Boston has tough act to follow in playoffs

would love to be on the team, though his obsession is more on his golf than wondering if he'll make the team.

If anyone is feeling pressure, it's Phil Mickelson. He has never missed a Presidents Cup or Ryder Cup dating to 1994. Lefty would need a runner-up finish to qualify for the team, and he might need to simply show some good scores to give Stricker a reason to pick him.

Bubba Watson would have to win to be on the team, but he has other goals. At No. 72 in the FedEx Cup, he has to finish among the top 70 after this week to advance to the third playoff event outside Chicago in two weeks.

Watson, Mickelson and Hoffman are the only three players who have made it through to the third playoff event every year since the FedExCup began in 2007.

So there's a big tournament offering $8.75 million in prize money. There is a race to make the Presidents Cup team. And for some players, there is simply the goal of not having their season ending earlier than they want.

That's a lot on the plate, and Thomas knows the feeling. He missed out on the Tour Championship by one putt in 2015. A year ago, Thomas was still in the hunt for a Ryder Cup captain's pick. He missed the cut.

“It's hard, it really is,” Thomas said. “The Ryder Cup definitely last year, it's so hard to get out of the back of your mind. I was playing without thinking about it that much, but before the week starts, it always creeps in the back of your head. ‘Well, if I play well here, something may happen.’ You always have that ‘if’ scenario. I think that makes it tough.”

The view is much better this year because Thomas is a four-time tour winner and PGA champion.