BMW Championship: Sunday's Top Five Stories

1)  A Wide Open Leaderboard

Ryan Moore leads the BMW Championship at eight-under-par through 54-holes, but there are no less than seven players within three strokes of the lead heading into today’s final round.  

Dustin Johnson, Charlie Wi and Matt Kuchar are just one stroke back while the British duo of Paul Casey and Ian Poulter trail Moore by two strokes.  

Kevin Na and three-time major champion Ernie Els are at five-under-par and will begin the final round three strokes behind Moore.

There are a lot of guys with a lot to gain and a lot to prove this afternoon, and no one would be surprised if the names on the leaderboard begin spinning like a Las Vegas slot machine on the back-nine.

2)  Can Tiger Woods Go Low?

Woods posted an eight-under-par 62 in the third round of last year’s BMW Championship, and he will need to go as low, if not lower, today at Cog Hill.  

It is projected that Woods, who is currently 51st in the FedEx Cup point standings, will need to finish fifth or better this week in order to advance to the Tour Championship.

Woods will begin the final round tied for 22nd and six strokes removed from the fifth place position on the leaderboard.

So, needless to say, Woods will have to go extremely low on Sunday, and he’ll also need a good deal of help from those 21 players currently ahead of him.

3) Tiger & Phil Sunday Pairing

Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson will be paired together this afternoon for just the 25th time on the PGA Tour, and the first time on tour since the final round of the 2009 Masters.

The last time Woods and Mickelson played together was in early November of 2009 at the unofficial World Golf Championships-HSBC Champions event in Shanghai, China.  54-hole leader Mickelson shot a shot 69 to win the event while Woods came in with a 72 and tied for sixth.

It matters little that these two titans are eight strokes off the lead and will be teeing off at 10:56 am. A Woods/Michelson pairing is always big news.

4) Can Dustin Johnson’s Putter Remain Hot On Sunday?

It seems as if Dustin Johnson is in contention just about every Sunday as of late, yet he has not won on tour since the AT&T Pebble Beach National last November.

So why is that?

Well, it could have something to do with his abysmal final round scoring average of 72.71, which ranks 173rd on tour.

And Johnson’s high final round scoring average probably has something to do with the fact that he’s ranked 146th on tour in final round putting.  

Like many bombers of the ball, Johnson’s putter has always been his Achilles heel, only it’s now coming to the forefront more often as he finds himself in contention just about every single Sunday.

This week, however, Johnson is tied for 12th in putts per round and fourth in putts per greens in regulation.

If he continues rolling the ball well this afternoon, he will have an excellent chance to win the BMW Championship, and the FedEx Cup for that matter.

5) Can Matt Kuchar Continue His Improbable Run?

The fact that Matt Kuchar will begin today’s final round tied for second place and just a stroke behind the leader is not all that surprising.

However, his 2010 season as a whole has and continues to shock us all.  

If the season were to end today, Matt Kuchar would more than likely be voted the 2010 PGA Tour Player of the Year.

Kuchar has 10 top-10 finishes this year, won The Barclay's two weeks ago and currently leads the tour in earnings and FedEx Cup points.

This guy has been a human ATM machine; an ATM machine that has taken in $4.39 million in deposits courtesy of the PGA Tour.

No one would be surprised if Kuchar won the BMW Championship this afternoon and no one would be surprised if Kuchar won the FedEx Cup in two weeks at East Lake, he’s been playing that well as of late.

However, his improbable 2010 run will likely go down as one of the most unexpected success stories in modern golf history.