By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

NORTON, Mass. -- When Scott Stallings reached his final hole in Saturday's second round of the Deutsche Bank Championship, he looked at his ball 41 feet, 4 inches away from the pin for birdie, then checked the scoreboard for the projected cutline.

It was 2 over. Stallings was at 2 over.

Ranked 61st in FedExCup points coming into the tournament, Stallings figured his chances of advancing in the Playoffs would die if he didn't make the extended weekend at TPC Boston.

"I knew 2 (over) had a decent chance to play the weekend," Stallings said. "I knew 1 (over) was for sure."

So he rolled in the birdie putt to finish at 1 over and seal his spot inside the cutline – which, as it turned out, stayed at 2 over -- and keep his postseason hopes alive.

"That 40-footer was a lot bigger than just playing the weekend," he said.

Stallings, who started his round off the 10th tee, put himself in a tough spot when he bogeyed the eighth hole (his 17th of the day). His approach was headed at the flag but the wind kicked up and knocked it sideways, and he couldn't get up and down from the primary rough.

"That was kind of my day all day," Stallings said. "I hit some good shots that ended up in some really crappy places. Kind of a strange day, to say the least."

But it worked out for him. Now he has a chance to play his way into next week's BMW Championship. He's still projected outside the top 70 who'll advance -- he's at 72 now -- but he's looking forward to the challenge.

"I'm in a situation where I can go out and be aggressive," said Stallings, who was born in nearby Worcester, Mass. "I go out early tomorrow and hopefully get a chance to move up the board."

By Mike McAllister, PGATOUR.COM

NORTON, Mass. -- Scott Stallings, born in the Boston suburb of Worchester, is a huge Red Sox fan. A year ago at the Deutsche Bank Championship, he put a foul ball that he caught off the bat of Jacoby Ellsbury in his bag.

This year, he has a Jim Rice-signed baseball in his bag.

"Hopefully that'll bring me a little bit more luck than the Jacoby one did last year," said Stallings, who finished tied for 52nd in his first Deutsche Bank appearance last year.

His good-luck loyalty in terms of the Red Sox goes only so far, however.

Stallings started the year with a Red Sox pin attached to his bag, but with the club struggling this season, Stallings got rid of the pin just after the All-Star break.

He's now searching for a Patriots pin for his bag.

CADDIE RETURNS: Speaking of Stallings' bag, his full-time caddie Josh Graham is back at work this week after taking the last two weeks off for the birth of his son, Caden.

Stallings used veteran Frank Williams, Stewart Cink's caddie, for those two weeks.

"He's been out here about as long as I've been alive," Stallings said of Williams. "It's weird -- he's six years older than my dad. It was really cool to have a guy just with all the people he's caddied for and the experiences that he's had and to try to help me out for a couple weeks."

Got a question for Scott Stallings? Send us your questions for Direct Connect — PGATOUR.COM’s video franchise that gets you closer to a PGA TOUR pro each week — and host John Swantek might use it when he chats with Stallings, who sits 61st in the FedExCup standings.

Stallings, a Massachusetts native, is making his second start at TPC Boston. He qualified for the 2011 Deutsche Bank Championship as a rookie.

If you want to ask Stallings a question, now is your opportunity. Just fill out the form below.

Also, we are now taking video submissions of questions. If you would like to send a video of you asking your question, please email the video to directconnectpgatour@gmail.com. Please keep video to 20 seconds or less, shoot landscape style, and include your name and where you’re from in the text of your email.

Direct Connect video is posted each Wednesday afternoon on PGATOUR.COM, so please check back then for the Stallings interview.

By Ryan Smithson, PGA TOUR.COM Ernie Els' belly putter garnered a lot of attention when he used it to win his fourth major last week, but his real secret weapon was a club Call;away designed to replace long irons. Yep, even Els, one of the best ball-strikers in the world, decided he needed more help in the form of a hybrid. But not the normal hybrid. Roger Cleveland, Callaway's top club designer, unleashed a new utility iron -- designed after the driving irons that have been around for years -- but with a few twists. The new iron has adjustable weights in the sole, and perhaps just as important, can be bent like other forged irons. Els placed the Callaway X Utility Prototype (18°, 21°, 24°) irons his bag a few weeks ago, but it wasn't until Royal Lytham that he had Cleveland adjust the lie angle. He had them bent a half-degree flat, and Els went on to have one of the best ball-striking weeks of his career. The new club has quickly made its way into the bags of several others including Graeme McDowell, who just added the 18-degree version, replacing a 2-iron. “I wanted to enhance that design into a three-loft concept with a new club design that was shallower, had a deeper CG, and that created a higher launch angle, which is difficult to achieve in longer irons," Cleveland said. Now, the question for the consumers: Will Callaway's design reach pro shops? For the immediate future, the answer is no, but Els' big win might coax Callaway to have it available in the future. TITLEISTS' 913 DRIVER SPREADING: Adam Scott and True South Classic winner Scott Stallings are still playing the older 910D3 driver, but more and more players are switching to the new 913D prototype. Jason Bohn (913D3) had it in his bag for the True South Classic, as did rookie Bud Cauley (913D2). Both finished in the top five, and Cauley, all 150 pounds of him, averaged 284 yards a pop. That was good for 11th in the field. PING ANSER READY: Ping's new adjustable driver and fairway woods are ready to hit the pro shops. The Anser driver is available in 8.5º, 9.5º, 10.5º and 12º lofts. The Anser fairway woods are offered in a 3-wood (14.5º), 4-wood (16.5º), and 5-wood (18.5º). Each is adjusted using a torque wrench to change loft and face angle. WINNER'S BAG: Ernie Els at the British Open Driver: Callaway RAZR Fit, 8.5° 3-wood: Callaway X-TOUR 15.0° Irons: Callaway RAZR X Muscleback Irons (5-9, PW), KBS Tour X-flex Hybrids: Callaway X Utility Prototype (18°, 21°, 24°) Wedges: Callaway JAWS (52°, 60°) Putter: Odyssey White Hot XG #1 Belly Ball: Callaway HEX Black Tour WINNER'S BAG: Scott Stallings at the True South Classic Driver: Pro V1x, 910D3 driver (8.5°) 3-wood: 909F2 fairway metal (13.5°) Irons: AP2 irons (4-9) Wedges: Vokey Design Spin Milled pitching (48°, 52°, 56°, 60°) Putter: Scotty Cameron Newport 2 Studio Select Ball: Pro V1x

The pairings have been unveiled for this week’s PGA TOUR Matchups Game on Facebook. You can check out the Matchups for the RBC Canadian Open below, or on the PGA TOUR’s Facebook page.

Participants have until 6 a.m. ET Thursday to make their picks. Log on to the PGA TOUR Facebook page and click the Matchups link to make your picks for this week, or to sign up.

GO TO FACEBOOK PAGE TO PLAY MATCHUPS GAME

Ernie Els vs. Vijay Singh	Two of the game's best over-40 players. Or best players, period.
Jim Furyk vs. Sean O'Hair	Furyk won here in 2006; O'Hair is defending champion
Matt Kuchar vs. Hunter Mahan	Mahan started the season on fire; lately, Kuchar's been hot
Brandt Snedeker vs. Scott Stallings	It's Vanderbilt (Nashville) vs. Tennessee Tech (Cookeville)
Robert Garrigus vs. Charlie Wi	FedExCup surprises in '12 -- both are on the top 30 bubble

The True South Classic provided one of the Regular Season’s final seven opportunities to accumulate enough FedExCup points for Playoffs qualification and a handful of golfers took full advantage. Champion Scott Stallings, who teed of Sunday well outside the Playoffs cutline at 163rd in the standings, locked up a tee time at The Barclays with his victory and move to No. 98 in the standings. Runner-up Jason Bohn and Josh Teater, who finished ninth, moved just inside the top 125 to Nos. 120 and 124 respectively, giving them the inside track to spots in the Playoffs. Billy Horschel, whose third-place finish was his first top 10 of the season, got a boost from 181st to 153rd in the latest standings. Still nearly 100 points out of the top 125, Horschel will need a strong finish to his Regular Season if he hopes to qualify for his first Playoffs. Click here for complete and up-to-date FedExCup standings.