drop back a little. But for a a guy like me, I've got nowhere to go but up. If I play badly, who cares? If I play good, all the sudden I can get into THE TOUR Championship.

"For a guy with an average year like me, it's a great situation."

Thirty-six holes are left at TPC Boston. There is still time for one of the usual suspects to put his stamp on this event. Defending champ Steve Stricker is in great shape, just three shots off the pace. Phil Mickelson enjoyed his best round of the season on Saturday, a 6-under 65. Tiger Woods also shot 65, his first bogey-free round of the year.

Tiger is the most notable of notables, of course, but like Hoffman, he's had an average year (make that below-average by Tiger standards). The FedExCup, though, has given him hope, a chance to end on a high note.

And like the rest of the year, the first two rounds of the Deutsche Bank reflects what we've seen this entire year on TOUR.

You never know who's going to emerge.