“I’m disappointed with today because it was in my control,” said Harrington. “I was leading the tournament, and going into the back nine it was mine to lose. And I lost it. I’ll feel this one a lot more than some of the others.”

Woods also was part of the fun, although briefly.

“Certainly, from where I was at, I couldn’t win the tournament, even if I shot 60 or something like that,” Woods said.

Really, the only suspense was whether he could go after a 59, and that ended with a par on the 16th. Woods bogeyed the next hole and had to settle for his best score of the year. He tied for 11th, five shots behind.

When he left, the tournament began.

With so much noise from so many birdies, Stricker was plodding along with pars on the back nine, wanting only to hit greens and give himself birdie chances. He waited until the end to deliver.

It was quite a change from last week, when Stricker missed a 10-foot par putt on the 18th hole at The Barclays to force a playoff. That loss stung, but not for long.

Asked if it was gratifying to bounce back one week later and have another putt on the 18th hole, Stricker laughed.

“This one was more my length, I’ll tell you that,” he said. “I liked this 1-footer.”

Stricker also won the opening playoff event in 2007, and he now has had 28 of 40 rounds in the 60s during this postseason bonanza. Told that he had replaced Woods atop the FedEx Cup standings, Stricker put it all in perspective.

“We’re taking up space in his world,” he said. “But I’m thrilled to death to be playing how I’m playing.”